According to a press release from the NASA Office of Legislative Affairs, Pearl City Elementary School has been chosen as one of NASA's Explorers Schools!
On October 26, 2006 at 8:15am, NASA will be holding an assembly in coordination with Pearl City Elementary School to inspire the next generation of explorers.
Here is some background on the program:
"The NASA Explorers School (NES) program establishes a three-year partnership between NASA and school teams, consisting of teachers and education administrators from diverse communities across the country. Focusing on underserved populations, NES joins educators, students and families in sustained involvement with NASA's challenging and exciting research, discoveries and missions.
The program is designed for education communities at the 4-9 grade levels to improve teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through significant structural (professional development, stipends, grants) and curricular supports based on NASA's resources. Educators and students are provided with content-specific acitivites that can be used in many local and state curricula to support the active engagement of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics investigations in order to increase their ability to apply STEM and learn about career paths. Schools in the program are eligible to receive up to $17,500 over a three-year period to support the purchase and integration of technology tools that support student engagement in science and mathematics.
During its first three years the NES program has reached over 70,000 students in over 150 schools in all 50 states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.