The federalDepartment of Education is ending a teacher's fellowship program named for NewHampshire astronaut and teacher Christa McAuliffe, according to an AssociatedPress report.

The program wascreated in 1996, 10 years after McAuliffe died in the space shuttle Challengerexplosion. She was a teacher in Concord, New Hampshire.

The program awardedteachers grants of more than $30,000 each to improve their skills and theirschools. Last year the program awarded $1.8 million in grants to teachers in 57states or territories.

''The Department ofEducation has done a refocusing of priorities, and this unfortunately was notone of them,'' Jon Quam, director of the Council of Chief State School Officersin Washington, was quoted as saying. The council has administered thefellowship for the past six years.

The program hasallowed teachers to take sabbaticals, conduct research and undertake projectsrelated to educational reform in their schools. Some of the teachers awardedgrants continued to work full-time while completing their projects, others cutback to part-time or took sabbaticals.