Colorado Space Education Initiative

The Colorado Space Education Initiative

The Space Science Institute collaborates with the Colorado Space Education Initiative (CSEI) нн a grassroots aerospace education outreach program based on "teachers training teachers." SSI staff serve on the CSEI advisory board and present workshops to teachers on Earth and space science. The CSEI program is chaired by Lieutenant Governor Gail Schoettler (Colorado) and the Aerospace States Association. The CSEI model has been exported to twenty-three additional states through the Aerospace States Association. The CSEI model was chosen in recognition of its low-cost, high-value approach to making the assets of the American space program available in the classroom.

The main goals of the program are to:

Leverage state-based resources to extend existing NASA aerospace education programs and to identify new education and curriculum programs for our nation's teachers and students
Conduct aerospace education conferences and hands-on workshops for teachers
Provide outreach to the classroom for distribution of NASA and other innovative educational resources
Demonstrate the relevance of aerospace and space education as a means of meeting individual state education standards

CSEI collaborates with the Colorado Department of Education to provide training opportunities for the Space Education Teacher Leader Program. This program trains a cadre of teachers who, in turn, train teachers at their districts throughout Colorado. This year's training opportunity for Teacher Leaders is an SSI workshop on Cassini and Saturn using the the field test version of the Cassini Teacher Guide.

CSEI also supports Colorado schools in Space Day celebrations by scheduling NASA education specialists for school assemblies. CSEI has reached thousands of K-12 teachers since its inception in 1994.