Teacher gets NASA award and pink-slip
Fifth-grade teacher Chris Miko of Meadow Elementary was laid off last week after earning a prestigious NASA fellowship earlier this year. Photo by Andrea Ruse
by Andrea Ruse
Meadows Elementary fifth-grade teacher Chris Miko is one of 40 educators, chosen from among 2,000 applicants nationwide, to receive a National Aeronautics and Space Administration fellowship this year.
He is also one of 19 teachers in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District who was pink-slipped last Wednesday.
The termination notices were due to budget cuts and, as required by the California Education Code, based on seniority.
“I didn’t know for sure where I was on the list,” Miko said. “I was just crossing my fingers hoping to be high enough up, but alas.”
During his three years at Meadows, Miko, 32, has started a science club, fostered new technologies into classrooms and started a habitat restoration program run by pre-teens.
“He is a phenomenal teacher and motivates his students in all subjects, not just science,” said Connie Harrington, principal of Meadows Elementary School. “Part of his attraction is that he’s so into it. He throws off a certain energy and the students sense it.”
“He’s totally into the science factor,” said Katherine Pasterczyk, one of Miko’s fifth-graders. “Because he’s really into it, it makes me want to be into it too.”
Miko’s students can tell you dozens of facts about both science and their teacher, including how to build a robot or a rocket, that the Ballona Wetlands in Playa del Rey are home to a number of endangered species and that Mr. Miko’s three heroes are Albert Einstein, Walt Disney and Jim Hensen. They know that one day Mr. Miko hopes to host a TV show from the moon, wants to be the first person on Mars and that his favorite band is “They Might Be Giants.” He’s also into bobbleheads, the Lakers and telling paranormal stories.
His students will tell you that they don’t want their futures to be decided by politicians.
They also know that Mr. Miko won’t be returning to Meadows next year.
“The kids were really bummed out,” Miko said. “Of course, they were upset, but I told them things will all work out and everything will be okay.”
Growing up, Miko dreamt about becoming an astronaut. His curious mind led him to disassemble then reassemble the first computer his parents ever brought home, along with TVs, stereos, an electric drum kit and any other electronic device he could get his hands on.
“When I was bored, I’d just get Dad’s screwdriver out, open something up and check it out so I could see what was inside and how it worked,” Miko said.
He had dreams of launching into outer space, but Miko also felt a passion for teaching.
In 2006, he received his B.A. in Liberal Arts and teaching credential from California State University Northridge and took a job with the nonprofit organization, STAR Education. The following year, he was hired at Meadows as a full-time teacher with a science specialty. He began making additions to the school’s program right away.
“There were so many students interested in science and we were so limited on time to cover all the standards,” Miko said. “So I started the after-school science club.”
There were 25 students in the GoEcoKids Club at first. Now there are about 50, including Miko’s former students who have moved onto sixth and seventh grade. Students in the science club volunteer on a year-round restoration project at the Ballona Wetlands, where they are in charge of running monthly waste clean-ups and educating volunteers.
Last summer, Miko started a science camp where students learned about chemistry, robotics and environmental science.
Miko inspires his students as much inside the classroom as outside, using a combination of hands-on projects, songs, story-telling and YouTube to get kids fired up about learning.
“Before Mr. Miko, I thought science was boring,” science club member Kevin Glasser said.
“It just sounds more fun when Mr. Miko teaches it,” fifth grader Noelle Davidson said. “He knows the answers to everything. And he never gets tired of you asking him lots of questions.”
The numbers appear to agree.
“We’ve had studies focused on scientific education for a number of years, especially in elementary science,” said Carolyn Seaton, MBUSD’s Executive Director of Educational Services. “While there are a lot of variables, it’s pretty evident what Chris’s teaching, combined with the addition of a science specialist, has done for students at Meadows. Science scores went up a good amount last year.”
However, last March Miko was one of 84 teachers who received a layoff notice when cuts in state funding forced the school district to shave $4 million from its $50 million budget. In June, emergency contributions from the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation and the city allowed Miko to stay employed at Meadows this year.
“Teachers with less seniority are the ones that are affected,” Seaton said. “Newer ones like Chris are among the first ones to be laid off during budget cuts. Fortunately, he was able to be brought back last year.”
Last summer, Miko was one of 300 teachers worldwide to attend a week-long seminar at NASA’s space camp in Alabama, where he participated in professional development workshops in math and science and, like real astronauts, trained for zero gravity conditions.
“That was a blast,” Miko said. “We were put in teams to fly the space shuttle simulator. It was like a dream come true.”
In November, Miko travelled to Africa with Grove of Hope — an organization set up by NASA-affiliated scientists — to provide Moroccan schools with science and technology programs. Over six days, Miko taught astronomy workshops to 1,000 Moroccan children per day in three cities.
The following month, Miko learned about the prestigious NASA fellowship from a former student who encouraged him to apply.
“They looked at what teachers do and how they do it in the classroom,” Miko said. “They wanted teachers who go above and beyond for their students. Some of the people selected have been teachers for more than 20 years.”
In January, he began the year-long program, intended to develop highly qualified educators in STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics — subjects. He will also earn credit towards a master’s degree in STEM from Columbia University in New York.
“He definitely deserves it,” fifth grader Elizabeth Luck said. “He’s always talking about going to space.”
Although Miko won’t actually be blasting off, he will participate in an online cohort of 40 teachers integrating NASA research with education.
“He’ll gain quite a bit of individual knowledge,” Seaton said. “The whole idea is then to share that information about the latest scientific technologies with colleagues.”
Miko said that Superintendent Bev Rohrer expressed deep regret as she personally handed him a layoff notice last week.
Unless the district finds a way to meet next year’s $1.5 million shortfall, Miko will not be bringing the knowledge he gains from NASA back to Meadows.
While a $4.1 million donation from the MBEF saved roughly 35 teaching jobs last week, president Erika White said the organization will not be running an additional fundraising campaign this year to save more jobs. City officials likewise said they are not able to make a cash contribution to the district this year.
“This year, it doesn’t seem like there’s enough support for another last minute save,” Miko said. “People are tapped out financially and have done all they can do. At this point, it seems more final than it did last year.”
Miko plans to apply at Manhattan Beach Middle and Mira Costa High schools for a position with the district next year. He also has hopes of one day opening a science charter school.
“It’s been my dream for many years,” Miko said. “Especially since I don’t know how long my time is here.”
He still plans to hold his second science camp this summer where camp-goers will learn to build computers from old parts.
No matter where Miko ends up next year, he will leave behind a class full of future veterinarians, dancers, teachers, singers, zoologists, Disney imagineers, inventors, engineers, and authors who all think science is cool.
Just how cool?
One day after the bell rang and Miko’s students scattered to go home, a boy ran back in the classroom with an intent look on his face.
“Wait,” the boy called to his friends. “Mr. Miko, do we have science club today?” ER