The National Aviation Hall of Fame is seeking entries for the 27th annual A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Education Teacher of the Year Award, which includes a $5,000 cash stipend.
Founded by famed research test pilot Scott Crossfield in 1986, the award is a juried competition open to current classroom teachers in grades K through 12. Nominations will be examined by a review committee of aerospace industry and education professionals for documentation of a teacher’s effectiveness, creativity and ability to maintain high standards for their students and themselves with aerospace being part of the core subject matter.
The Crossfield Award winner will be honored during the NAHF Enshrinement events held during the first weekend in October in Dayton. The winning teacher and a guest will also receive an all-expense paid trip to Dayton and be a guest at the Hall of Fame’s 51th Annual Enshrinement Ceremony on Oct. 4.
Jim McCarter, a Sycamore Elementary School teacher from Kokomo, Indiana, was unanimously chosen by the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s selection committee to receive the 2012 A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Education Teacher of the Year Award. His classroom is a mock space shuttle. During his acceptance speech McCarter explained to the aviation community that kids who want to be in your classroom are going to show up, have good behavior, and are going to learn something.
What made this award even more special for McCarter, a self-proclaimed astronaut/science nerd, was the fact that the 5th-grade teacher met Scott Crossfield in 1993 at a Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala.
The award is named in honor of Scott Crossfield (1921-2006) who was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1983 in recognition of his contributions as a Naval aviator, aerospace engineer and test pilot. He was the first man to successfully fly at speeds above Mach 2 and Mach 3; the first man to fly the X-15; and contributed to the safety of manned spaceflight, among many other achievements. Crossfield believed that teachers make the difference.
The deadline for nominations is June 1. The winner must be able to attend the Enshrinement weekend.
For more information: NationalAviation.org or call 888-383-1903, ext. 11.