Mrs. Deidre Wright

Something special about me:

I have been teaching for more than two decades, and I still LOVE it! I would not trade this career for anything else in the world, except for NASA's astronaut program. However, I only became interested in that after teaching. One of my professional goals is to inspire more students to consider careers in science. In 2002, I applied and received a scholarship to attend NASA's Educational Workshop (NEW) for outstanding educators of math and science at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The experience remains the highest point of my educational journey and definitely ranks as one of my proudest moments. I was so enthralled with all that I was learning that I seriously considered getting a second master's degree; this time in biology or physiology so I could apply to the astronaut academy. However, teaching children was still my ultimate goal, so I pondered doing 10 years with NASA with the goal of returning to the classroom afterwards. I figured, Who wouldn't want to learn science from an astronaut? Seriously, how cool is that?! In the end, I decided to just use my wonderful experiences at NEW to encourage children (and colleagues) to let go of their fear of science and truly allow themselves to learn it.

PS. I still imagine getting off of this planet, though. For now, however, I guess I'll have to settle for parachuting, hand-gliding or maybe bungee-jumping - you know, something more than just sitting in a seat on an airplane.

Peace,

Mrs. Wright

Degrees and Certifications:

• Master's degree in education (Ed. M)
• Bachelor's in psychology (BA)