 |
Ribbon
cutting for the Regional Educator Resource Center
at the Choctaw schools in Philadelphia, Miss. |
NASA's Office
of Education at Stennis Space Center has worked closely with the
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to enhance existing and develop
new academic and vocational/technical training programs. These
efforts include working with the Choctaw Tribal School system
to support technology use in education.
The Choctaw
Tribal School system - consisting of six elementary schools, one
middle school, and one high school - is a locally controlled Native
American school system. Over 1,800 students attend these eight
schools in three counties.
NASA's Office
of Education at Stennis Space Center has:
-
Supported
Choctaw Central High School's FIRST Robotics team with technology
assistance and sponsorship. The team received the prestigious
Judges' Award at the Lone Star Regional FIRST
Robotics competition in Houston, Texas, in 2001.
-
Facilitated
an Interactive Video Network Classroom that connects to the
Mississippi ETV Interactive Video Network
-
Conducted
educational workshops for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw
Indians Tribal Offices and educators from the Choctaw Tribal
School System
-
Worked
to achieve the signing of two Space Act Agreements between
the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and NASA's John C.
Stennis Space Center.
-
Provided
educational technology assistance through NASA's Computer
to Schools Program
-
Established
a NASA Educator Resource Center regional site on the Choctaw
Central High School campus in Philadelphia, Miss.
-
Contributed
to the Choctaw Tribal School System's participation in the
GLOBE program
- Assisted
with the mapping of the Trail of Tears under the NASA Summer
Faculty Program
NASA Educator Resource Center Regional Site
The Mississippi
Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) is reaping a wealth of benefits
from the only NASA Educator Resource Center (ERC) located on a
Native American reservation. NASA's Stennis Space Center Educator
Resource Center supports a regional ERC located on the campus
of Choctaw Central High School.
This regional
ERC provides NASA-related videos, computer software for teachers
and students to use in the classroom, teachers resource materials
and lesson plans, and assistance from staff who stress the importance
of technology to both teachers and students.
A Space Act
Agreement, signed in May of 1995 between NASA Stennis Space Center
and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, paved the way for
establishing the ERC at Choctaw Central High School.
The success
of this Space Act Agreement led to the recognition of Stennis
Space Center and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians by former
Vice President Al Gore's National Performance Review Office. This
partnership was honored with a Hammer Award given to those who
have made a notable contribution in support of National Review
ideas.
In January
2001, the Choctaw Central High School ERC held a ribbon cutting
ceremony celebrating the establishment of an Interactive Video
Network Classroom, making distance education possible.
The presence
of a NASA ERC coordinator at Choctaw Central High School has afforded
its students not only access to NASA materials and NASA -contributed
computers, but also the assistance in using these materials and
technology in participating in NASA education projects.
Examples
of these projects include basic rocketry, working with the Global
Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program,
and participation in the FIRST Robotics competition. In 2001,
students from the Choctaw Central High School team won the prestigious
Judge's Award at a regional FIRST Robotics competition in Houston,
Texas.