When the teachers and administrators were preparing to open three years ago, they decided to try something different. They treated our space exploration achievements and goals as a virtual call to action for their students - they wanted to make it clear to the world that they are willing to implement new ideas and take risks. If we can make it to the moon, we should be able to prepare our children for jobs in a high-tech world. The school is organized by teams named after the Space Shuttle orbiters. According to the faculty members I met with, each team develops its own mission statement and action plans with strategies designed to monitor student success and overall progress toward team goals.
Space shows up throughout the curriculum.
Teachers incorporate space into the math and science classes, but also use space as an entree to other subjects such as history. In addition to the traditional subjects like English and math, the students also have a class on exploring technology. The space emphasis seems to be working for the school. Last year, the school also earned recognition from the state. It was an honor to meet with the students, and not just because they decided to name their gymnasium after me.