Lincolnwood School District 74 is participating in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP; full details at http://ssep.ncesse.org) overseen by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE). The program is allowing us to conduct an experiment design competition for our grades 5 through 8 students. Our student teams will be vying for use of an experiment slot reserved specifically for Lincolnwood School District 74 in a mini-laboratory to fly aboard STS-124, the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour, currently scheduled for April 29, 2011. This website is our SSEP Community Blog, detailing our participation in SSEP.
Lincolnwood School District 74 is a K-8 district that is home to a diverse population of students speaking 43 languages. The district’s vision is a community of learners actively engaging students in the pursuit of learning and empowering them to be productive contributors to society and the world. We work as students, families, educators, and community to promote the highest standard of quality education, and produce confident, self-reliant, and determined learners.
In terms of strategic direction in STEM, Lincolnwood School District 74 is working to strengthen STEM education for both students and faculty. This is especially important because our Niles Township High Schools have new STEM labs and STEM Inquiry and Research (SIRS) classes, allowing students to collaborate with each other, carry out sophisticated research, and communicate with professionals who act as mentors. These STEM facilities feature state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and are laid out to promote collaboration and drive student exploration. We are participating in SSEP given how well it is tailored to the vision and capabilities of our STEM program. It is an inspirational project providing an opportunity for our students to design real experiments for space, and is pushing both our students and teachers in new directions in STEM education that will improve our methods of learning and education far into the future.
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) will provide our students with an unprecedented, authentic challenge to design a real experiment to fly in space.
You’re invited to visit the following sub-pages of this About page:
About SSEP
Community Demographics
Our Commitment to STEM Education
SSEP Strategic Relevance to Our STEM Ed Program
National Center for Earth and Space Science Education
