[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 123 (Thursday, July 27, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1524]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               THE CHRISTA McCAULIFFE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

                                 ______


                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 26, 1995
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Christa 
McAuliffe Fellowship Program.
  We must find a way to fund such a valuable program that has affected 
teachers and students in every State and territory. While I understand 
these are tight budgetary times, I think we owe it to the seven 
astronauts who gave their lives for our country to maintain this 
tribute. The astronauts of the Challenger mission gave their lives to 
our country; our memory, and ability to pay tribute, must not be so 
short-lived.
  We are approaching the tenth anniversary of the Challenger shuttle 
explosion which struck the hearts of children and adults throughout the 
world. Seven astronauts, including Christa McAuliffe, the first 
teacher-astronaut, gave their lives in this devastating tragedy. In 
honor of those who gave their lives on this mission, the Christa 
McAuliffe Fellowship Program was established. This program serves not 
only as a living tribute to these brave astronauts, but also supports a 
unique and valuable program for teachers that recognize and develop 
excellence in teaching. It personifies the hope evident in Christa 
McAuliffe's statement about her teaching in Concord, NH, ``I touch the 
future, I teach.'' It would be a tremendous dishonor to their lives and 
memory to eliminate funding for this fellowship. However, it is now 
being criticized as ``too small to be effective on a national level.''
  The Christa McAuliffe Fellowship Program has received approximately 
$2 million per year in Federal funding since 1987. Approximately 60-75 
fellowships are awarded each year to outstanding teachers throughout 
the country. There have been over 600 participants in this program 
since its inception in 1987; 38 of these past fellows have gone on to 
receive Presidential awards. These fellows complete semester or year-
long projects to enhance their own teaching skills and broaden the 
horizons of education. Their activities help students to experience 
subjects such as math and science in a fun way. These math and science 
skills are extremely important in our increasingly high-tech world. 
This high-tech world will result in a society of technological haves 
and have-nots unless our schools are able to teach our children 
effectively in these most important subjects. These teachers have 
developed many exemplary projects that provide for more benefit than 
their costs.
  This fellowship, and other small, directed programs such as this, 
have a huge ripple effect; awardees of these programs donate much of 
their own time, energy and resources towards the development of their 
projects and they also share information between teachers, students, 
and Challenger Centers located throughout the Nation. This fellowship 
program inspires not only those familiar with the outstanding local 
achievements of past fellows, but also those who visit the network of 
Challenger Centers located throughout the U.S. and Canada. These 
Centers provide hundreds of thousands of children and teachers with 
unique educational experiences such as high-tech spaceflight 
simulators, satellite teleconferences for schools, and hands-on 
teachers' workshops.
  Framingham State College, Christa McAuliffe's alma mater, has 
established a McAuliffe Center to honor Christa's life and her 
commitment to teaching. The mission of the Center is to carry out 
educational activities and research that will support teachers in their 
work, improve educational practice, offer students goals and incentives 
to enhance their development, and strengthen community support for 
public education. The Center also serves as the archive and 
distribution center for the teachers' award winning projects. In 
addition, Framingham State College is the site of one of the Challenger 
Learning Centers.
  The Christa McAuliffe Center and all its activities are a fitting 
tribute to our Nation's first teacher-astronaut. Christa hoped her 
participation in the Challenger mission would encourage students and 
teachers to pursue their own dreams, explore exciting educational 
opportunities, and unleash their own imagination and creativity. As the 
network of the Challenger Centers expands and links teachers and 
students across the country, the legacy of Christa and the other 
Challenger astronauts continues to endure.
  We must now restore our bipartisan commitment to education, a 
fundamental building block of a competitive economy. Now, even more 
than ever, opportunity in the global economy depends on skills and 
education. Education and advanced training are the key to economic 
growth. It is programs such as the McAuliffe Fellowship that help our 
Nation provide the education we need to continue to compete in the 
world economy and to provide our children with the knowledge and skills 
they will need to be productive and successful adults.


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