CHALLENGER CENTER AND AIAA ANNOUNCE 2024 TRAILBLAZING STEM EDUCATOR AWARDEES

Three STEM Educators and Schools Receive Cash Awards and Free STEM Programming

WASHINGTON and RESTON, Va., March 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Challenger Center and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announce Jenn Donais, Sarah Leonard, and Darryl Newhouse as the winners of the 2024 Trailblazing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Educator Award. Each teacher and their respective schools will be awarded $5,000. Additionally, each teacher will receive free access to Challenger Center STEM programming, a trip to Washington, D.C., to be honored at the 2024 AIAA Awards Gala, and an invitation to attend a future space launch experience.

In its third year, the award celebrates K-12 teachers who go above and beyond to inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators. The winners were selected from nearly 50 nominations. The nominations demonstrate the remarkable efforts teachers make every day to empower underserved and underrepresented students in STEM while using unique strategies, tools, and lessons in and out of the classroom to further energize students.

The 2024 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award recipients are:

Jenn Donais, STEM Coach at Amesbury Middle School, Amesbury, Mass.

Sarah Leonard, Career and Technical Education Department Lead at Redding Middle School, Middletown, Del.

Darryl Newhouse, Engineering, Design, Mathematics, and Robotics Teacher at Foshay Learning Center, Los Angeles, Calif.

“We are thrilled to award Jenn, Sarah, and Darryl with the 2024 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award. Not only do these educators create equitable STEM learning environments for students of all backgrounds, but they provide opportunities for their students to experience real-life STEM careers, opening the possibilities for their futures,” said Lance Bush, President and CEO, Challenger Center. “With educators like them, we are preparing an inspired and capable STEM workforce of tomorrow.”

The U.S. aerospace and defense industry leads the world in innovation, while still facing challenges of staffing a properly skilled and qualified workforce. Crucial gaps in diversity, equity, and inclusion must be addressed – more STEM-literate graduates are needed, greater participation is needed by women and ethnic minorities, and early retirements are creating a growing knowledge gap.

“These three Trailblazing STEM Educator Award winners are remarkable educators! We believe teachers are invaluable to their communities. We are pleased to fuel the work of these great educators with extra resources to help them continue going above and beyond. They are enabling a diverse and robust STEM-literate next generation. Together, they are shaping the future of aerospace,” said Dan Dumbacher, CEO, AIAA.

About Challenger Center
As a leader in STEM education, Challenger Center provides hundreds of thousands of students annually with experiential education programs that engage students in hands-on learning opportunities. These programs, delivered in Challenger Learning Centers and classrooms, strengthen knowledge in STEM subjects and inspire students to pursue careers in these important fields. Challenger Center was created by the Challenger families to honor the crew of shuttle flight STS-51L. For more information, visit www.challenger.org or connect on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

About AIAA 
AIAA is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org or follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

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SOURCE AIAA American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics