Cherri Brinley Outstanding Educator Award
Every year Space Center Houston honors an exceptional teacher with the prestigious Cherri Brinley Outstanding Educator Award for their significant achievements in space science education.
The award is named after Cherri Brinley, a fourteen year SEEC veteran, who shared her passion for space science and inspired a multitude of educators and students around the nation. She was an outstanding educator who touched the lives of everyone that knew her. She had an infectious spirit that drove everyone around her to do their personal best and to strive for greatness.
Always looking for ways to inspire her students and fellow teachers, she led many groups of her students affectionately known as the “nerd herd” allowing them to become the teachers and lead others during sessions. Ms. Brinley attended SEEC and many other Space Center Houston Educational events for many years. During her illness she always maintained the same positive outlook and spirit that made her such an inspiration to us all.
The Cherri Brinley Outstanding Educator Award was created to honor her and allow other teachers who have the same drive and inherent spirit which always kept Brinley reaching for the Moon and beyond.
If you know an outstanding educator that will be in attendance at SEEC, nominate them for the Cherri Brinely Outstanding Educator Award. This award is open to all teachers, administrators, school board members, and informal educators. Nominations must be received by Jan. 17, 2021. Late nominations will not be considered. The award recipient will be announced at the conference virtual banquet on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. Recipient must be present at the event.
2021 Cherri Brinley Outstanding Educator Award
James Falletti, a fifth and sixth grade science teacher at Corpus Christi School in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey was honored with the distinguished Cherri Brinley Outstanding Educator Award at our 27th annual Space Exploration Educators Conference.
A global educator, Falletti leads a virtual classroom in Brazil and school programs educating youth on sustainability with Eco-Schools USA, a National Wildlife Federation program. He is a Google Certified Educator and a Space Foundation’s Dr. Rochelle Abrams Space Across the Curriculum Teacher. He is also a member of our Space Exploration Educator Crew.
Space Exploration Educator Crew
Space Center Houston is excited to extend the outreach of the Space Exploration Educator Conference by adding a teacher leadership component called the Space Exploration Educator Crew program. Thirty‐six K‐12 teachers from across the country were accepted into this exceptional program and will collaborate in six regional crews to develop teacher leadership skills and STEM based learning experiences.
It is our goal to empower teachers to build leadership competencies by creating innovative STEM programs for their students, schools and communities. Click here to learn more about the Space Exploration Educator Crew.
To apply to be a member of the Space Exploration Educator Crew, fill out the Space Educator Expedition Crew Program form and submit no later than Dec. 11.
SEEC 2020 highlights
Sessions, tours, and presentations
Educators from across the world joined us for inspiring keynote presentations, interactive sessions and engaging tours at the 26th annual Space Exploration Educators Conference in February.
The Cherri Brinley Outstanding Educator Award
Space Center Houston honored Sharon Eggleston with the prestigious Cherri Brinley Outstanding Educator Award for her significant achievements in space science education. Eggleston, a former project manager at Lockheed Martin from Brunswick, Maine, received the award during the 26th Space Exploration Educators Conference.
Eggleson first introduced space exploration programs in her local community in the late 1990s, including Space Day Maine, an education initiative dedicated to increasing students’ awareness of careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by providing an opportunity to learn from science and space experts. The program brings together more than 40 presenters to teach more than five thousand students around the United States and Canada. Her career also includes serving as a professor at Southern New Hampshire University and as chairperson of the Maine STEM Council, leading a pilot program for middle and high school students that borrows curriculum from NASA’s Astrobiology Program.
