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Cedar Rapids elementary school teacher learns from NASA scientists at summer institute
Here’s how Sara Yedlik, chosen for a highly competitive national program for teachers, will bring back to her classroom what she learned
Jul. 6, 2025 5:30 am, Updated: Jul. 7, 2025 12:44 pm
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids elementary school teacher Sara Yedlik is bringing back lesson plans from her experience learning directly from NASA scientists and astronauts this summer at a highly competitive national program in Texas.
Yedlik was selected for the LiftOff Summer Institute sponsored by the University of Texas Center for Space Research in collaboration with the Louisiana and Wisconsin Space Grant Consortia.
The program took place June 23-27.
Educators were immersed in the theme “Flight Patterns to Innovation,” learning about cutting-edge aerospace topics such as the X-59 supersonic aircraft, research aboard the International Space Station, satellite technology and NASA’s Artemis program aimed at returning humans to the moon and advancing exploration of Mars.
Yedlik teaches students in the program for academic and creative talent (PACT) at West Willow and Hiawatha elementary schools. The program aims to enhance and support the experience of high-ability students.
The Gazette spoke to Yelick in May before she left for the institute about how she will bring what she learned back to the classroom.
Q: Why were you interested in this opportunity?
A: I am a teacher who always is looking for new things to bring back for her students, as my high ability students need to be fed academically. The more I learn, the more they can learn from me. My role is to give them opportunities to gain skills they otherwise wouldn’t have had time for in the general education setting.
Q: How will you take what you’ve learned and integrate it into your classroom?
A: I not only get to learn from individuals at the Johnson Space Center, but also the 54 other teachers across the U.S. and what they are doing in their classroom.
I’ll get to bring it back to my department and schools to continue to give students learning opportunities and build that passion for learning.
I get to modify our curriculum based on the learning needs of our students. What I teach one year might be different from what I teach the next year based on their interests and talents.
Q: What do you anticipate experiencing and learning more about at the summer institute?
A: I know we’ll have the opportunity for activities with foam rockets, wind tunnels, bouncy balls and other hands-on learning opportunities.
I teach a class called Catch the Wind to second- and third-graders about the engineering design process. The engineering design process asks students to go back and come up with a design and improve that design.
There’s a lot of learning in the improvement and making it better in case it doesn’t work the first time. That builds resiliency in our students.
Q: So this won’t only impact your students. It will impact the entire district.
A: That is my goal. Sharing with my PACT team and co-workers in each building. We tend to share quite a bit.
Q: How are experiences like this beneficial to educators?
A: I’ve had many educators — my own family members and teachers along the way — inspire me to be a teacher and be the best teacher I can be for my students. I’m honored to be a teacher every day, and I always tell my students I have the best job in the world and that job is to grow brain cells.
Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com
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