Professional Development

2019 Green Schools Conference and Expo Call for Proposals in Open!

The Green Schools Conference and Expo (GSCE) is now accepting session proposals for the 2019 conference, to be held April 8 – 9, 2019 in St. Paul, Minnesota in partnership with IMPACT, a regional sustainability conference. Proposals are being accepted under four categories: environmental impact, health and well-being, environmental and sustainability literacy, and whole school/district sustainability.

Before preparing and submitting a proposal, please review the Call for Proposals Announcement and the Submittal Guide.

Session proposals must be submitted online by Monday September 24 at 11:59pm CST.

For questions regarding the GSCE Call for Proposals, please email program@greenschoolsconference.org.

 

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.

 

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

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.

 

Community Works Institute

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.

Visit the website to learn more about professional development opportunities.

 

Creative Change

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!

 

EcoRise

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 2018

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.

 

Greening School Food: A SoCal Forum on Healthy, Climate-Friendly Food Service

October 1, 2018

Los Angeles, California

Kick-off National Farm to School Month with an exciting, interactive forum on healthy, climate-friendly food service: a cost-effective approach focused on plant-forward menus, reduced food waste, and innovative educational and promotional activities. At this special event you will hear from innovative regional leaders and national experts, share best practices, and learn how to overcome common obstacles. Learn more about speakers, programming, and registration here.

 

Green Schools Alliance

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 

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 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

Seasonal Educator Workshops

Shelburne Farms has taken some of your favorite school program topics and turned them into one-day, seasonal educator workshops! Join us on the Farm throughout the year for a series of programs designed to deepen your knowledge of a topic and enrich your curriculum. In fall, winter, and spring we will spend time outside connecting with the land, interacting with experts, and developing tools and techniques to take back to your students. Workshops can be taken individually or as a series.

Each workshop costs $30. Participants may sign up for one, two, or all three workshops. A $15 discount is available for those who register for all three! Register here.

 

Harvest Time

Saturday, September 29, 2018; 9:30am – 12:30pm

Cultivate lessons through a morning in the garden. We will spend time doing hands-on activities, dig into cycles and systems, and explore how food is linked to our community, economics, and natural environment. Join Shelburne Farms Educators and special guests to harvest new ideas and connections for your classroom. *You DO NOT need to have a garden or access to a garden to participate!

 

Animals in Winter

Saturday, January 12, 2019; 9:30am – 12:30pm

What strategies do Vermont animals use to survive winter? We will examine their methods and hone our tracking skills as we hike through fields and forests searching for signs of active animals in winter. Come network with other educators, experience our favorite activities and resources, and share your own.

 

Milk & More

Saturday, May 4, 2019; 9:30am – 12:30pm

Explore a Vermont tradition and build awareness of the importance that dairy plays in the farming landscape. You’ll experience a variety of fun, hands-on activities relating to cows and visit our own Brown Swiss herd. We will delve into activities that explore the roles that farmers and dairy products play in our local food system and in keeping our communities healthy and thriving.

 

General Resources

Design Squad Global

Design Squad Global empowers middle school students to solve real-world problems and understand the impact of engineering in a global context. Refreshed weekly with challenges, videos, and activities, Design Squad Global’s website is one of the only places on the web where kids can share their engineering ideas with other kids. The Parents and Educators webpage provides adults with tools, such as guides, lesson plans, and training, they can use to help kids develop design process skills and apply them to an exciting array of engineering challenges.

 

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 

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.

 

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.

 

Learning Lab

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.

 

Nature Journaling: A Creative Path to Environmental Literacy

This free, downloadable guide designed for fourth- through eighth-graders will show you how to use nature journaling to spark student curiosity, foster awareness and sensitivity to their surroundings, and develop an empathetic relationship with a place and the other species that inhabit it. Activities in the guide are designed for accessible, everyday settings – the schoolyard, a neighborhood park, and the trails of a local nature center.

 

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 sixth- through twelfth-graders 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.

 

Understanding Food and Climate Change: A Systems Perspective

The Center for Ecoliteracy’s Understanding Food and Climate Change: A Systems Perspective explores the links between food systems and our changing climate with an emphasis on systems thinking. A systems approach helps to illuminate how seemingly disconnected phenomena are often dynamically linked and can be understood best when viewed in a larger context. This collection of essays contains an extensive bibliography that provides resources for further investigation. Available as a free iBook for Mac and iPad users. A web version is also available for all computers and tablets.

 

Social and Emotional Learning in Green Schools Related Resources

ASCD webinar: Navigating Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) from the Inside Out

In this webinar (recorded January 2018), Stephanie Jones, professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, reviews Navigating Social and Emotional Learning from the Inside Out (an in-depth guide to 25 evidence-based programs that details curricular content and programmatic features that practitioners can use to make informed choices about their SEL programs) and the tools it provides to support educators as they compare curricula and methods across top SEL programs, and explains how programs can be adapted from schools to out-of-school-time settings, such as afterschool and summer programs. The session integrates concrete examples on the specific skills targeted and instructional methods that are applicable for K–6 settings.

 

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)

CASEL is the world’s leading organization advancing one of the most important fields in education: the practice of promoting integrated academic, social, and emotional learning for all children, from preschool through high school. Visit their website for case studies, research, policy, and resources (including guides, videos, book recommendations, and informative materials) on integrating social-emotional learning in schools.

 

Common Sense Education’s Social and Emotional Learning Educator Toolkit

Social and emotional learning skills aren’t “core content,” but they are at the core of all content. In this toolkit, you will find lessons, activities, classroom tools, and family resources to help students learn about character strengths and develop empathy, compassion, integrity, and more.

 

Empowering Education

Empowering Education is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing comprehensive, mindfulness-based social-emotional learning to K-12 schools. Their products and services include: a standards-aligned, evidence-based K-8 curriculum Empowering Minds; engaging professional development opportunities; schoolwide implementation guidance and coaching; school-family partnership assistance and programming; and Whole Child support consulting. Free samples lessons are available on their website.

 

Mindful Schools

Mindful Schools is a nonprofit training organization that offers online and in-person courses, multimedia content, informative articles, and a network of mindful educators spanning all 50 U.S. states and 100+ countries.

 

MindUp

MindUp is a product of The Hawn Foundation and was developed to help children build personal resilience, develop positive behavior, and improve learning and scholastic performance. Grounded in the pillars of Neuroscience, Positive Psychology, Mindful Behavior, and Social-Emotional Learning, the program consists of 15 lessons that are tailored to a child’s age group and development level. Each lesson offers students mindful strategies that can increase self-control, focus, empathy, and optimism. Visit the MindUp website to learn more about the lessons, pricing, and to view related research and white papers.

 

Project Adventure

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.

 

Responsive Classroom

Responsive Classroom is an evidence-based approach that emphasizes social, emotional, and academic growth in a strong and safe school community. Developed by classroom teachers, this approach gives K-8 educators the skills they need to help students build academic and social-emotional competencies. Visit their website to learn more about the broad array of consulting services and professional development opportunities they offer, including one-day and multi-day workshops; on-site, whole school professional development and consultation; teacher certification; and free online resources.

 

Social-Emotional Learning Webinars from Panorama Education

Panorama Education uses surveys and data analysis to provide hands-on coaching and support for schools and school districts looking to improve climate and culture, teaching and learning, family and community engagement, and social-emotional learning. The organization’s website includes an archive of past webinars touching on topics around social-emotional learning, including how-to’s and case studies from schools and school districts.

 

Grants and Awards
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.

 

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.

 

Fund for Teachers 

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.

 

GetEdFunding

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).

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