DECATUR COUNTY, GA (WTXL) — Students at Hutto Elementary are solving real challenges NASA engineers and scientists face right now through the newly launched NASA HUNCH Academy.
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Nearly 150 third, fourth, and fifth graders at the Bainbridge school are getting a hands-on introduction to space science — and real-world problem-solving — through the first launch of the NASA HUNCH Academy.
The program brings NASA-inspired science lessons into the classroom as part of the earth science curriculum, giving students the tools to think critically and creatively about challenges NASA is actively facing.
Third grade teacher Melissa Benton, who has 20 years of experience teaching science and math, says the program addresses something she has observed throughout her career.
"Every day in a regular classroom, anywhere you go, you see students that think that there's one right answer to a question, to a math problem, to a way to solve something that they face. And they need to understand that adversity is a friend instead of a foe," Benton said.
Benton says the program includes a technology component that puts space-focused tools directly in students' hands.
"There is a computer component with a space computer where they can actually do 3D modeling. If we're working with foods in space, or working with insects in space, or even how to build a greenhouse in space," Benton said.
Decatur County Schools Superintendent Dr. Boyd English says the program is designed to build the kind of thinking students will need well beyond the classroom.
"When you look in that classroom, you're going to see a lot of small group activities, a lot of project-based learning activities for our students. And when you think of STEM, STEM is the place or the method that we can really create that critical thinking skills that are going to be necessary for those jobs of not only today, but the jobs of tomorrow," English said.
Benton says preparing students for the future means starting that work now.
"We have jobs right now that we don't even know we're going to need in five years, ten years, twenty years. So hopefully this program is getting ready to build a whole new set of workforce students that we don't even know that we need yet, and by the time they graduate and they get into the workforce, they're going to say, 'Oh, wait, I was prepared for this,'" Benton said.
This is the first year of the NASA HUNCH Academy at Hutto Elementary. School leaders say they are excited to see students develop new skills while making a difference for the next generation.
Decatur County Schools was inducted as a Woz ED STEM Pathway District in 2024.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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