Challenger Center for Space Science Education

“Challenger Center for Space Science Education has a professional employer organization (PEO) arrangement with Insperity.”

“The by-laws were updated to restructure the Development and Governance Committee and to alter the terms of certain officer positions.”

“The draft 990 is provided to all board members prior to filing the return.”

“Each director signs a Conflict of Interest form annually. The Conflict of Interest forms are reviewed by the Board Chair and President. Any disclosed or discovered conflict is discussed among Board members while the interested person is absent. If necessary, the interested person may be asked to resign from board service.”

“Compensation of the President and other key employees is set by the Board of Directors, who use comparability data from similar organizations.”

“The governing documents are available upon request, policies, and financial statements are available upon request.”

“Investing in Innovation (i3)- See details under Educational Programming”

“Our unique and proven-teaching model gives our students the chance to become astronauts, engineers, and other STEM professionals for the day as they solve real-world problems and share in the thrill of discovery through role-playing and simulation. Programs are designed for all ages but focus on middle-school aged students, and include missions to the Moon and Mars, the opportunity to rendezvous with a comet, and the chance to visit the International Space Station and study the spheres of the Earth, themes as Earth Odyssey, Voyage to Mars, Rendezvous with a Comet, and Return to the Moon. Every summer an Annual Conference of Challenger Learning Centers brings together subject-matter experts and our Challenger Learning Center educators and staff. This Conference gives our Center educators access to industry-leaders and STEM experts to further their professional development and inspire them with curriculum-enhancing ideas to take back to their communities. Any revenue generated by this conference is split with the local Center who hosted the Conference and the Challenger Center headquarters to be reinvested in educational program development. New Educational Programming Projects in 2014: Investing in Innovation (i3)- The Investing in Innovation (i3) project is a $3 million, four-year research and development grant provided by the U.S. Department of Education to support local educational agencies (LEAs) and nonprofit organizations in providing innovative solutions to common education challenges that can serve as models of best practices. Partnering with local school districts, Challenger Center will create a simulated experience for 5th grade students delivered directly into the classroom through a custom software platform. The simulation will provide a completely embedded, hands-on, interdisciplinary and standards-aligned experience that is not typically part of a student's day. To ensure optimal delivery of the simulation Challenger Center will also develop a framework for teacher professional development; this will increase educators' knowledge of and confidence in teaching STEM subjects and advance the effective use of technology in the classroom. A total of 3,000 students and 60 teachers will be a part of this program. Teachers and students will be randomly selected and divided into test and control groups. An external evaluator will be assessing student achievement in math and science as well as 21st century skills. The evaluator will utilize a matched comparison between students who participate in the simulation experience and control students who do not participate. This project will provide the base development for a program that could grow into a nationwide initiative with potential additional grant funding after the initial four years. Work on this four-year grant started January 1, 2014 and will conclude at the end of 2017. The first two years of the grant will be spent on program design and development, the second two years will focus on implementation and evaluation in the in classrooms.”

“i3 Contractors: Program service expenses 495,076. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 495,076. Center installations: Program service expenses 558,458. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 558,458. Center design: Program service expenses 108,777. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 108,777. Contractors- Earth and Moon: Program service expenses 44,033. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 44,033. Contractors- NIA Planetary Communications: Program service expenses 38,358. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 38,358. Contractors- Comet: Program service expenses 26,600. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 26,600. Contractors- Education/conference: Program service expenses 10,041. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 10,041. Contractors- Communications: Program service expenses 5,590. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 5,590. Payroll processing services: Program service expenses 0. Management and general expenses 5,437. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 5,437. Contractors- Development: Program service expenses 0. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 26,208. Total expenses 26,208. Contractors- Sim3 and Mission packages: Program service expenses 35,170. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 35,170.”

“Challenger Center's Audit Finance Committee is responsible for oversight of the audit, including selection of the independent accountant. The process is consistent with previous years.”