PENSACOLA, Fla. - Fifth-graders from Brentwood Elementary School are in the inaugural class of the National Flight Academy's newest Department of Defense educational program, STARBASE Pensacola. STARBASE stands for Science Technology Academies Reinforcing Basic Aviation Space Exploration, and its purpose is to provide 25 hours of STEM education to fifth-grade students. Every fifth grader enrolled in the Escambia County School District will now participate in STARBASE, giving every fifth grader the chance to travel to the Navy base, meet base commanders and flight cadets and participate in hands-on activities meant to teach science, technology, engineering, and math. Students who attend the program will travel to NAS Pensacola for five, five-hour classes held once a week for five weeks out of the school year, said Rita Miller, director of STARBASE Pensacola. NAS Pensacola previously housed a similar program, called STARBASE Atlantis, that was shuttered in 2013 after the Navy withdrew funding. The new Pensacola STARBASE is one of about 80 DOD-sponsored STARBASE programs around the country. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 03/02/22)
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