NASA Down to Earth
Posted on April 12th, 2010 by Jaimie Schock
NASA doesn’t just have missions for exploring and understanding space. The agency has a long tradition of involvement in STEM education. One program, the NASA Endeavor Science Teaching Certificate Project, awards 40 fellowships per year to science teachers. The 18-month program features workshops, online and on-site graduate courses, and materials teachers can use in the classroom.
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Tags: NASA, Programs for Teachers, Scholarships and Fellowships, Teacher Training, Teacher Workshops
Enthusiasm among states for the administration’s $4 billion Race to the Top education grant competition is waning. Some states like California, Colorado and Arizona are having second thoughts about reapplying for the second round. Critics say it’s easier to garner support for reform from 100 percent of school districts and teachers’ unions in smaller states like Delaware, one of only two first round winners, than it is in larger states like California.
Delaware and Tennessee won the first round of grants in the U.S. Department of Education’s $4 billion Race to the Top Fund competition. Delaware will get $100 million, and Tennessee $500 million. The competition is aimed at encouraging states to create conditions for education reform. 
Congress has begun work on reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which became known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) during the Bush years. The Department of Education’s “blueprint” for a new ESEA has largely won warm reviews from lawmakers in both parties. But, the American Institute of Physics (AIP) is unhappy that the proposal doesn’t put more emphasis on science education.
You’ve heard of Power Rangers and Power Brokers? How about Power Subs? The Greenwich, Connecticut school district plans to select around two dozen of the district’s best substitute teachers and give them extra training this summer so that they have a firm grasp of the district’s elementary math and literacy curricula, and the know-how to use current classroom technology to deliver the lessons.
A healthy majority of teachers describe themselves as satisfied with their careers, according to a recent study released by MetLife. Only 17 percent of respondents said they were very or fairly likely to exit the profession within the next five years. 
Propel McKeesport is a charter elementary school in suburban Pittsburgh with a rather impressive record. Last year, 100 percent of its 5th and 6th graders scored proficient or advanced in math on state assessment tests. That would be a great result in just about any school. But, 85 percent of Propel’s 385 students are from low-income families, 73 percent are minorities, and 13 percent have special needs.
