CONCORD, N.H. — Before Christa McAuliffe was an astronaut, she was a vibrant teacher in New England keen on showing her students how everyday people left extraordinary marks on U.S. history.
New documentary focuses on Christa McAuliffe’s impact as a teacher in New Hampshire
Nearly four decades later, a new documentary focuses on how she still inspires others and less on her fate aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
“Christa: From Ordinary to Extraordinary” from New Hampshire PBS explores her close relationship with the state and its capital, Concord, where she was picked from more than 11,000 applicants to be the nation’s first teacher in space.
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“You say ‘Christa’ in New Hampshire, everyone knows exactly who you’re talking about,” Gov. Chris Sununu says in the film. Its release on Thursday comes three months after a bronze statue of McAuliffe was unveiled at the Statehouse, on what would have been her 76th birthday.
The documentary features interviews with community members, footage of scenes such as a Main Street parade for McAuliffe, and some of her comments — including her parting speech to Concord High School seniors in 1985. It reflects the pride and joy felt by residents then and now for an enthusiastic teacher who loved learning and telling stories.
McAuliffe was 37 when she was killed, one of the seven crew members aboard the Challenger when the space shuttle broke apart on live TV on Jan. 28, 1986. The documentary briefly touches on the tragedy.
“We all want to be remembered for who we were, what we cared about, what we loved, what we did, and not how we died,” Jeanne Gerulskis, the recently retired executive director of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, says in the film. History through the eyes of ordinary people
McAuliffe taught social studies at Concord High School beginning in 1983. She created a course devoted to the history of American women that’s still taught there today. People in the documentary said she wanted students to see the role that ordinary people, particularly women, can play in history.
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McAuliffe saw herself as one of them. A lover of field trips, she looked forward to bringing back her thoughts and journal from the shuttle mission “like a woman on the Conestoga wagon pioneering the West,” she had said in an interview.
Holly Merrow, a former student of McAuliffe’s in the women’s history class, feels the documentary embodies her spirit of wanting to inspire children.
“We felt like we were going to space, as well,” Merrow, now a teacher in Maine, recalled about McAuliffe at a recent screening of the film. Educating future generations
The documentary also talks about the importance of telling children who McAuliffe was.
In New Hampshire, many children learn about government beginning in fourth grade. They visit the Statehouse. McAuliffe’s statue stands near the entrance, a good starting point for a discussion. It’s the first statue added to the grounds in over a century, and the first woman.
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At Concord High School, Kimberly Bleier teaches social studies in a room where McAuliffe once taught. In the film, she says she often reminds herself that “there’s a lot of responsibility there” to ensure that what McAuliffe brought to the school, such as her love of hands-on learning, is still remembered and talked about.
Bleier currently teaches “Street Law,” a general introduction to the legal system that emphasizes criminal and juvenile law. McAuliffe had taught that class, too.
Bleier was a sixth-grader when she watched the space shuttle launch on television. She recalled how devastating it was.
“I don’t want to watch the shuttle blow up again,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday. “I want to watch her. I want to hear her.” Where can I see it?
The 30-minute documentary can be viewed online on the New Hampshire PBS website. Viewers also can stream it on the PBS App.
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This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
A boy suffered serious injuries on Friday when he was hit by a tree while walking home from school in New Hampshire, police said.
Kyle Murray, 12, was walking on North Main Street in Boscawen, N.H., when the tree fell and pinned him to the ground.
“Kyle was pinned by a spruce tree that fell from the high winds directly on top of him,” Boscawen police wrote on Facebook on Saturday. “Kyle suffered major injuries and is currently in a medically induced coma.”
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Police shared a link to a GoFundMe page created to raise money for Kyle and his family.
“We pray that Kyle has a speedy recovery,” police wrote.
According to the GoFundMe page, Kyle was walking home from his bus stop when the accident occurred. He was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to Boston Children’s Hospital.
“Kyle is now in a medically induced coma with two small brain bleeds, swelling of the brain, a spleen laceration, multiple fractured ribs, a broken pelvis, severed arteries in his pelvis, bleeding in his bladder, a broken ankle, and fluid in his abdomen,” the GoFundMe page states. “He is on several medications to keep him stable. There are several anticipated surgeries, and a long road to recovery ahead of him.”
On Monday, Kyle’s mother, Danielle Murray, posted an update on the fundraising page.
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“Kyle is doing great things today!” she wrote. “Responding to the music I play for him, letting me know with head shakes his approval or disapproval or indifference at times. He nearly pulled me over on top of him at one point while he held my hand and then pulled me tightly toward him. He has shown me his beautiful blue eyes a few times, once real wide when I played the oogie boogie song from nightmare before Christmas and raising [his] eyebrows at me. I want to thank everyone for everything.”
Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.
Man allegedly found asleep at the wheel in New Hampshire charged with DUI
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Man allegedly found asleep at the wheel in New Hampshire charged with DUI
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Two people were arrested for reckless behavior on the road in New Hampshire on Saturday morning. One man allegedly fell asleep at the wheel in the middle of the roadway and the other is accused of driving more than 120 miles per hour with two young children in the car.
Allegedly fell asleep at the wheel
Nicholas Walton, 18, of Goffstown, was allegedly found sleeping in his Ford F-150 pickup early Saturday morning at 5:19 a.m. in the middle of Route 13 in Dunbarton. State Police said they had to break a window to get inside and wake up Walton. They allegedly told him to put his truck in park but police said Walton drove forward and hit a first responder’s vehicle.
Nicholas Walton in a mugshot taken on March 8, 2025.
New Hampshire State Police
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Walton now faces several charges, including disobeying an officer, aggravated DUI, unlawful possession/intoxication, transporting alcohol by a minor and an open container. He is set to be arraigned in Concord District Court at a later date.
Accused of driving 122 mph
Later in the morning, police said 18-year-old Jaden Cummings, of Manchester, was driving erratically on 93 South in Londonderry with a woman and two infants in the car on Saturday morning at around 11 a.m. He allegedly reached speeds of 122 miles per hour in his Dodge Charger Hellcat.
Cummings was arrested and charged with reckless operation and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He will be arraigned on April 11 in Derry District Court.
No other information on either incident was immediately available.
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Victoria D
Victoria D. is a digital producer for CBS Boston. Before joining CBS Boston in 2023, Victoria had already worked in journalism in both New York and Boston for more than 10 years.
A New Hampshire teen was arrested Saturday for driving 122 mph on Interstate 93 with multiple passengers, including two children, in the car.
At 11:30 a.m. Saturday, New Hampshire State Police said a trooper patrolling on I-93 south in Londonderry saw a yellow Dodge Charger Hellcat driving recklessly at 122 mph.
The trooper conducted a traffic stop and identified the driver as 18-year-old Jaden Cummings, of Manchester. He had three passengers with him in the car, including an adult female and two infants.
Cummings was arrested for for reckless operation and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, according to state police. He was released on personal recognizance bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on April 11 in Derry District Court.