Westminster Alumna Awarded Five Year Teaching Fellowship

Valentina Bumbu, Class of 2005, was recently named a Teaching Fellow by The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF) under a comprehensive program which offers financial support and professional development for early career STEM teachers.

Selected from a pool of more than 180 applicants, Valentina is one of 32 exceptionally talented, early career science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics (STEM) teachers to be awarded a 2014KSTF Teaching Fellowship.

KSTF seeks to improve STEM education by building a stable, sustainable cadre of networked leading teachers, who are trained and supported as leaders from the beginning of their careers.

The KSTF Teaching Fellows Program—the Foundation’s signature program—offers stipends, funds for professional development, grants for teaching materials, and opportunities for leadership development and mentoring for early career STEM teachers through this comprehensive five year program.

With an emphasis on inquiry and collaboration, the Teaching Fellows Program empowers participants to advance their teaching practice and student learning, while leading from the classroom.  Valentina is committed to teaching science to high school students in the United States.

Reared in Moldova, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry and business administration from Westminster.

This fall, Valentina will begin her second year of teaching at Soldan International Studies High School, located in St. Louis, Mo.

Established by Janet H. and C. Harry Knowles in 1999 to increase the number of high quality high school science and mathematics teachers, KSTF  empowers them to become primary agents of educational improvement and ultimately, improves math and science education in the United States.

Applications for 2015 KSTF Teaching Fellowships are now being accepted. Details about the application process can be found at www.kstf.org/apply.