NASA News National Aeronautics and Space Administration John F. Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899 AC 321-867-2468 ____________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________ For Release: July 2, 2003 Bruce Buckingham Kennedy Space Center, Fla. (321) 867-2468 KSC Release No. 54 - 03 FIVE SCHOOLS FROM FLORIDA, GEORGIA SELECTED FOR NASA EXPLORER SCHOOLS PROGRAM NASA's new education initiative, the NASA Explorer Schools Program, was launched June 30, 2003 during the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC 2003) in Seattle. Dr. Adena Williams Loston, NASA associate administrator for education, and astronaut Don Pettit formally announced the first 50 competitively selected NASA Explorer Schools. Nearly 1,000 educators, policy makers and educational technology industry representatives, including education representatives from Kennedy Space Center, were present at the conference. The innovative program will send the nation's science and mathematics teachers "back to school" at NASA Centers during the summer. Among the 50 Explorer School Teams selected from 30 states, five schools were from Kennedy Space Center's district that includes Florida and Georgia. The schools are Carol City Elementary School, Opa Locka, Fla.; Stewart Magnet Middle School, Tampa; Oscar Patterson Elementary School, Panama City, Fla.; Howard W. Bishop, Gainesville, Fla.; and Bunche Middle School, Atlanta, Ga. During the commitment period, NASA KSC will invite teachers from the selected schools to the space center to acquire new teaching resources and technology tools, using NASA's unique content, experts and other resources, to help make learning science, mathematics and technology more appealing to students. The program is directed specifically at students in grades 5 through 8. "At NASA, we feel compelled to act, to implement proactive and innovative approaches, such as the NASA Explorer Schools Program, to help stem the decline in the number of young people pursuing study of science, technology, engineering and math disciplines," Loston said. "If we can help in ways unique to NASA's mission, to hold students' interest in match and science through the middle school years, we would anticipate a marked increase in students entering related careers. The nation's continued leadership in science and technology depends on the efforts of NASA and others." The new initiative is sponsored by the NASA Education Enterprise in collaboration with the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). It establishes a three-year partnership between NASA and 50 NASA Explorer Schools teams, consisting of teachers and education administrators from diverse communities across the country. For a list of NASA's first 50 Explorer Schools or information about NASA's Explorer Schools Program, visit the program's web site: http://explorerschools.nasa.gov. For information about the NASA Education Enterprise and programs, visit: http://education.nasa.gov. For information about NASA on the Internet, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. -- end -- ------------------------------------------------------------- For automatic email subscriptions to this KSC originated press releases, send an Internet electronic mail message to mailto:ksc-news_release-subscribe@kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov. With no subject or message. The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription. To remove your name from the list at any time, send an email addressed to mailto:ksc-news_release-unsubscribe@kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov . With no subject or message. or you can (un)subscribe on the World Wide Web at: http://kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov/ Status reports and other NASA publications are available on the World Wide Web at: http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/kscpao.htm .
