STEM Master Teacher Corps Act of 2015

STEM Master Teacher Corps Act of 2015

Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive matching grants to consortia of local educational agencies (LEAs) or states, acting in partnership with institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations to establish a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Master Teacher Corps program.

Requires grantees to:

• select exemplary elementary and secondary school STEM teachers for membership in the STEM Master Teacher Corps;
• provide those teachers with compensation that supplements their base salaries, with higher compensation going to those teaching at high-need public schools;
• provide, and track the effectiveness of, research-based training for Corps members;
• provide discretionary resources for Corps members at high-need schools to use;
• help coordinate instructional leadership and mentoring roles for Corps members; and
• facilitate efforts by Corps members to inform STEM education policy at the national, state, and local levels.

Gives grant priority to applicants that intend to include: (1) large numbers of teachers in the STEM Master Teacher Corps; and (2) rural schools, particularly high-need rural schools, in the area they serve.

Requires grantees to ensure that at least 75% of their STEM Master Teacher Corps are teachers at high-need schools.

Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, to: (1) evaluate the STEM Master Teacher Corps program; (2) identify optimal strategies for designing and advancing such program; and (3) identify best practices for developing, supporting, and retaining STEM teachers based on lessons learned from the program.