Quick Links:

CMSE Home
Pre-College Program

Application form

Triangle Area Schools
NC Science Centers

About this program:

As part of the federal No Child Left Behind initiative, the U.S. Department of Education has made funds available to each state for professional development partnerships between school districts and colleges and universities. In May 2004, the State Board of Education approved the award of funds to Durham Public Schools to establish this partnership with UNC Chapel Hill.

The grant is renewable for a three-year period, through September 30, 2007.

Additional information about this project can be obtained from Janet Scott or Pat Sickles of Durham Public Schools, or from Russ Rowlett or Pat Shane of CMSE.

Center for Mathematics and Science Education
309 Peabody Hall
CB# 3500, UNC Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill NC 27599-3500

voice 919-966-5922
fax 919-962-0588

Durham Math-Science Partnership Courses

The UNC School of Education is offering two series of tuition-free graduate courses for teachers in the Durham Public Schools, one series for middle school mathematics teachers and the other for middle school science teachers.

The courses are made possible by a grant to DPS and the UNC Center for Mathematics and Science Education (CMSE). Twelve semester hours of mathematics (four 3-hour courses) and twelve semester hours of science (three 4-hour courses) will be offered during a three-year cycle beginning in the fall of 2004. Each course will cover a major strand of mathematics or science, combining subject content with pedagogy.

The goals of the course offerings are:

1. To improve student achievement in mathematics and science through improved instruction;
2. To raise the subject qualifications of teachers, so that they will be identified as “highly qualified” under the federal No Child Left Behind Act;
3. To improve teachers’ ability to teach effectively using the curricula adopted by Durham Public Schools; and
4. To provide teachers with graduate course credit that could be used later in completing a masters degree program.

All the courses will be taught by UNC faculty and offered off campus, either at the Hillandale Staff Development Center or elsewhere in the DPS system. There will be no charge to the teachers except for the $25 CMSE registration fee, and all necessary course materials will be provided. Each course will be accepted toward UNC's Masters of Education for Experienced Teachers, if teachers decide within five years of taking the course to enter that degree program.

Teachers will not be required to take all the courses in either series. They can take only those courses they need most to improve their teaching and raise their subject qualifications. In general, teachers should plan to take those courses in subjects where their college preparation was weak or absent.

The schedule of courses is as follows: