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“I TOUCH THE FUTURE. I TEACH.”
Turner N. Whiley Teacher of the Year Award
The mission of Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space and the 51-L Challenger crew continues as Challenger Center for Space Science Education each year awards selected teachers across the country with the Turner N. Wiley Teacher of the Year Award. This honor, named after the late NASA Chief of the Communication Engineering Branch Turner N. Wiley allows Challenger Center’s international network of Challenger Learning Centers to recognize teachers from their communities who exemplify the spirit of the Challenger crew’s education mission, and who share a commitment to learning about science, mathematics, and technology.
Staff members from each of the Challenger Learning Centers were invited to nominate one instructor who had cultivated a strong relationship with their local Challenger Learning Center; and whose commitment to education had made a noticeable impact on students and the community at large. Dr. June Scobee Rodgers, widow of Challenger commander Dick Scobee, and Founding Chairman of Challenger Center, said, “The gifted teachers who receive this award may come from different places or teach different grades, but they are linked together by a genuine desire to ignite their students’ curiosities about our universe, to engage them in learning and discovery, and to teach them that their futures have no boundaries. All of us at Challenger Center are grateful that these teachers have found our Challenger Learning Center programs to be a fundamental component of their curriculum.”
2009 Awardees
Challenger Center congratulates its 2009 Teacher of the Year recipients: (link each name to each individual PR attached)
- Ana Sandoval, Special Education Teacher, Stevenson Middle School, San Antonio, Texas
- Carol Gable, Fifth Grade Teacher, Rose Hamilton Elementary, Centerville, Indiana
- Kathy Spykstra, Fifth Grade Teacher, Denver Christian School - Highlands Ranch K-8, Colorado
- Kim Klein, Math and Science Teacher, Dwight Englewood School, Englewood, New Jersey
- Melanie Brink, Gifted Education Teacher, William Pontiac Holliday Elementary, Fairview Heights, Illinois
- Pam Helfers Riss – Math and Science Teacher, Northlawn School, Streator, Illinois
2008 Awardees
Challenger Center congratulates its 2008 Teacher of the Year recipients:
- Vicky Driver, 6th grade science teacher at Connell Middle, San Antonio, TX
- Amanda Lane-Cline, Director of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) at American Academy Charter School, Lone Tree, CO
- Pamela A. Rentner, 5th grade teacher at Sylvania Schools, Toledo, OH
- Thelma Ritchie, 5th grade teacher at Island Park Elementary School, Mercer Island, WA
- Samantha Doctor, 3-5 grade science teacher at Florence Nightingale School, New York, NY
2007 Awardees
Challenger Center congratulates its 2007 Teacher of the Year recipients:
- CDR Randy Brasfield, USN (retired) Senior Naval Science Instructor at Marysville-Pilchuck High School Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (NJROTC) Unit, Marysville, WA
- Donna d’Angelo, Elementary teacher at F. R. Scobee Elementary, San Antonio, TX
- Leann Fujimoto, 8th grade teacher at Chiddix Junior High School, Normal, IL
- Lura Moore, middle school teacher and lead mentor at Skyview Middle School, Colorado Springs, CO
- Sister Natanya Mourisse, 4th – 8th grade teacher at Saint Alban Roe Catholic School, Wildwood, MO
- Kristine Reid, middle school teacher and educator at William S. Cohen Middle School, Bangor, ME
- Elaine Spector, 4th grade teacher at Eagle Elementary School, Brownsburg, IN
Information about the Award
broadcast to date, the crew of Apollo 8 read from the Book of Genesis as they orbited the moon. Resting beside astronauts William Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman as they spoke to the citizens of Earth was a small ball of pure aluminum to be used as a “thank you” to the ground support teams. Upon return to Earth, this memento was melted with a larger amount of pure aluminum from which this medallion was struck. A small number of the medallions remained entrusted to Mr. Wiley’s care, who at the time was Chief of the NASA Communication Engineering Branch at the Goddard Space Flight Center. At his request, his gift is used to honor students and teachers who perform exemplary work in education. Mr. Wiley told Challenger Center before his death last year, "What better way to continue the tradition of these medallions than to reward educators who are working in both classrooms and Challenger Learning Centers to cultivate the next generation of space explorers.”
