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Photo Courtesy of NASA

Three Hart District Teachers Chosen For NASA Flight

Three junior high teachers from William S. Hart Union High School District have been selected by NASA and the SETI Institute to fly on NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).

Photo courtesy of Hart District

Teachers Marisa Heflin from Arroyo Seco, Shelly Turski from La Mesa and Stacy Wade-Robb from Rio Norte are expected to fly as Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAA) on NASA’s SOFIA in the fall of 2021. They join the other 14 Hart School District teachers that have flown on the airborne observatory.

“Science teachers having the opportunity to interact with scientists and be a part of their scientific studies as those studies are being rolled out is priceless,” said David LeBarron, Director of Curriculum and Assessment for the Hart District. “The knowledge and skills learned, along with the teacher’s excitement for science, returns to their classrooms with them and their students benefit.”

The three teachers are scheduled to fly on two missions, conducting research submitted from scientists at the world’s leading universities. They will have to spend a week in Palmdale, training in astrophysics and planetary science and working out of NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center.

Photo courtesy of Hart District

Once complete with their missions, NASA provides the teachers with a physical science curriculum module created by the SETI Institute to share with their classes and students. According to past evaluations of the AAA program, students whose teachers participated in the program have shown increased STEM performance and engagement.

“Over its history, our NASA-funded AAA program has impacted tens of thousands of high school students through the immersive and inspirational experience of their teachers,” said Bill Diamond, CEO of the SETI Institute. “The powerful STEM program will allow the SETI Institute to help bring NASA science into classrooms across the country.”

The SETI Institute has selected 30 teachers from 10 different states to be a part of 2021 NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors. This year the program was expanded to include middle school and community college teachers along with high school teachers.

“We are grateful that NASA will be funding the AAA program through 2025 and are especially excited to be adding middle school and community college teachers and their students,” said Dr. Dana Backman, AAA program lead. “These teachers will use their professional development and SOFIA experiences to convey real-world content to their students that illuminate the value of scientific research and the wide variety of STEM career paths available to them.”

Photo courtesy of Hart District


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Three Hart District Teachers Chosen For NASA Flight

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About Linsey Towles

Linsey Towles is currently a sophomore and journalism major at College of the Canyons and graduated from Saugus High School in 2021. She began as an intern at KHTS in Fall 2020 and was hired in June as staff writer for the news team where she covers breaking and feature news.