July
13, 2004 - RELEASE: 04-034 NASA EXPLORER SCHOOL TEAM VISITS FAIRMONT
FACILITY Recently the 2004 NASA Explorer School (NES) team from Mt.
View Middle School in Welch, WV, traveled to the NASA Independent Verification
and Validation (IV&V) Facility in Fairmont, WV. The visit provided an opportunity
for the educators to explore the resources and support that is available to them
through the IV&V Facilitys Educational Outreach Program. According
to Donald Hairston, the school NES team leader, the visit was an explorer mission
to find out just what NASA had to offer. "We were impressed with the first
class treatment we received and the opportunities NASA will make available to
us as an Explorer School. All of us at the school are very excited and proud to
be named the first NASA Explorer School in the state of West Virginia."
NASA's IV&V, a systems and software engineering facility, is home to a
Community Outreach Program which includes a NASA Educator Resource Center (ERC)
and a Student Outreach Program. The NASA Explorer School team learned about the
role this program can play in the development and success of their NES objectives
at Mt. View. The Mt. View Middle School team expressed an interest in
teacher professional development courses, and is planning with the ERC staff to
schedule specific topic trainings. Additionally, the NES team is in need of support
for career fairs, speakers for the classrooms, and student activities. The Student
Outreach program at the facility will coordinate with the NES team to provide
representatives for these activities. The facility staff has extended an invitation
to Mt. Views seventh-grade class to attend a special event this September
at the Fairmont facility. Also during the visit the NES team shared their
success stories with IV&V staff and explained why they felt the NES program
could improve the achievement of their students. With over 80 percent of students
at Mt. View Middle School eligible for the free and reduced lunch program, the
economic challenges of the area are unavoidable. Members of the Mt. View Middle
School team are working to make a difference with the full support and assistance
of the NASA Explorer School program and the NASA Independent Verification and
Validation Facility. For more information about NASA's IV&V facility,
please visit their web site at: http://www.ivv.nasa.gov
For more
information about NASA's Explorer School Program, please visit their web site
at: http://www.explorerschools.nasa.gov For
information about NASA Education programs, please visit their web site at: http://www.education.nasa.gov
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