Published: September 22, 2016
Mr. Black writes:
I am now at a new charter school called American Academy of Innovation in South Jordan, Utah.
I am teaching a 7-8 grade astronomy class, and we will be using WISE data as part of our activities. I have 19 students, and they are all very sharp. It will be a fun class.
Recent student activities: My students at Walden School participated in the MESSENGER Student PI program during the spring of 2015 and worked with data on Mercury from the MESSENGER space probe. I took 17 students on a Deep Space Expedition to southern California in March 2016. We visited the Goldstone Deep Space Network, participated in the Goldstone-Apple Valley Radio Telescope project (GAVRT), toured the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (with Shannon McConnell as our guide), toured the SOFIA aircraft at Armstrong Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, and visited the California Science Center.
My recent activities: I spent a week at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD as a MAVEN Educator Ambassador, and have presented several astronomy/planetary science related activities at several state and national educator conferences, including our experiences with NITARP and at AAS. I recently presented three sessions at the NSTA STEM Forum and Expo in Denver.
I was chosen for a Robert E. Yager Excellence in Teaching regional award in 2015 and as first runner-up for the National Air Force Association Aerospace Teacher of the Year in 2015. This year I have been chosen as the Utah Geological Association Teacher of the Year and will participate in the Teachers for Global Classrooms program by the U.S. Department of State next spring.
I'm now on the Utah Science Teachers Association board representing charter and private schools in Utah and pass on any opportunities you send me.