Professional Development
Be a Catalyst for Change…Become a Green Schools National Network Member
The green schools movement is the most critical education reform initiative of our time. Through the Green Schools National Network (GSNN) membership program, you can show your support and become a catalyst for change for green schools everywhere.
GSNN’s membership program is designed for leaders (like you!) who use sustainability to drive innovation in their classrooms, schools, or school districts. As a GSNN member, you will learn from and be inspired by the people who are transforming schools across the country.
Choose from five different levels of membership: Individual, Nonprofit, preK-12 School, School District, or Corporate. Each level comes with its own set of benefits and discounts, some of which include: professional publications, a subscription to Green Teacher Magazine, discounted Green Schools Conference and Expo registration, discounted and free professional development opportunities, networking opportunities, and discounted fees for GSNN school and district coaching.
Visit GSNN’s membership website to learn more and sign up.
2018 BirdSleuth Summer Educator Retreat
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York is opening its doors to educators for a one-of-a-kind program, July 18 – 21, 2018. This year’s retreat focuses on using citizen science and inquiry in the classroom. Participants will experience four days of activities, guest speakers, and field trips highlighting best practices and the latest resources, learning about citizen science, inquiry-based projects, Lab resources, and BirdSleuth curricula. Registration costs $495 (not including lodging). Visit the website to register and learn more about the program and lodging options.
Aldo Leopold Foundation Land Ethic Leader Workshop
August 9 – 10, 2018
In A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold set forth his most enduring idea – the “land ethic,” a moral responsibility of humans to the natural world. Leopold’s land ethic idea is extremely relevant in today’s society, but it can be difficult to define, discuss, and implement. To even begin that monumental task, we need leaders who are deeply committed to rolling up their sleeves and building a land ethic at the grassroots level in communities everywhere.
During the two-day Land Ethic Leaders workshop, participants explore and deepen their own land ethic together through outdoor observation, environmental service, and reflective discussions. Afterward, they walk away with new relationships, tools, ideas, and facilitation skills that inspire creative ways to bring the land ethic back home.
The cost to attend is $200. This includes most meals during the program and program materials, including a copy of the Green Fire film licensed for public screening (a $350 value). Travel and lodging is on your own.
Association for Learning Environments LearningSCAPES 2018
LearningSCAPES is the conference for those who plan, design, equip, furnish, and maintain places where students learn. This year’s conference will be held November 1 – 4 in Chicago, Illinois. Join your colleagues for groundbreaking educational sessions, inspiring keynote speakers, and a showcase of state-of-the-art tools that move learning into the future.
Registration is now open! Visit the website to learn more about conference programming, speakers, special events, and travel.
The Biomimicry Institute is the world’s leading nonprofit dedicated to innovation inspired by nature. Biomimicry offers an exciting project-based approach that helps teachers blend STEM and environmental education in creative, hands-on lessons students love. The Biomimicry Institute helps educators and organizations bring biomimicry into their teaching by providing curriculum and training, networking opportunities, and content development support. Learn more about our services and visit the online library, AskNature, for the resources and information you need to bring biomimicry into your teaching practice.
The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education
The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education works with schools and school districts to help them integrate Education for Sustainability (EfS) into their curriculum. Core services include consulting and leadership development (on-site and off-site); professional development and faculty coaching; curriculum design, assessment, mapping, and alignment; and school and community partnerships. The Cloud Institute holds an annual Summer Design Studio that enables educators, administrators, and program designers to learn how to design and embed EfS into curriculum, assessments, and programs.
Summer Curriculum Design Studio: Educating for a Sustainable Future
August 6 – 10, 2018
Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, New York
Join the Cloud Institute for a five-day curriculum design studio where educators, administrators, and program designers will learn how to design and embed Education for Sustainability into curricula, assessments, and performance tasks without the need for additional class time!
Held at the beautiful Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, you will get access to expertise, resources, and tools to reorient and enrich curricula. Through working sessions, learning circles, coaching, peer review, and optional mini-sessions, you will create and develop units and protocols that educate for sustainability.
Come yourself or bring a team! Space is limited. Register today.
Community Works Institute (CWI) supports and promotes exemplary teaching strategies and practices for K-16 educators and community programs that support students in becoming caring, responsible, and active members of their communities. CWI offers a variety of professional development opportunities for K-16 and community-based educators in the United States and internationally, including on-site training, retreats, coaching, and consulting. Their signature offering is a series of summer institutes that integrate field-tested service-learning best practices and principles of sustainability to engage K-16 students in academically based service that contributes to sustainable communities.
See below and visit the website to learn more about these professional development opportunities and to register.
2018 Summer WEST Institute on Place Based Service-Learning and Sustainability
July 23 – 27, 2018
Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, California
An immersion for K-16 educators in CWI’s acclaimed learning lab, using one of the world’s most vibrant and culturally rich urban settings as our classroom. An exceptional week of transformative professional development, program design, and networking.
Creative Change is a national educational consulting firm based in southeast Michigan. Districts and universities turn to us when their curriculum isn’t working – when achievement is low, inequalities persist, or it’s time for fresh thinking. We provide professional development, curriculum, and consulting to help educators across grades and disciplines reframe instruction around sustainability and social justice.
Our work integrates project- and place-based learning and culturally responsive instruction. Topics include food systems, ecological economics, and multiculturalism. Evaluations show consistent gains in student achievement, especially in underserved communities. Grounded in scholarship, our approach will be published by Routledge in August 2018.
Creative Change offers:
- On-site and hybrid professional development combining interdisciplinary content and effective pedagogy.
- Ongoing support and one-on-one coaching for educators.
- A curriculum library featuring exemplary lessons, frameworks, and complete course modules.
New Online Course Coming Soon
Beginning in fall 2018, KDP, International Honor Society in Education, will offer new opportunities for educators to expand their knowledge and skills through online learning as well as to establish a permanent e-portfolio. Among the first course offerings will be an introduction to education for sustainability created by Susan Santone, Founder and Executive Director of Creative Change Educational Solutions and author of the forthcoming book Reframing the Curriculum: Design for Social Justice and Sustainability (Routledge, 2018). Stay tuned for more!
At EcoRise, we believe in the power of teachers to ignite innovation and the potential of students to design a sustainable future for all. Our school-based program empowers youth to tackle real-world challenges in their schools and communities by teaching sustainability, design innovation, and social entrepreneurship. Over 350 schools have implemented our full program and 1,800 teachers in 26 countries have accessed our educational materials. Our curriculum, classroom grants, ongoing training, and support engages educators and students in meaningful learning experiences. Our program empowers teachers to confidently champion sustainability and innovation in their classrooms, while students cultivate 21st century skills and sustainable living practices.
We offer:
- Online and in-person professional development, curriculum, and self-paced resources for green industry connections to K–12 educators, STEM educators, and Project-Based Learning teachers.
- For U.S.-based schools, we award micro grants to student-designed sustainability projects.
- Our committed partnership with like-minded institutions and corporate supporters to expand reach and impact.
Visit www.ecorise.org to learn more.
EDspaces is the gathering place for architects, dealers, preK-12 schools, colleges and universities, independent manufacturers representatives, exhibitors, and corporations to learn about trends and experience the latest products and services to enhance student learning. This year’s conference will be held November 7 – 9 in Tampa, Florida.
Registration is now open! Check out the website for a conference schedule; a listing of educational sessions, tours, and exhibitors; and hotel and travel information.
Green Clean Schools ISSA/INTERCLEAN Educational Facilities Track
October 29 – 30, 2018
Dallas, Texas
This two-day program will provide facility directors at schools and universities and their teams with the knowledge and tools necessary to support healthier, safer cleaning programs that promote learning. Together with leaders in the field of green cleaning in schools, participants will examine Healthy Schools Campaign’s 5 Steps to Green Cleaning in Schools, a guide to healthier cleaning in educational facilities, through a combination of case studies, deep dives into practical applications, and panel presentations focused on new and emerging trends in the field of green cleaning in schools.
Throughout this program, participants will have the unique opportunity to participate in interactive break-out sessions designed to help them apply lessons learned to their own programs. There will be ample time to connect with other leading school facility directors and green cleaning leaders through group exercises and built-in networking sessions. Before adjourning, attendees will take a guided tour of the world-famous ISSA/INTERCLEAN trade show floor with stops focused on their specific green cleaning needs.
You can download the program’s agenda and register on the website.
Green Schools Alliance is an international organization that advances student success and saves schools resources by fostering whole school sustainability. Originally developed as a network created by schools for schools, the Alliance has evolved to provide integrated and organized support to students, school professionals, schools, and districts to foster sustainability work.
Alliance programs are scaled and developed from member ideas to make them more accessible for other member schools. The Alliance conducts work via its international coalition of schools, rooted in the idea that collaboration among schools brings the greatest change for sustainable learning environments and communities. They:
- promote student success through leadership training, project-based learning, and a support system.
- inspire school professionals through access to training, resources, and a community of fellow sustainability champions.
- provide schools with tools to accelerate whole school sustainability efforts through collective purchasing power, access to resources, and reporting and recognition systems.
- offer districts the programs to leverage high-volume purchasing power, foster collaborative communication, and gather systemwide information on school efforts.
Learn more about upcoming events.
Green Strides Webinar Series Calendar
The Green Strides Webinar Series provides school communities with the tools they need to reduce their schools’ environmental impact and costs; improve health and wellness; and teach effective environmental education. It provides all schools access to the resources that help them move toward the Pillars of the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools recognition award. Sign up for Green Strides Webinar Series email updates to receive information on future webinars.
North American Association for Environmental Education Annual Conference
The 48th North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) annual conference will be held in Spokane, Washington from October 9 – 13, 2018. The theme for this year’s conference is EE: A Force for the Future.
For more than four decades, NAAEE has convened one of the leading annual conferences for environmental education professionals, designed to promote innovation, networking, learning, and dissemination of best practices. The annual Research Symposium, held in advance of the conference, attracts new and established researchers to examine in-progress EE research and promote dialogue between researchers and practitioners.
Visit the website to learn more about registration, sessions, special events, and travel/lodging.
Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit organization educating for a sustainable future. That means learning that links knowledge, inquiry, and action to help students build a healthy future for their communities and the planet. Its home campus is a 1,400-acre working farm, forest, and National Historic Landmark.
Shelburne Farms’ school programs staff support both student learning and professional development for educators. The ideas of place and sustainability are at the heart of its work. Shelburne Farms offers a variety of experiences that inspire deep connections to community and a commitment to a healthy future.
Upcoming Programming
The Summer Institute on Education for Sustainability
July 23 – 27, 2018
Spend five rich days with colleagues from around the country at an informative and restorative institute created to give you the opportunity to deepen your understanding of education for sustainability. This week is part conference, part workshop, part retreat. The 2018 Summer Institute will draw upon the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals for inspiration, connecting you and your students to a global movement.
Cost $600. Includes light breakfast and lunch; excludes travel and graduate credit. A limited number of partial scholarships are available. Learn more and register here.
General Resources
Experiential Tools: Resources for Teaching and Group Facilitation
Experiential Tools was founded by author and educator Jennifer Stanchfield to provide educators with quality, unique, and user-friendly methods to enhance learning, increase engagement, build community, facilitate group development, and engage learners in meaningful reflection and dialogue. Resources offered include consulting, professional development programs, workshops, books, and teaching and facilitation tools. Visit the website for a list of upcoming workshops.
Facing the Future is an international program, based out of Western Washington University, creating tools for educators that equip and motivate students to develop critical thinking skills, build global awareness, and engage in positive solutions for a sustainable future. The curriculum is organized around eight sustainability big ideas:
- Connecting with Nature
- Equity and Justice
- Health and Resiliency
- Interconnectedness
- Local to Global
- Peace and Collaboration
- Respect for Limits
- Universal Responsibility
Facing the Future curriculum materials and resources are available for K-12 teachers, teachers in colleges of education, and for some community college and undergraduate classes. All materials are developed for teachers, by teachers, with best teaching and learning practices in mind and are aligned with Common Core Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and most state standards frameworks.
Generation 180 Student Intern Program
Generation 180 is committed to advancing the transition to clean energy and supporting a cultural shift in energy awareness through original, engaging content, digitally-enabled campaigns, and an empowered volunteer network. Their online internship program teaches high school students about changes in the energy industry and innovations that are enabling individuals to choose clean energy for the first time. Interns will receive online training consisting of educational materials, a series of live training webinars, and opportunities for peer feedback and support. With this training, students will be equipped to complete assignments and self-directed projects spanning the areas of community research, outreach, and engagement—all designed to result in direct, measurable carbon emissions reductions.
Participants must be rising high school juniors or seniors and will need a computer and internet connection to attend webinars and complete assignments. Due to its online format, the program can be completed from anywhere in the United States. Participants can choose from one of two sessions scheduled for summer 2018: July 9–27 and July 30–August 17.
Green Schoolyards America’s 2018 School Ground Activity Guide Set
Green Schoolyards America has updated its popular Living Schoolyard Activity Guides for 2018. Together, the Living Schoolyard Activity Guide – United States Edition and International School Grounds Month Activity Guide contain 235 activities contributed by 187 schools, agencies, nonprofits, museums, universities, businesses, and utilities across the U.S. and 27 countries around the world. Both guides are available for free online and contain a wide range of ideas for use by PreK-12 schools before, during, and after school.
A product of the U.S. Green Building Council’s The Center for Green Schools, Learning Lab provides K-12 teachers and school leaders with comprehensive, project- and STEM-based curriculum that encourages student leadership, environmental literacy, and real-world action.
Discover best-in-class content, training, and tools. Access their curated catalogue of lesson plans, interactive projects, assessment opportunities, and other multimedia resources in English and Spanish. Lessons are mapped to meet current educational standards and were created by educators, for educators.
NEEF’s Get Dirty! Learning Expedition Toolkit
The National Environmental Education Foundation developed this guide to assist educators in planning instructive and memorable outings that incorporate best practices of outdoor environmental education.
The toolkit proceeds step-by-step from planning, to conducting, to presenting place-based projects. Additional resources and tips are suggested. Supplemental activities that develop goal setting, leadership, and team building skills are also included.
Siemens STEM Day is a refreshed and expanded version of the beloved Siemens Science Day, now intended to span the whole K-12 STEM experience. Siemens STEM Day offers a variety of tools and resources that will help you reinvent your STEM curriculum, including original hands-on activities for grades K-12 and a teacher support center.
TeachEngineering is a searchable, web-based digital library collection comprised of standards-based engineering curricula for use by K-12 educators to make applied science and math come alive through engineering design in K-12 settings. The TeachEngineering collection provides educators with free access to a growing curricular resource of activities, lessons, units, maker challenges, and sprinkles for use in informal education settings. Every lesson and activity is explicitly aligned to the science and/or math educational standards of the state in which it was first developed and classroom tested, as well as to the Common Core Math, Next-Gen Science and ITEEA standards, if they apply.
Teaching Our Cities Practice Toolkits
Teaching Our Cities, a project of Common Ground, is creating a collection of toolkits that share best practices that are working at partner schools. Toolkits include videos, blog-style reflections, resources, and practice descriptions. Current toolkits cover teaching a sense of place, learning expeditions, green exhibitions, environmental leadership portfolios, and magnet theme days.
Think Earth Environmental Education Foundation
Think Earth is a nonprofit dedicated to helping communities create and maintain a sustainable environment through education. The organization developed one of the nation’s most far-reaching environmental education programs—The Think Earth Environmental Education Curriculum for kindergarten through middle school students. The complete Think Earth Curriculum—nine units from preschool to middle school—has been used since the 1990s to teach students about the importance of a clean, healthy environment and about what they can do to conserve natural resources, reduce waste, and minimize pollution. Most curriculum units are now available to download free from the website.
Understanding Food and Climate Change: An Interactive Guide
The Center for Ecoliteracy’s Understanding Food and Climate Change: An Interactive Guide uses text, video, photography, and interactive experiences to help educators, students, and advocates learn how food and climate interact and how personal choices can make a difference. Ideal for grades 6-12 and general audiences and connected to Next Generation Science Standards and the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies themes, the guide offers activities for student research and provides extensive resources for further investigation.
Promoting Lifelong Fitness and Recreation in the Outdoors Related Resources
The American Camp Association (ACA) is a community of camp professionals who have joined together to share knowledge and experience and to ensure the quality of camp programs. ACA’s website includes resources for campers and their families to help them plan for attending a camp, as well as a camp locator that lets users search for camps by location, type of camp, activities offered, and cost, among other options.
Children and Nature Network – Family Nature Clubs Toolkit
The Children and Nature Network (C&NN) is a long-time advocate for getting families out into nature. This is the idea behind their Family Nature Club initiative. Family Nature Clubs help people get time in nature back on the family calendar by providing regular opportunities to engage in hikes, paddles, camping trips, and other fun outdoor family activities. These experiences help to give families a sense of place, allow for free play in nature, and familiarize them with the many opportunities for outdoor recreation in their neighborhoods. C&NN developed this toolkit to help families (or any group!) create their own nature club, with step-by-step instructions along with tips, tools, and resources.
Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature
From Amazon: Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature has been hailed by Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, as “good medicine for nature-deficit disorder.” The first edition quickly became the essential guidebook for mentors, parents, teachers, camp directors, and others wanting fun and exciting ways to connect children (and adults!) with nature.
The completely revised and updated Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature, 2nd Edition, written by Jon Young, Ellen Haas, and Evan McGown, is an even more valuable resource for reconnecting people to the natural world. Based on feedback from nature mentors and educators around the world, the second edition is more comprehensive and easier to use, with beautiful full color photographs, a comprehensive index, and color codes that link the principles and activities for easier navigation.
Coyote mentoring is a method of learning that has been refined over thousands of years, based on instilling the need-to-know. Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature, 2nd Edition reveals this approach and what happens to student and teacher during the mentoring process. Strategies like questioning, storytelling, tracking, mapping, and practicing survival skills will inspire student curiosity and encourage self-sufficiency. Background information will help parents, teachers and others feel more confident in introducing children to new ways of experiencing and learning about the natural world.
Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature, 2nd Edition will change the way you walk in the woods, whether by yourself or with your children.
Every Kid in a Park gives fourth-grade students and their families an opportunity to explore all national parks, lands, and waters for an entire year, free. Parents can download passes from the website. Fourth-grade educators can download activities that explore federal lands and waters, as well as print out paper passes for their students.
Fuel Up to Play 60 is the nation’s largest in-school health and wellness program, created by the National Dairy Council and National Football League in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This free program offers funding opportunities for schools and an online Playbook full of school-tested action strategies to improve healthy eating and physical activity at schools and beyond. Fuel Up to Play 60 empowers students, with the support of adults, to take the lead in making healthy changes and to have a positive impact in their communities. Over 73,000 schools are involved, and 38 million students have been reached through the program nationwide.
In addition to their Playbook, Fuel Up to Play 60 offers a wealth of healthy eating and physical activity information, research, and tools on their website to enable educators to empower their students to adopt healthy behaviors and make healthy changes in the school environment.
Fund for Teachers provides educators the resources and funding they need to pursue self-designed professional learning experiences. Fund for Teachers grant awards support a variety of projects, all designed to create enhanced learning environments for teachers, their students, and school communities. Since 2001, Fund for Teachers has invested $30 million in nearly 8,000 teachers. The application for 2019 professional development grants will be available starting October 1, 2018. In the meantime, you can learn more about the application process and what current and past fellows have accomplished on the Fund for Teachers website.
Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont
Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont delivers experiential learning for youth, educators, and adults through programs that promote self-discovery, critical thinking, and effective teaching and leadership. Programs last for three to ten days and include educator workshops, K-12 overnight field studies, and summer youth camps and adventures. Participants typically stay on-site, living and learning in the world’s greatest classroom, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
National Association of Physical Literacy
The National Association of Physical Literacy (NAPL) aims to inspire a healthy, active world in which all people have the ability to move, the confidence to play, and the desire to affect genuine wellness for generations to come. The global leader of physical literacy programming, certification, training, and curriculum, NAPL is a resource for K-12 schools looking to infuse more movement into every facet of the school day.
National Center for Outdoor and Adventure Education
The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) is a values-based outdoor adventure and education provider for teens and adults interested in personal growth and professional development. NCOAE’s core curriculum emphasizes teamwork, environmental stewardship, and the acquisition of technical skills, helping people of all ages improve their self-confidence and interpersonal relationships. Courses and trainings vary in length from three days to three months. Courses focus on a variety of outdoor and wilderness skills including mountaineering, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, backpacking, surfing, sea kayaking, and remote backcountry travel and camping. Trainings and certifications include the NCOAE ‘Intensive’ Emergency Medical Technician-Basic (EMT-B) training, Advanced EMT (Bridge) training, Wilderness Medicine, and Leave No Trace.
Outward Bound is the leading provider of experiential and outdoor education programs for youth and adults. Dedicated to changing lives through challenge and discovery, Outward Bound programs place a strong emphasis on developing character and preparing students to thrive in the world. On its website, you can search for the Outward Bound course (over 1,000 courses are offered!) that meets your needs. You can also learn more about the organization’s educational approach and how to prepare for participating in an Outward Bound course.
Project Adventure is an internationally recognized leader in adventure-based experiential programming, combining challenging and engaging activities with focused reflection to build character, promote teamwork, and encourage responsibility. Project Adventure’s “hands on” SEL (social and emotional learning) programming allows students and educators to learn and experience critical social and emotional skills. In addition to SEL programs, Project Adventure also offers Mindfulness Training, SEL schoolwide consulting, youth leadership training, and summer adventure camps.
SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators is committed to ensuring all children have the opportunity to lead healthy, physically active lives. As the nation’s largest membership organization of health and physical education professionals, SHAPE America works with its 50 state affiliates and national partners to support initiatives such as the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, Let’s Move! Active Schools, and the Jump Rope For Heart/Hoops For Heart programs.
SHAPE America has developed guidelines for physical activity and physical education in schools, and their National Standards for K-12 Physical Education serve as a foundation for physical education programs across the country. You can access both standards and guidelines on their website, in addition to helpful resources, tools, and professional development opportunities to help make physical activity a core component at your school.
Student Conservation Association
The Student Conservation Association’s (SCA) mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of the environment and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land. SCA interns work in parks, public lands, and urban green spaces to make improvements and learn conservation and sustainability practices. Along the way, they learn how to plan, enact, and lead, all while making a tangible impact in conservation. Programs are available for high school and college students. Learn more about SCA’s programs and how to apply on the website.
Grants and Awards
Captain Planet Foundation ecoSolution Grants
The Captain Planet Foundation’s ecoSolution Grants (previously called “Small Grants”) have been the defining basis of the organization’s work over the last 25 years. The Foundation has funded over 2,100 projects that have impacted 1.2 million youth around the world – actively fulfilling its mission to build the next generation of environmental stewards and change-agents.
ecoSolution Grants range from $500-$2,500 and are intended to support solution-oriented, youth-led projects that result in real environmental outcomes. Visit the website to learn more about eligibility and restrictions, and to fill out an application. The next deadline for applications is July 15, 2018.
Captain Planet Foundation ecoTECH Grants
Originally developed in partnership with the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and with ongoing support from Voya Financial, ecoTech Grants are specifically offered to engage children in inquiry-based, STEM-related projects that leverage technology and/or use nature-based design to address environmental problems in local communities. ecoTech Grants were created to combat the notion that students needed to choose between “the screen” or “the green” and to encourage educators and students to explore the role technology can play in designing and implementing solutions to some of our most pressing environmental challenges. ecoTECH grant projects must:
- Be based in the U.S.
- Integrate the use of technology to address environmental problems (not iPads or other tablets)
- Be project-based
- Be youth-led
- Result in real, demonstrable environmental outcomes
ecoTECH grants are available as cash grants up to $2,500 and support the purchase of materials and other project implementation expenses. Deadline to submit an application is July 15, 2018.
Constellation E2 Energy to Educate Grant Program
Constellation E2 Energy to Educate grants inspire students to think differently about energy. Through this unique grant program, Constellation has offered over 100,000 students in grades 6-12 and college opportunities to enhance their understanding of science and technology, and experience problem-solving today’s and tomorrow’s energy challenges.
Constellation is seeking proposals for hands-on projects which engage 100 or more students, within the following themes:
- Energy in Transportation
- Backyard Generation
- Zero Waste
Grant awards are up to $25,000 for grades 6-12 and up to $50,000 for colleges and universities. Applications must be submitted online by October 1, 2018. Grant awards will be announced in November 2018 during American Education Week.
EDspaces Educational Facility Grant Program
The EDspaces Educational Facility Grant program funds high-quality professional development for education-based facility planners, superintendents, purchasing officers, and related staff, introducing them to innovative solutions and best practices assisting effective decision-making about upcoming educational construction or renovation projects.
- Experience innovative products that support the creation of effective learning environments
- Participate in educational sessions led by nationally recognized speakers
- Engage in conversations with peers in the educational facility planning environment
- Learn more about innovative approaches in practice for planning, designing, and equipping facilities
- Connect with the vendors that will support your next design project
- Evaluate the latest in school equipment, fixtures, and furniture
The EDspaces Educational Facilities Grant includes hotel accommodations for up to three nights at an official EDspaces host hotel and full conference registration with enriching educational sessions, exhibits, and networking events. The 2018 grant program will open in spring 2018.
FirstEnergy STEM Classroom Grants
FirstEnergy proudly supports classroom projects and teacher professional development initiatives focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). One of the ways they support these activities is by offering STEM education grants of up to $1,000 to educators at schools and youth groups in communities served by its electric operating companies, other areas where they have facilities, and where they do business. More than 1,000 educators and youth group leaders have received classroom grants since the program began during the 1986-87 school year. Applications for the 2018-2019 school year are now available and must be submitted by September 21, 2018.
GetEdFunding is a curated collection of grants and awards created by education professionals for education professionals. Its database was designed to be easy-to-use and reliable, and all grant and funding opportunities are updated daily. Users can search by six criteria, including 43 areas of focus, 8 content areas, and 14 twenty-first century themes and skills, including environmental literacy. Once registered on the site, users can save grants of interest and return to them at any time.
Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Grant Program
The Toolbox for Education Grant Program, offered by Lowe’s Gives Foundation, provides grants from $2,000 to $100,000 to public K-12 schools, as well as parent-teacher groups associated with those public schools. Projects should fall into one of the following categories: technology upgrades, tools for STEM programs, facility renovations, and safety improvements. Projects should address a critical need and align with Lowe’s company purpose—to help people love where they live. The 2018 fall grant cycle opens on August 6 and closes on September 28.
Project Learning Tree GreenWorks! Grants
Project Learning Tree® (PLT), a national environmental education program for PreK-12 educators, offers GreenWorks! grants up to $1,000 to schools and youth organizations for environmental service-learning projects that link classroom learning to the real world. Students implement an action project they help design to green their school or to improve an aspect of their neighborhood’s environment. Projects partner students with their whole school, local businesses, and/or community organizations, and provide opportunities for student leadership. Funds can be used by students for a variety of projects, such as implementing recycling programs at their school, conserving water and energy, or establishing school gardens and outdoor classrooms. To be eligible to apply, an educator must have attended a PLT training, either in-person or online, that also provides them with PLT lesson plans and other resources to help integrate these projects and environmental education into their curriculum. Apply by September 30, 2018.
The Shell Science Teaching Award
A partnership between Shell Oil Company and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), this award recognizes one outstanding classroom teacher (grades K–12) who has had a positive impact on his or her students, school, and the community through exemplary science teaching. The recipient of the Shell Science Teaching Award will receive $10,000, as well as an all-expense-paid trip (along with the two finalists) to attend the NSTA National Conference on Science Education. All three will be honored at the Awards Banquet. The recipient will also be recognized at the Teacher Awards Banquet. The 10 semifinalists will receive certificates of distinction. Completed applications must be received by December 17, 2018.
Toshiba America Foundation Grants
Do you teach in an elementary school classroom? Do you have an innovative idea for improving math or science instruction in your classroom? Is your idea project-based learning with measurable outcomes? What do you need to make learning math and science fun for your students? K-5 teachers are invited to apply online for a $1,000 Toshiba America Foundation grant to help bring an innovative hands-on project into their own classroom. With a Toshiba America Foundation grant, elementary teachers can bring their best new teaching ideas to life.
Grant applications are due on October 1st each year.
Grants are also available for teachers in grades 6-12 who are passionate about making science and mathematics more engaging for their students. Applications for grants less than $5,000 are accepted at any time. For grant requests of more than $5,000, application deadlines are February 1 and August 1 (or first business day of February and August).
