The Christa McAuliffe Academy of the Fox Valley is a fitting tribute to a teacher who exemplified lifelong learning. She, too, was first-- the first teacher and the first civilian to be chosen to participate in a NASA space flight, aboard the shuttle Challenger. "I cannot join the space program and restart my life as an astronaut," she wrote in her application for the citizen in space program, "but this opportunity to connect my abilities as an educator with my interests in history and space is a unique opportunity to fulfill my early fantasies. I watched the Space Age being born and I would like to participate." At Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire, she taught economics, law, American history and a course she developed entitled "The American Woman."

The Christa McAuliffe Academy was founded to provide an exceptional learning experience for teachers and administrators that would excite, stimulate and refresh them. A well-rounded steering committee including educators and business people shaped a curriculum that has since expanded to cover new trends and topics at the forefront of education.