PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Judith Kalaora entertains guests with her play about Christa McAuliffe titled “Challenger: Soaring with Christa” during the annual Lynn Business Education Foundation dinner on Wednesday at Lynn Public Library.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
LYNN — Educational programming took center stage at the annual meeting of the Lynn Business Education Foundation.
Judith Kalaora, the artistic director of History at Play, portrays influential but often overlooked women in history. She has performed pieces on Lucy Stone, a suffragist and human rights activist; Annie Adams Fields, an author and philanthropist; and Deborah Sampson, who disguised herself as a man to serve in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
Her performance Wednesday night told the story of Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher from Concord, N.H., who was chosen for the NASA Teacher in Space Project. McAuliffe was one of seven crewmembers killed when the space shuttle broke apart 73 seconds into its launch in 1986.
All fourth grade teachers from the public schools were invited to the event because it aligned with their curriculum, which includes space exploration, said Fred Cole, executive director of the foundation.
The organization works to provide special programs, along the lines of History at Play. It also tries to get businesses to sponsor schools and send representatives to visit with the children. It secures grants, scholarships and other funds that are only available to nonprofit organizations.
To date, the foundation has provided more than $91,000 for the schools, said Greg Ambrose, who served as president for the past two years.
“It has been 30 years and (the foundation) has done a lot of great things over that time,” Ambrose said.
He added that funds raised have been used to purchase iPads for students, Legos for elementary school classrooms and to support the Lynn Vocational Technical Institute Robotics Team, among many other things.
“The Business Education Foundation is a great partner to the Lynn Public Schools,” said Superintendent Dr. Catherine Latham. “It has worked out so well.”
Cole said the foundation is working to fund additional robotics programs, among other initiatives. Gale Thomas will serve as president for the next two years.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.