Wayne State offers master's program for professionals wanting to teach

At the Berry Career Center in Dearborn Heights, students are learning about sports medicine, and computers and so much more. Here the focus is on STEM education - Science Technology Engineering and Math.

"STEM provides a hands-on learning that can teach you the sciences behind what you're hoping toward," said Nick Maziarz, who wants to be a doctor.

"Our teachers are very hands-on in their learning, they're very interactive, they've very thorough when they teach us," said Almera Al Najjar, who wants to be a veterinarian.

Almera and Nick are 8th graders both interested in medicine and both are well aware of how important their teachers are in guiding them toward their goals.

"A lot of what the students get - it's not just out of a book," said Dr. Winfred Green, Principal, Berry Career Center. "The more our teachers and administrators come in with real world experiences that they can provide pertinent information to students, really makes it relevant."

Which is where a new program from Wayne State University comes in - a Teaching Residency for Urban Education - or the TRUE Project. It recruits people with careers and bachelor's degrees in STEM - to get a master's degree in education and teach middle school or high school in Dearborn or Detroit.

"Looking for people who have a passion for what they've done in a profession but also want to give something back to young people," said Truman Hudson, Jr.

Hudson says come May of 2020, the first cohort of 16 people from science or math backgrounds will begin an 18-month master's program they'll be in middle school and high school classrooms by fall and earn a $40,000 stipend.

Once they've earned their teaching certificate and their masters in the art of teaching in math or science, they will spend three years teaching in either Dearborn or Detroit.

"We have a need, we have an opportunity to partner with great districts like Dearborn and Detroit with students who want to learn and want to make a difference," Hudson said.

Hudson says there are hundreds of open teaching positions in STEM in the state of Michigan - especially in our urban centers.

You could be a young professional or you could be retired. If you've always wanted to teach, you feel that calling to serve, this could be for you. The next information session is on Jan. 23rd.

"We're open to all - people who want to make a difference," Hudson said.

The kind of difference - our future and our young people - deserve.

The Metro Detroit TRUE Information Session is Jan. 23, 2020 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Fordson High School, 13800 Ford Road, Dearborn - Room A-103.

To register - visit go.wayne.edu/trueproject