Mesquite Teacher Chosen As NASA "Space Educator"
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MESQUITE (CBSDFW.COM) - A Mesquite engineering teacher has received a very special honor. Adlena Jacobs has been named as a member of the Space Educator Expedition Crew Program.
The program, called a "Year in Space Education", and Jacobs recently returned from a kick-off conference with other educators in Houston.
On the agenda of the conference was educating students about a giant telescope NASA's launching in October 2018, which hopes to expand knowledge of the universe.
"Obviously, it's already developed, and they're doing a lot of testing with it," said Jacobs. "We want everyone to get excited about it. The teachers are there to educate."
Jacobs, who majored in Physics and minored in Math, has a passion for education. After working nine years in the Mesquite Independent School District she applied online to be a part of the space education crew and was selected after a recommendation from her principal.
The Technology Excellence Center instructor is one of 31 educators from across the country and just one of two in Texas, who were accepted into the program. Their goal is to learn from expedition crews and then show how STEM-based knowledge an educate communities and lead students to careers in aeronautics, science and technology.
Jacobs says she wants to and encourages others to be that special representative. "We need to be those people in the community to go out and say, 'You can go out there and do this.' NASA/space is just not going to the moon -- it's more than that," she said.
Jacobs says her father, who is an aerospace engineer, inspired her. Now she, and the team of other K-12 teachers, is working on their action plan.
NASA, the Smithsonian and Boeing sponsor the Space Educator program.
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