Jayla Edwards may have been singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow” this fall, but her goals go far above where any rainbow is found.

The Liberty High School senior, who played Dorothy in the Liberty Performing Arts’ fall production of “The Wizard of Oz,” has taken part in two highly selective experiences that are helping her pursue her career goal of being an aerospace engineer with NASA.

Edwards was one of 95 students, of more than 2,000 applicants, chosen for the NASA’s Science Mission Directorate STEM Enhancement in Earth Science, or SEES, high school internship program onsite at the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Space Research.

“It was great getting to meet a bunch of people from all around the country with similar interests to mine,” she said.

Her experience there led to an even more exclusive opportunity. She was one of 12 students, of the more than 200 total SEES interns, who were invited to the OSIRIS REx VIP reveal event at NASA Johnson Space Center in October. The selection of students was based on the program mentors’ recommendations as well as the students’ ability to be ambassadors for the SEES program, Edwards said.

“We are so proud of Jayla,” Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan said. “We are glad we are able to help her pursue her potential and support her in following her dreams.”

At the SEES program in July, Edwards was part of the Mars Rover Resource Utilization Team, which is similar to NASA missions she wants to be involved in during her career, she said.

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer was the first mission by the United States to collect a materials sample from an asteroid. The sample from asteroid Bennu was dropped to Earth via a parachute during a flyby of the spacecraft on Sept. 24. The samples were officially revealed to the public on Oct. 11.

Beyond being able to be present at this moment in history, Edwards was able to learn more about NASA and get a close up look at the facilities that help bring the space missions to life.

“My favorite one was the Neutral Buoyancy Lab,” she said. “It was really cool to see the pool where the astronauts work and learn about some of the things that are done there.”

Edwards has also been invited to present her Mars Rover project work, as well as another project she worked on at SEES, at the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting this winter.

Edwards wasn’t always looking toward the skies for her career. Initially she wanted to go into neuroscience.

“I was and still am extremely interested in the brain and how it works,” she said. “I wanted to do more research on the brain and neurological disorders but soon realized that anything having to do with biology was probably not for me, since I can’t wrap my head around the subject.

“I chose aerospace engineering because it allowed me to explore something just as perplexing and interesting using two of my favorite subjects, math and science, without having to worry about biology,” she continued. “I have also always been interested in space so when I discovered this career, it just seemed like a perfect fit.”

Edwards has been a Liberty student most of her life, except for two years at Fallsburg in elementary school. She said her science teachers have been great influences.

“Mr. (Eugene) Doyle helped make science a lot of fun for me and my classmates,” Edwards said. “Mrs. (Lucinda) Nolan mentored Science Olympiad, and being in that club and learning and researching about different areas of science helped a lot. Science Olympiad ultimately gave me the push to apply to the SEES internship.”

While her love of science extends outside of the classroom, her extracurricular life doesn’t revolve around it. She is a member of the National Honor Society, the LPA and Liberty High School’s Honors Chorus and Honors Orchestra.

Although she doesn’t yet know where she will be going to college — Rochester Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University are her favorites — her ultimate goal is to work for NASA. And while traveling to outer space would be interesting, she said, she plans to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground while helping others explore the universe over the rainbow.

Faculty, staff and administration spent the past two days gearing up to welcome students back to school.

The first of two conference days opened with keynote speaker Erica Orange, executive vice president and chief operating officer of The Future Hunters, one of the world-leading futurist consulting firms. Her presentation, “Failing Forward: The Future of Learning”  focused on looking to the future of education, identifying trends and how to strategize how to most effectively support students and LCSD’s vision of cultivating trust and courage to be innovative and to persevere. She discussed how Gen Z is different from past generations and how that generation and future ones are developing biliterate brains — those that can think in the physical and digital realms. The increased use of automation and augmented and artificial intelligence is changing the way educators must think about teaching and learning, she said.

After a welcome and introduction by Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan, BOE President Matt DeWitt and various school union leaders, new members of the Liberty Central School District were introduced and staff members who have years of service milestones were recognized. The superintendent then reviewed the five-year strategic plan, outlined what has been accomplished and offered an overview of what the next steps will be.

There were also presentations on mental health as well as a technology overview. Following meetings and lunch, the afternoon offered time for faculty and staff to work on their classrooms and buildings and complete training.

The second day of conference days included building-specific training, information and meetings as well as overviews of district-wide programs and policies.

We are excited to welcome back our students today, Sept. 7.

New teachers were welcomed to Liberty Central School District on Wednesday, Aug. 30, with a full day of introductions, instruction and icebreaker activities.

The 16 newest Redhawk faculty members met in the High School Media Center where they signed in, got their Chromebooks and were treated to breakfast.

The day began with opening remarks by Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan, who also introduced the administrative team. He then outlined the philosophy of having permission to “fail forward,” meaning it is OK to fail at something as long as the failure is accepted and used as a stepping stone for future success.

The teachers learned about the district’s Five-Year Strategic Plan, as well as the annual District Comprehensive Improvement Plan and building level plans, and discussed why they were important. They also received an overview of the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) process, SchoolTool, the DESSA social/emotional learning screener and other educational digital platforms, Leader in Me, Special Education, English as a New Language and Students in Temporary Housing, as well as technology information such as passwords, security and help desk information. The mentor-mentee program, required for all first-year teachers, offered at Liberty was highlighted during the orientation. 

As a way to get to know each other early in the day, teachers paired up and were given 10 minutes to learn more about each other and then introduced their partners to the rest of the group. 

The interaction continued throughout the day, especially during the program led by Betsy Conners, a PLC consultant. She addressed issues such as culturally sustaining education, professional learning communities, learning standards, learning targets and essential questions, and offered several group activities to help bring home her messages. 

The day concluded with a look at “Overview of The First Days of School” by Harry Wong, which explains why some practices stand the test of time and offers suggestions on how to use them.

The teachers then wrote a letter to themselves, asking them what is their “Why” and where they expect to be at winter break, in respect to their strengths, accomplishments, instructional strategies and more. These letters will be returned to them at the end of the school year, offering them a chance to reflect on their first year at Liberty.

The goal of the new teacher orientation was to increase understanding of the processes and procedures at Liberty, inline with the coherence pillar of the strategic plan.