Starbase Victory - Starbase

Science and Technology Academies Reinforcing Basic Aviation and Space Exploration

The STARBASE program was created in 1989 by a grant from the Kellogg Foundation. The first site was at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan. The first curriculum centered on elementary physics and aerodynamics.
Authorized under Title 10 U.S. Code 2193, STARBASE was originally conceived as a Community Relations project for the Department of Defense. It proved to be an innovative and effective program that addressed three critical problems facing America's youth: poor preparation in math and science, lack of personal direction and drug abuse. There are now over 40 federally funded STARBASE programs operating throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. However, those federal programs are not easily modified and do not routinely address the learning objectives of the school systems they serve. There is one federal program in Norfolk (begun in 1996), but the Department of Defense elected not to sponsor another program in the Tidewater area. Hence, we started the only privately funded program in the country: STARBASE Victory, serving Portsmouth since 2002.
Program Description:
1. All fourth, fifth and sixth grade students (and their teachers) attend this STARBASE
2. Students are bused from their parent school to/from STARBASE and enjoy a 4 or 5 day program (depending on grade)
3. While in attendance, students wear a special T-Shirt, select a personal call sign and inevitably experience the joy of learning in a whole new environment.
4. The curriculum features "hands on" (experiential) learning that is designed to meet state math and science Standards of Learning (SOLs)
5. Subjects taught go beyond math and science, to include Goal Setting, teamwork drills, an introduction to computers and "missions" (field trips) to places appropriate to the curriculum
6. There are personal projects for each student based on their STARBASE experience (the sixth grade project, for example, is the construction and launch of their own powered rocket!)
7. All STARBASE instructors have a Masters Degree (or higher)
8. Over 3600 students a year experience STARBASE Victory plus there is a summer program for each grade providing over 400 quotas for students who are interested
9. The annual cost of this unique program is approaching $200,000
STARBASE Victory has won several educational awards:
1. 2009 Virginia Math and Science Coalition's "Programs that Work" Award
2. Wachovia Bank's 2009 "Environmental Education Excellence Award" sponsored by the Elizabeth River Project (in recognition of the fifth grade ENVIROBASE curriculum)
STARBASE Victory, Inc. is a 501(C)3 (nonprofit) corporation established in Virginia in 1999. It is privately funded and provides the "special" program features: T-Shirts, class projects, mission expenses and graduation awards
The Portsmouth Public School System wholeheartedly endorses STARBASE and provides the schoolhouse, twelve highly qualified instructors and bus transportation to/from the program.