Middle school teacher awarded McAuliffe sabbatical

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A social studies teacher from West Running Brook Middle School in Derry has been awarded the 2020 Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

The sabbatical, created in 1986 in honor of the Concord High School teacher and astronaut, gives a New Hampshire teacher a year off with pay and a materials budget to bring an educational idea to fruition.

Misty Crompton will work on a project called “Promoting Just Schools.” The goal: to help New Hampshire students succeed by helping make sure all students have the same opportunities to achieve their academic potential, regardless of their personal or social circumstances.

Crompton’s project focuses on educational equity — leveling the playing field for students by recognizing how identity, race and culture of students and teachers play out in the classroom.

“What I dream of for particular students is that they feel their teachers actually embrace diversity, recognize the culture of students they work with and are willing to advocate for them,” she said. “It starts with educators being mindful about their own experience and their own dispositions and how that affects what we do in the classroom.”

The program honors McAuliffe, who perished during the launch of shuttle Challenger in 1986, along with her six crewmates.