Return: Precollege Education


The Space Grant consortia have been extremely successful in leveraging funds that promote NASA-related science education. During the three year period 1992-1994, the consortia leveraged $16.5 million for precollege activities and administered over 1300 precollege projects. Many of these projects targeted persons from underrepresented groups and contained mentoring or role modeling components. Space Grant precollege programs, serving both teachers and students, provide good examples of higher education faculty working well with local school systems. The following anecdotes illustrate the impact that Space Grant programs have had on precollege students and teachers.
This sustained involvement in association with strongly supportive
and interested science teachers has made it possible to track science
testing scores for children in the Warwick elementary schools. They
have increased by an unprecedented 11 points since the start of
active involvement by the RI Space Grant program... As a result of
our programs and influence, the city of Providence announced that
"space" will be one of the major topics in the new integrated
curriculum science and literacy program for Providence Public
Elementary Schools. Rhode Island Space Grant Consortium

Last year many high school physics students went to different elemen-
tary schools and presented physics lessons. Most presentations had to
do with some aspect of space science. In virtually all of these lessons,
models purchased with Washington Space Grant Consortium funds
were used in the presentations. I estimate that 1,000 elementary
students were affected by these presentations. This program has been
successful beyond my wildest expectations. High School Physics
Teacher, Spokane, Washington

In West Virginia, Science-by-Electronic-Mail, a science mentoring
program designed to interest students in and prepare them for careers in
science, engineering, or medicine, provides Internet links for 149 rural
high school students and their teachers. A middle school science teacher
involved in the project said "I think this program is very exciting for both
the students and for me. It is the best thing that has happened to me in
my ten years of teaching. Most of the students are learning things that
they never would have experienced without this West Virginia Space
Grant funded project." University of West Virginia, Morgantown,
West Virginia



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