Polk County Public Schools
Two teachers at Kathleen High’s Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA) are headed to the U.S. Space And Rocket Center’s space camp next month for a professional development opportunity.
Teachers George Bartuska and Lori Bradner will participate in the Center’s “Space Academy For Educators” held in Huntsville, Alabama from July 6 to 10. Click here for more information on the camp.
The five-day camp attended by Bartuska and Bradner includes 45 hours of intensive classroom, laboratory and training. The camp focuses on space science and space exploration. Teachers take part in astronaut-style training and simulations. All lessons and activities are linked to national science, math and technology standards and can be applied in the classroom. They will be joined by approximately 50 other educators from across the country.
In two simulated Space Shuttle Missions, teachers will be assigned as pilots, commanders, flight directors, mission specialists or other positions. Teams of teachers will work together to achieve mission objectives and solve problems through experimentation. As part of the program, teachers will simulate walking on the moon and work in the frictionless space environment of an astronaut simulator. Teachers will also participate in an Aviation Challenge simulating what it would be like to land in water with a parachute or be rescued from water by helicopter.
Bartuska and Bradner will learn workshops to be implemented in the classroom that are cost effective, fun, engaging and meet national standards. Some activities also meet social science, language arts and reading objectives in addition to math, science and technology. Workshop topics and titles include “Engineering Design Challenges,” “Rocket Construction,” “Space History” and “Living And Working In Space.” Following camp participation, Bartuska and Bradner will receive access to an educator resource Web site to implement activities in their classrooms. Click here for workshop descriptions.
Bartuska’s and Bradner’s professional development is being funded through a NASA grant awarded to CFAA in 2009. The total amount of the grant was $1.4 million and the grant is used to enhance curriculum and instruction at the aviation-oriented high school/career academy located at the Sun N’ Fun campus of Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. CFAA, a career academy of Kathleen High, provides training, instruction and programs to prepare students in avionics and aerospace technology, engineering, piloting, computer-assisted design, avionics electronics and other avionics disciplines.
The CFAA was created by the school district’s Workforce Education department as part of Florida’s A++ legislation requiring high schools to launch career and professional academies to expose students to careers in high wage, high skill and high demand fields. Polk’s career academies, depending on field of study, include workforce and skills training, job placement, college credit and industry certification. The school district won a 2010 Magna Award from American School Board Journal Magazine for its implementation of career academies, Click here for more information.
