February 23, 2017 Board of Education and Staff Douglas County School District 620 Wilcox Street Castle Rock, CO 80104

To the Board of Education and Douglas County School District, I am very proud to hear of the many good things that the Alexandria School of Innovation is doing to prepare students for successful career and future. Our community needs education institutions such as the Alexandria School of Innovation. It is imperative to teach students skills and materials that will prepare them for jobs of tomorrow; not just today. The best way to do that is through hands-on, project-based learning. Here at the Space Foundation, we make a large effort to use authentic, inquiry-based activities because this is what our industry partners seek in future employees. Both formal and informal research shows that graduate students are not coming out of colleges and universities with “soft” skills like teamwork, collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and creativity. This is where Core Knowledge curriculum, Problem-Based Learning, and authentic project-based learning would be a tremendous objective for an educational institution. And this is where Alexandria School of Innovation excels. We look forward to seeing how the students under Judy Brannberg and the staff at Alexandria School of Innovation apply their skills in culminating projects and visits to their industrial partners. The Space Foundation would like to be a support in educational resources, field trip opportunities, professional development and public education. STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills are needed to continue the United States’ relevance in the high-tech marketplace. Our responsibility as a society is to prepare students with STEM experiences that ultimately contribute back to the community, and nation as a whole, with innovative technologies that make our lives better. Thank you, Judy and the staff of the Alexandria School of Innovation, for making our world a better place by teaching the next generation skills that will impact our society in ways we haven’t even dreamed of yet.

Elias Molen Manager-Education Space Foundation