Tri-State Education Initiative (TSEI)

A student from the TSEI-area peers out the window of a "Hurricane Hunter" airplane during a flight from Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi.

Under NASA's leadership a national demonstration program - the Tri-State Education Initiative (TSEI) - was implemented in 1991.

TSEI was a cooperative effort between NASA and state, local and other Federal agencies to work toward accomplishment of the National Education Goals. The process of Total Quality Management (TQM) was used for the basis of cultural change, customer identification and planning/participation, needs identification, program implementation, and evaluation. TSEI represents NASA's model for national education reform.

TSEI encompassed an area within a 50-mile (80-kilometer) radius of Iuka, Mississippi, including parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. The initiative advocated total community involvement in the education system and programs appropriate for people of all age groups.

The Tri-State Education Initiative Consortium was an association of 30 school districts, kindergarten through grade 12, in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, organized to work cooperatively to enhance and broaden the capabilities of their respective education systems within the tri-state area. Representation on the consortium and its nine-member executive board was provided by each of the 30 superintendents. The TSEI currently served 232 schools, 5,600 teachers, 102,000 students and a population of 550,000 local residents.

Over 4,000 teachers received approximately 300,000 educational materials through the NASA Teacher Resource Center and over 5,000 educators participated in training activities at the Tri-State Learning Center in Iuka. The implementation of the Stevenson Wydler Act yielded 2000+ pieces of equipment for the 30 school districts.

The following designations were made for the TSEI:

1. Only GOALS 2000 region in nation (3 states).
2. One of 27 sites in nation to use "real time" weather receiving systems for curriculum/instruction.
3. One of seven sites in nation selected by the U.S. Department of Education for Staff Development In Science.
4. Selected by the SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) as "One-of-a-Kind" Program in nation for education excellence in education reform.
5. A national site for satellite imagery curriculum development for K-12.
6. Designated 1994 Honorable Mention in Community Solutions for Education (national competition conducted by USA Today {one of 50}.)
7. Designated as the only site to establish an Endangered Species Tracking Program nationwide.
8. Designated as the only site to use Loran-C, global positioning systems in schools by teachers and students to study interrelated disciplinary earth science systems.

One of TSEI's priorities was to facilitate technology for training and economic development. TSEI provided Geographic Information System (GIS) seminars in the TSEI region for over 1,500 participants. Additional training was conducted for economic developers, community leaders, governmental officials, and community colleges this year.

Another priority was to provide information and training on technology utilization/transfer and federal procurement procedures. Stennis Space Center and Marshall Space Flight Center coordinated these activities in the TSEI region.

Additional training opportunities were provided through the use of interactive video. Examples include conferences on Total Quality Learning for educators, Tele-Medicine for health care providers, classroom instruction for students as taught by instructors in Japan, and legal instruction through a dialogue between barristers of London, England and the Bar Association of the TSEI region.

The following areas have actively worked to replicate all or parts of the NASA TSEI Cooperative Model, or are considering the possibilities for incorporation.

1. Edmonds, Washington
2. Stockston, California
3. State of West Virginia
4. Dade County (Miami, Florida)
5. Kansas City, Kansas/Missouri
6. University of Kansas
7. Mississippi State University
8. Baylor University
9. Texas A & M
10. Waco, Texas
11. Mississippi/Louisiana Education Initiative
12. South Carolina
13. Holmes Group (Nationwide association of education research universities)
14. Choctaw Indian Nation
15. University of Mississippi Medical Center

The following entities have been partners with NASA in replicating the NASA TSEI Cooperative Model:

1. White House
2. Congressional Offices from the three states
3. Pentagon
4. U.S. Department of Education
5. U.S. Department of Agriculture
6. U.S. Department of Commerce
7. The Smithsonian
8. National Science Foundation (NSF)
9. Naval Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
10. Governors' office, Department of Education, and Department of Economic Development in the three states.

An evaluation report on the Tri-State Education Initiative from the Mississippi State University Social Science Research Center is available below:

• Evaluation Report: NASA Tri-State Education Initiative

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