We are looking for motivated teachers from all across Arkansas that want to better prepare their students for success in jobs that require skills taught in your STEM classrooms!
The summer placement is dovetailed with training and support in how to incorporate these experiences into their classroom, promoting approaches such as science inquiry and problem-based learning.
Apply for 2025STRIVE Goals
STEM Jobs: Increase student awareness of the many jobs that utilize the skills and concepts that are being taught in their STEM classes.
STEM Skills: Increase the capability of students to apply for and be successful in those jobs, within their community, and beyond.
Instructional Practices: Increase Arkansas STEM teachers’ use of evidence-based instructional practices
Networking: Expand Arkansas STEM teacher professional networks.
- Teaching full-time for 3 or more years.
- Teach one or more STEM courses.
- Teach in the state of Arkansas (preference given to teachers in historically under-served communities).
- Enthusiasm for utilizing this opportunity to better prepare your students for jobs that you or they might not have even been aware of!
- A safety mindset! With the pandemic still being a present concern, we need all participants in STRIVE to follow every precaution required by UA Little Rock, our business partners, and the state of Arkansas.
- Professional attitude and interaction with the business, fellow teachers, and STRIVE team.
- We are building bridges with local businesses and between communities in the state.
- We want STRIVE business partners to be impressed and hungry to engage more with our schools. Let’s strive to build stronger connections!
- Clear communication expectations.
- Please communicate with us (STRIVE) and your business in a professional manner.
- Leading up to and during your placement you will be expected to keep your “employer” well informed of your progress, needs, and any challenges that come up.
- STRIVE is here to support you if you run into unexpected challenges at your placement!
- Before applying, make sure to familiarize yourself with our schedule, requirements (above), and goals (above). Note in the schedule that there are a few nights when we can offer accommodations with preference for teachers that need to drive more than 30 minutes to UA Little Rock.
- Prepare your application materials. This includes:
- Your updated resume
- A letter of support from your administrator, template found here.
- We ask you to find out what percentage of the students at your school receive free and reduced lunch. Please ask your school administrator for this before beginning the application.
- We ask what you likely will teach in the fall after participating in the STRIVE summer program. Please do your best to find out what this is anticipated to be (although we understand that schedules can change).
- Submit your application (link below).
- Your application will be reviewed by our team, then we will share it with potential business partners in your area.
- Businesses will contact their top teacher candidates and complete an interview (virtually or in person).
- Business/Teacher partnerships will be finalized and confirmed by STRIVE.
- Commitment for teachers is 5 weeks (25 days total),
- 20 days of which will be in the job placement.
- 10% of your time during the placement (16 hours of the 160 total hours) will be reserved for working on your classroom activity/unit.
- 5 days of professional development; 4 in the summer and 1 in January for the open house.
- 20 days of which will be in the job placement.
- Teachers are compensated for their participation with both:
- Payment of $3500 for completion of summer activities
- $2,000 paid by business partner directly to you as hourly pay during your placement.
- $1,500 paid by STRIVE for turning in a high quality lesson plan (most likely after rounds of revision and final approval from your mentor) by August 1st. If a quality lesson plan is submitted and approved as passing on the last day of professional development, you may earn a $200 bonus. Lessons must be complete and approved by your mentor before you receive payment.
- Payment of $1,500 at end of program upon completion of all requirements (after Open House in Jan. 2026)
- $500 related to completion of your lesson in your class,
- $500 related to meeting with your mentor to determine revisions to your lesson plan, completing those revisions, and submitting a polished lesson plan (revisions and approval by mentor required).
- $500 related to attending the January Open House. This includes submitting slides for video summary of your experience to your mentor, then incorporating feedback to create the summary video, modifying the video based on mentor feedback, and attending Open House.
- Payment of $3500 for completion of summer activities
To help you prepare, please see below for examples of the information requested in the application:
- Background information about you (how long you have taught and where and what you teach).
- What degrees do you hold (or are working towards), and what leadership roles do you have.
- A few questions about the classroom environment that you currently create for your students.
- A few questions to help optimize potential placements.
- Are there businesses in your community that you want us to reach out to?
- Are there considerations for what type of placement you may not be able to complete due to health or other considerations?
- Upload your current resume.
- Administrative support: to maximize your success, we ask that you obtain a letter of support from one of your school administrators.
- The form letter is available here.
- Confirms that your administration is aware of and supportive of your participation in STRIVE.
- If you are struggling with obtaining this letter of support, please contact Mark Baillie to find out how to proceed.
We encourage new participants to join the STRIVE community!
If you don’t see a business partner in your community yet, please still apply. We will work with you to try to identify an appropriate business placement partner.
Previous STRIVE participants:
Some STRIVE alumni will have the opportunity to come back as a mentor in the STRIVE program. This honor is reserved for our top participants who showcased top effort in their placement and implementation of their lesson.
If you participated prior to 2021, we welcome your application but preference will be given to teachers that have not participated in STRIVE in the past depending on financial opportunities available. If you participated in 2021 or afterwards, there is an opportunity for you to return as a mentor. Please reach out to the directors of STRIVE to discuss your interest in the mentor role in the summer or fall (for the next year).
If you participated in 2020 (virtual interviews only), you can apply for a placement without mentorship.
Once selected for the STRIVE program, failure to complete your placement obligations will exclude you from participation in STRIVE in the future.
Examples include:
- Not communicating clearly with your business partner or STRIVE team.
- Failure to comply with agreed upon schedule.
- Violation of safety or other business partner policies (filming when not allowed, discussing company secrets, etc.).
STRIVE attempts to optimize matches based on your interests, skills, and geographic location with the needs of business partners. Hence our selection process involves an initial selection based on your submitted applications. The second round in the process involves an interview (usually over zoom, 15-30 min) with a member of our leadership team. We then share successful applicant materials with our business partners in their area; those businesses may choose to complete an interview as well to ensure an ideal fit.
For 2025, you will receive a payment of $3,500 for completion of summer activities, paid in two installments during the summer (see above). Upon completion of the entire program (in January of the following winter), teachers will receive a final stipend of $1,500 for completion of all requirements (in three parts, see above).
This income is taxable, and many teachers will have taxes withheld from their paycheck by the business they are working with.
Some teachers have personal knowledge of local businesses that would be ideal for learning about the STEM skills our students need to build in order to be successful. Often, good contact people are people that you know from civic groups, religious groups, your children’s activities, or parents at your school. We would appreciate learning about the contact person, either in your application (there is a line for this) or by emailing us directly. Contact Dr. Baillie by the link at the bottom of the page.
We often can arrange for you to work at a site that you suggest, providing that the experience matches the goals of our program. We welcome suggestions for worksites and help in finding an ideal opportunity in your area. Partners are often interested in working with a teacher when they meet the teacher in person.
Unlike past version of STRIVE, we are not placing teachers in research labs that have an academic focus.
Once you have read all of the above information and are ready to apply to the program, please complete the following google form. This form includes information about where you teach.
The google form that you will complete for your application includes information about where you teach, what you teach, how you teach, why you want to be part of the program and some information that will help us nail down your ideal placement. You will also need to upload 1) a current CV/resume so that businesses can properly understand your background and 2) a letter of support from your school administrator.