NASA launched a major new education initiative today.
The NASA Explorer Schools Program premiered at the 2003
National Educating Computer Conference in Seattle.
The multimedia event kicked-off an innovative program that
will invite science and mathematics teachers “back to
school” during the summer at NASA Centers. NASA experts,
materials, and other resources will be available to help
educators acquire new teaching tools to make science,
mathematics, and technology more appealing to students.
The new initiative is sponsored by NASA’s Education
Enterprise in collaboration with the National Science
Teachers Association (NSTA). It establishes a three-year
partnership between the agency and 50 NASA Explorer Schools’
teams, consisting of teachers and education administrators
from diverse communities across the country.
The 50 selected school teams represent 30 states. Eighty
percent of the schools are located in high poverty areas,
with 75 percent representing predominantly minority
communities. Of the 50 competitively selected school teams,
58 percent are located in both high poverty and high
minority districts.
“NASA’s mission is to inspire the next generation of
explorers by helping to make learning science and math more
fun,” said Dr. Adena Williams Loston, NASA’s Associate
Administrator for Education. “The NASA Explorer Schools
Program will provide us with yet another promising avenue to
positively and uniquely impact science and math instruction
in the Nation’s classrooms as only NASA can,” she said.
For more information about NASA on the Internet, visit:
For the list of NASA’s first 50 Explorer Schools, visit:
http://explorerschools.nasa.gov
For information about other NASA Education programs on the
Internet, visit:
For more information about NSTA on the Internet, visit:
