LAS CRUCES, New Mexico USA — Sky blue walls, NASA posters and rockets aren't what you might expect in a middle school English classroom.

But for Gloria Kindig, it's a stellar approach to education. Kindig, an English-as-a-second-language teacher at Vista Middle School, knows a thing or two about launching rockets and propelling students to success. Kindig recently launched a high-power rocket about 3,200 feet into the skies over the West Mesa, gaining an important certification and continuing a family passion for building and launching model rockets.

Gloria Kindig shows the components of the model rocket she launched about 3,200 feet into the skies of Las Cruces on Sept. 25 in her sixth-grade classroom Thursday at Vista Middle School. The successful launch and recovery of the rocket qualified Kindig for a National Association of Rocketry Level 1 certification. Photo: Shari Vialpando.

After attending Honeywell Educators at Space Academy in Huntsville, Ala,. in June, Kindig decided it was time to graduate to the next level of amateur rocketry. The rocket launch was her qualifying launch for a National Association of Rocketry Level 1 certification, which qualifies Kindig to purchase and handle the first of three classes of commercial high-power motors and to train and certify other rocketeers.

The rocket launch was witnessed by members of the Fellowship of Las Cruces Area Rocketry Enthusiasts. John Demar of the NAR and U.S. Army Lt. Col. Lee Powell served as Kindig's instructors and judges. They certified that she had passed all requirements for safe construction, launch and recovery of her rocket.

The certification allows her to purchase and use rocket motors that aren't available to the general public and she plans to use them to keep her students' attention and interest during the school year.

"We'll be making (a rocket) in class," she said. "They didn't know that yet, so it's a surprise. But they have to learn to read and follow directions.

"Last spring, I got to team-teach a group of fifth-grade students after school in a special NASA program called 21st Century Explorers for English- and Spanish- speaking students," said added.

By expanding her skills, she hopes to offer more lessons by explaining how the rockets are assembled and encourage them to hone their reading and writing skills as well as bolstering their interest in other subjects. Space is just the ticket to keep her students focused and excited about education, she said.

"When my students showed up for class, they got a big surprise," she said. "My classroom is painted in blue, and decorated with rockets and NASA posters. My students and I are ready for an adventure at school," she said.

As her students go in and out of her classroom every day, they pass by a poster containing pictures of space and the solar system as well as our own little blue planet. The message on the poster is simple.

"Dreams can change the world."

Copyright © 2007, Las Cruces Sun-News.