University wins national award in education

Daniel Benitez

The Signal Staff

The University of Houston-Clear Lake School of Education was awarded the 2009 Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Teacher Education by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. This year UHCL will be the only university receiving this award.

UHCL is being honored for its collaborative efforts to improve teacher effectiveness in public elementary schools and for its Professional Development Laboratory Schools. UHCL is also being recognized for its efforts to measure the success their teacher candidates have on improving student learning.

“The University of Houston-Clear Lake is pleased and honored to receive this national recognition from AASCU for the quality and impact of our teacher preparation program on both teachers and the students they teach,” said William Staples, president of UHCL.

“Our dedicated faculty and staff, working in partnership with our collaborating P-12 professional development schools are committed to learner-centered teaching and learning for all. We deeply appreciate receiving the Christa McAuliffe Award, which will further our dedication to the professional development of the teachers who will positively impact their students and our communities.”

Challenger astronaut Christa McAuliffe was the inspiration for the Excellence in Teacher Education award. Photo courtesy of NASA.

The AASCU’s award was named in honor of Christa McAuliffe, a teacher who died in the 1986 Challenger Space Shuttle disaster.

In 1984, when President Ronald Reagan introduced the Teacher in Space Program, Sharon Christa Corrigan McAuliffe was a teacher at Concord High School, where she taught social studies, American history, law and economics in addition to a course she implemented: the American woman.

The target of the Teacher Space Program was to get more people interested in the space program. NASA was looking for a gifted teacher who would teach a class while in space. Her planned duties included basic science experiments in the fields of chromatography, hydroponics, magnetism, and Newton’s laws.

She was also planning to conduct two 15-minute classes from space, including a tour of the spacecraft called “The Ultimate Field Trip” and a lesson about benefits of space travel called “Where We’ve been, Where We’re Going, Why.”  The lessons were to be broadcast to millions of schoolchildren via closed circuit TV.

On Jan. 28, 1986, the Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight.  Christa McAuliffe was one of seven astronauts who died during the Challenger Mission.

“It is important to emphasize that teacher educator preparation is not just School of Education; it’s a university wide, community wide endeavor, so an award like this belongs to everyone not just a few faculty members,” said Dennis Spuck, dean for the School of Education. “It is a nice recognition.”

The award will be presented at the 2009 conference scheduled for Nov.  22-24 in San Antonio, Texas.