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Donor Gift Creates the Dr. Rochelle Abrams Space Across the Curriculum Educator Training Scholarship and Congressional Space Policy Education Program

Donor Gift Creates the Dr. Rochelle Abrams Space Across the Curriculum Educator Training Scholarship and Congressional Space Policy Education Program

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 7, 2018) – The Space Foundation has received funding for an education program to help teachers inspire students to pursue careers in the space industry. The new Dr. Rochelle Abrams Space Across the Curriculum Educator Training Scholarship and Congressional Space Policy Education Program will not only help build a future workforce of space professionals, it will also help educate policy makers about the need to support educators and train this future workforce.

The purpose of the gift is to support the Space Foundation in its vision to inspire, educate, connect and advocate on behalf of the global space community, specifically to support the Space Foundation’s teacher space education programs, as well as its congressional education for space public policy efforts.

“The Space Foundation is grateful for Dr. Abrams’ extraordinary generosity, for making this program possible and for supporting a new generation of space professionals through our teacher professional development and public policy programs,” said Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Thomas E. Zelibor.

The program will:

  • train cohorts of teachers how to integrate space-themed activities into their curriculum;
  • provide teachers with materials and strategies to share learning with their school and district colleagues;
  • inform students about the opportunities available for careers in the space industry; and
  • inspire and excite students to pursue careers in the space industry.

Deliverables will include:

  • a Space Foundation Space Across the Curriculum educator professional development program, to be held July 23 through 25, 2018, at the Space Foundation Discovery Center in Colorado Springs;
  • curriculum and supplies for hands-on activities that focus on developing 21st Century skills for teachers to use in their classrooms;
  • materials and strategies for teachers to use when returning to their schools to share with their colleagues.

Funding for the space policy education portion will be used by the Space Foundation’s Washington, D.C., staff to conduct space briefings for policy makers and to hold a “space breakfast” for each new Congress, where policy makers and staffers will be educated on the importance of supporting teacher and student programs that encourage students to pursue careers in the space industry, space research, space exploration or other space-related activities.

The gift agreement includes the eventual establishment of a permanent endowment, providing lasting support for this program.

The Space Foundation is working to develop a Pre-K through graduate-level STEM pipeline to help grow an organic workforce and strengthen economic development by inspiring students with hands-on activities and enabling teachers through professional development. Learn more about Space Foundation education programs by visiting https://www.discoverspace.org/education.

For information about gifts to Space Foundation education programs, please email philanthropy@spacefoundation.org.

About the Space Foundation
Founded in 1983, the Space Foundation is the world’s premier organization to inspire, educate, connect, and advocate on behalf of the global space community. It is a nonprofit leader in space awareness activities, educational programs, and major industry events, including the annual Space Symposium. Space Foundation headquarters is in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA, and has a public Discovery Center, including El Pomar Space Gallery, Northrop Grumman Science Center featuring Science On a Sphere® and the Lockheed Martin Space Education Center. The Space Foundation has a Washington, D.C., office and field representatives in Houston, Los Angeles and the Florida Space Coast. It publishes The Space Report: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity, and through its Space CertificationTM and Space Technology Hall of Fame® programs, recognizes space-based innovations that have been adapted to improve life on Earth. Visit both of our websites – www.SpaceFoundation.org and DiscoverSpace.org – and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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Space Foundation Contact:   
Carol Hively, Director – Public Relations & Team Communications
media@spacefoundation.org