Concerns are arising in the United States that a majority of secondary school students fail to achieve mathematics and science proficiency due to teachers who lack adequate knowledge of the subjects. The concerns over shortages of mathematics and science teachers have also reached new heights. In Texas high schools, the teaching areas in mathematics and science have persisted as being among the most critical shortage areas. For these reasons a needs assessment was conducted in the spring and fall semesters of 2013 for decision making purposes in preparing highly qualified STEM teachers for high-need school districts in South Texas. Student and Teacher surveys were utilized to collect data. Of the 56% of student participants that showed interest in becoming a teacher, 72% of them indicated that they would like to teach STEM subjects and 99.9% were willing to teach in high-need schools. Financial assistance was needed by 99.8% of the students to complete the educator preparation program. About 50% of teacher participants from the Teacher survey thought that the funding designated for K-12 STEM education was insufficient. 40% of them also believed that K-8 STEM education was inadequate and professional development for STEM teachers was insufficient. Teacher participants would like universities to provide training or professional development for teachers such as the implementation of vertical curriculum alignment and the establishment of partnerships between universities and school districts.