Sink, a 23-year veteran of the classroom, recently completed a 10-month stint at NASA headquarters, helping develop space-related educational tools for schools nationwide. This fall, she will return to teaching in the Watauga County school system of Boone, North Carolina.

At NASA, Sink worked on the Mars Millennium Project, an educational curriculum that will be used by K-12 classrooms around the country beginning in the fall. The project, which is led by the White House and includes several federal agencies, integrates science, technology and art that are relevant to the red planet.

Sink went to NASA under the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator program, a fellowship that enables teachers to work in various areas of federal policy-making. "She's an outstanding educator to work with, and truly enhanced our educational efforts at NASA headquarters," says Deborah Gallaway, an education official at the space agency.

According to Sink, teaching about space is an excellent way to motivate children to develop a broad range of skills, including reading, writing and mathematics. Even prior to going to NASA, she led her North Carolina students in space-related projects. Building a model of the space shuttle, she recalls, helped one student overcome significant problems in forming intellectual and social skills.

Sink believes that space can also help keep teachers interested in their jobs. Teaching is a "high burnout profession," she notes. "It's important that teachers continue to grow and develop."

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