CULLOWHEE—Teachers took part in a program in April that equipped them with learning tools for hosting community events during the upcoming solar eclipse event. The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching’s “Total Solar Eclipse Training” program was a partnership with Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) at NCCAT, a recognized national leader for professional development programming for teachers.
On Monday afternoon, August 21, 2017, all of North Carolina will experience a partial solar eclipse. A sliver of the western part of the state will experience a total solar eclipse for nearly two and a half minutes. Participants learned a variety of methods and strategies to host a successful community solar eclipse event. The training included topics such as mythology and misconceptions about the sun and our solar system, moon phases and how eclipses happen, solar observing safety measures, activities and planning ideas. The program was designed for teachers of grades K–6. Five area county school districts were represented: Buncombe, Cherokee, Jackson, Swain, and Watauga.
Participating educators in the training were: June A. Advincula of W.D. Williams Elementary in Buncombe County Schools; Tabatha Gillett of Smokey Mountain Elementary in Jackson County Schools; Suzanne F. Hummer of Smokey Mountain Elementary in Jackson County Schools; Linda F. Mazzei of W.D. Williams Elementary in Buncombe County Schools; Allyson P. McFalls of Blowing Rock Elementary in Watauga County Schools; Renee E. Peoples of Swain County West Elementary in Swain County Schools; Drew M. Solesbee of Cullowhee Valley School in Jackson County Schools; Andrea Stewart of Andrews Middle in Cherokee County Schools; Katrina Turbyfill of Swain County West Elementary in Swain County Schools; Angela Watson of Blowing Rock Elementary in Watauga County Schools; and Lori Wright of Cullowhee Valley School in Jackson County Schools.