Miami-Dade County’s hiring department may get 1,000 applications for an elementary school teacher position.

But when the nation’s fourth-largest district is looking for a high school chemistry teacher, it’s lucky to get 20.

In the race to educate more students in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — a major obstacle is finding enough qualified teachers.

Perhaps the most promising initiative is taking place at Florida International University, which educates 35 percent of Miami-Dade’s teachers. In 2014, the university started FIUTeach, a chapter of a widely-recognized STEM teacher training and recruitment program that has shown incredible success across the country.