Pres. Obama to unveil $250-million math, science program

President Barack Obama on Wednesday will unveil a $250-million teacher training program aimed at improving math and science education nationwide.

The effort, which aims to train more than 10,000 new teachers over five years, is part of the White House's "Educate to Innovate" campaign -- a series of programs and grants designed to address the growing gap between the United States and other countries in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The training and funding arrive by way of partnerships with private institutions, and Wednesday's announcement doubles the president's previous commitment of about $250 million to the philanthropic program.

Obama will announce the boost, and honor educators who have demonstrated key achievements in those academic areas, at an event at the White House this afternoon.

"The quality of math and science teachers is the most important single factor influencing whether students will succeed or fail in science, technology, engineering and math," Obama said in a statement.

The goal, the White House has said, is to train 10,000 new math and science teachers over five years, and to provide on-the-job assistance for about 100,000 educators already working in the STEM fields.

Wednesday's commitment, however, will not be the White House's first foray at improving math and science education. Obama introduced the "Race to the Top" program earlier this year, to mixed reactions from both states and education experts. That campaign, which asks states to apply for a share of $4 billion in new, highly competitive grants, plans to award school districts and states' that propose to improve STEM education quite well, the White House has previously signaled.

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