Lawmakers allocated $90 million to the program for each of the past two school years, though only $38 million was spent in the first year and $59 million has been spent for year two, which is still underway. Outside of direct costs associated with TEAMS, lawmakers allocated $1 million for a marketing campaign to highlight the program.one math and one science position for every 105 sixth through 12th grade students enrolled in a school district.
One early win noted in the report is that districts reported more fully credentialed math and science teachers teaching during the 2022-23 school year. Further, 29 TEAMS teachers came from outside of Alabama to teach, according to reports from the 55 school districts surveyed. Improving student achievement in math and science is also a goal, but ACES found no achievement goals have been set. Additionally, the state only requires annual testing in sixth, seventh, eighth and 11th grade.
“Without determining how many of these teachers existed and where they were located throughout the state,” according to the report, “the growth and progress toward this outcome are difficult to measure.”