JSU-based teaching academy receives $150,000 equipment donation

Special to The Mississippi Link

JACKSON, Miss.) – The Mississippi Academy for Math and Science Teaching has received $150,000 worth of equipment to create a lending library for science teachers statewide to enhance classroom learning.

“It really helps us to help teachers,” said Mehri Fadavi, a Jackson State physics professor who directs the academy. “There are all kinds of resources that teachers can use.”

The Mississippi Academy for Science Teaching – or MAST – works to close the achievement gap between Mississippi students and K-12 learners in the rest of the country. The academy got its start in 2004, when Fadavi secured funding from the Mississippi Department of Education to train science educators. The program expanded in 2009 after Fadavi’s efforts brought in an $8.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation Math and Science Partnership.

The donation was made by Lillie V. Tucker-Aiken, a science education consultant who works as a senior adviser to the academy.

“Children don’t learn by doing worksheets,” Tucker-Aiken said. “They learn by doing hands-on, guided discovery activities.”

Included among the equipment are biology kits, microscopes and other experiential teaching aides.

Tucker-Aiken had amassed the materials during her 21-year career as an author and consultant. Her donation to MAST will make the equipment available to hundreds of K-12 teachers.

MAST is a collaboration among Jackson State University, the Mississippi Department of Education and 41 school districts around the state. Some 300 elementary, middle and junior high school teachers have completed the academy, and 70 high school educators are enrolled for the 2009-10 academic year.

– JSU –

About Jackson State University: Challenging Minds, Changing Lives

Jackson State University, founded in 1877, is a historically black, high research activity university located in Jackson, the capital city of the state of Mississippi. Jackson State’s nurturing academic environment challenges individuals to change lives through teaching, research and service. Officially designated as Mississippi’s Urban University, Jackson State continues to enhance the state, nation and world through comprehensive economic development, health-care, technological and educational initiatives. The only university in the Jackson metropolitan area, Jackson State is located near downtown, with three satellite campuses throughout the city. For more information, visit www.jsums.edu.