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.
Green Schools Conference and Expo
Early bird registration for the 2019 Green Schools Conference and Expo is now open! Make plans now to join fellow green schools advocates in St. Paul, Minnesota April 8 – 9, 2019 for the ninth annual conference and expo! Lear more about registration packages here.
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.
Children and Nature Network 2019 International Conference – Call for Proposals
The Children & Nature Network is seeking session proposals for its 2019 International Conference, to be held May 16 – 18, 2019 in Oakland, California. Organizers are seeking presentations for seven conference tracks that are focused on strategic “levers” needed to increase equitable access to nature. Strong preference will be given to interactive sessions that engage conference attendees in dialogue, hands-on activities, and peer learning. Formats can include presentations, workshops, walkshops, interactive trainings, facilitated discussions, and affinity group sessions. Preference will also be given to presentations that incorporate strategies for increasing equity and inclusion and supporting social-emotional learning.
The deadline to apply is October 30, 2018. Learn more about the seven conference tracks and submitting a proposal.
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 (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.
Upcoming Programming
2019 Summer EAST Institute on Place Based Service-Learning and Sustainability
JUNE 24 – 28, 2019, BURLINGTON, VERMONT
The longest running service-learning training for educators in the world, Summer EAST is a powerful learning lab for educators, set amid the breathtaking summer landscape of northern Vermont. Experience a week of inspiration, expert training, and powerful collaborations with an exceptional group of colleagues.
2019 Summer WEST Institute on Place Based Service-Learning and Sustainability
JULY 22 – 26, 2019 • LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Bring your vision, program, and project ideas to CWI’s acclaimed learning and design lab. Summer WEST is set in Los Angeles, one of the world’s most vibrant, culturally rich urban settings. Join us for a transformative week of project and program design, expert training and guidance, field work, and inspired networking.
Learn more about these opportunities and register online.
**CWI encourages schools to send cohort teams (minimum of four, max of eight per school) and is offering special rates to support this. School Cohorts will focus on their own practice while moving their school forward and learning deeper approaches to accomplish this, including a process for examining and advancing their practice. Cohort teams will continue working together when they return to school (not typical w/ teams).**
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 was 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.
Free Webinar: Integrating Ecological Economics Concepts into Science & Humanities Courses
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT
Co-sponsored by the United States Society for Ecological Economics
For sustainability to take hold across the curriculum, educators must gain the skills to integrate ecological economics concepts into science and humanities courses. Yet the disciplinary boundaries of secondary and post-secondary course structures often leave little room for instructors to integrate the interdisciplinary nature of ecological economics.
This session will introduce strategies to help instructors integrate ecological economics and sustainability concepts into science and humanities courses. Participants will review a tested, published method to infuse core concepts across disciplines, and see examples of activities on topics such as life cycle analysis, entropy, indicators, and ecosystem services. This session is recommended for teams of colleagues who want to begin bridging disciplines while improving student engagement.
Login information to join the webinar will be sent to registrants the day of the event.
Integrating Sustainability into the Curriculum: First Steps
Workshop at Kappa Delta Pi Convocation
November 1 – 3, Indianapolis, Indiana
#KDPConvo18
Sustainability is often considered a science topic only, unrelated to standards, or both. These perceptions hide the fact that sustainability is both applicable across disciplines and a powerful way to meet requirements.
In this hands-on workshop presented by Susan Santone, participants will learn to reframe lessons using basic sustainability concepts such as community and interdependence. The session will guide participants to apply these concepts across disciplines and enliven lesson topics while still meeting standards. Participants should bring a lesson(s); samples to reframe will be provided.
Changing the Story: Flipping the Script on Neoliberal Narratives in the Social Studies Curriculum
Workshop at the National Association for Multicultural Education
November 27 – 30, Memphis, Tennessee
#NAME2018
Neoliberalism, an ideology based on unfettered markets and competitive individualism, is built upon racial and socioeconomic hierarchies (among others). In this session, Susan Santone will help participants will unearth neoliberal narratives embedded in the social studies curriculum and develop strategies to “change the story” by infusing the principles of equity and democracy into instruction.
New Online Course
Check out a brand new course by Susan Santone and Kim Reynolds on Kappa Delta Pi’s new online learning platform. Available beginning November 1 at http://eln.kdp.org.
Education for Sustainability (an 8–10 hour intro course that offers a competency badge for display on your e-portfolio, which is free with course sign up)
Sustainability education is an approach to learning that builds the knowledge, skills, and values needed to create lasting economic prosperity, environmental health, and social justice. This online course introduces sustainability as a context for learning, highlights connections to the science and consequences of climate change, and provides strategies for reframing curriculum to emphasize these connections. This course is designed to engage you, the adult learner, in an integrative and reflective learning experience that emphasizes application of course content to your teaching.
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 breakout 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.
Why Learn about Insects?
Date: October 17, 2018; 7:30 – 8:30pm EST
Presenter: Rob Bixler
Description: Negative experiences with insects so strongly shape young peoples’ perceptions that even the best efforts of environmental educators sometimes fail. Insects are their own worst spokespersons. The only bugs that tend to hang around us are those that bite us, suck our blood, defensively sting, or infest our food. Our seemingly unimportant relationship with insects dramatically influences our pesticide use, understanding of biodiversity, home landscaping preferences, and participation in outdoor recreation. In numerous small-scale studies of attitudes and knowledge about insects and spiders, these “bugs” were anything but popular in rankings of animal preferences, far below birds and mammals. In this presentation, I argue that a wide variety of personal, community, and societal benefits can emerge if we can find more ways to focus our students’ attention on the lowly, creepy critters that most people just call “bugs.” Bugs should and can be the ideal means of teaching many environmental education concepts to elementary age children.
Feeding Plants to Feed the World
Date: October 22, 2018; 7:30 – 8:30pm EST
Presenter: Kent Lewarne
Description: Today’s modern agriculture faces the challenge of feeding a growing world population, which is estimated to be 9 billion people by the year 2050. As the world population continues to increase, it is worth noting the available arable land globally is decreasing. With fewer students involved directly with agriculture, there is a disconnect in which fewer young people know where their food comes from today. To address this disconnect and the global challenges, I’ll share some activities that introduce students to some of the terms used in agriculture and the “food” plants need to eat too.
A Community Pathway to Stewardship
Date: October 30, 2018; 7:30 – 8:30pm EST
Presenter: Jacob Rodenburg
Description: This presentation will offer up an environmental framework for education, centered on stewardship and drawing on Indigenous Ways of Knowing. If we truly want to foster the environmental citizens of tomorrow, we need to involve our entire community: That means parents, grandparents, educators, schools, organizations, community leaders, health professionals, municipal officials, and businesses. A theory of change around community environmental education is being developed in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. In this session, Jacob will describe how your community can adopt a “Pathway to Stewardship.”
Creating Community-Wide Outdoor Education Festivals
Date: November 7, 2018; 7:30 – 8:30pm EST
Presenter: Hartley Banack
Four years ago, a small group of people came together to explore how to change attitudes and behaviours and increase the amount of time people in our city were spending outdoors for living and learning. We created an annual weeklong outdoor education festival, and a movement to increase time spent outdoors. This presentation will equip you to use similar means to accomplish the same goal in your community. Hartley will provide advice on how to get started, how to reach out to community members, how to raise funds, and finally, the lessons we have learned.
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.
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
3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Toolkit
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is releasing an updated 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Toolkit to improve lead reduction implementation practices, to clarify intent, and to make the toolkit more user-friendly. This toolkit includes modules, customizable templates, and tools to help implement a lead testing program, as well as supplemental fact sheets for water utilities, child care facilities, tribal schools, and day cares.
Center for Green Schools School Board Advocacy Toolkit
The School Board Advocacy Toolkit from the Center for Green Schools is a free resource that helps green schools allies address sustainability issues and impact greener policies at the school district level. It is designed to make local green schools advocacy approachable and actionable. The toolkit contains talking points, template letters and presentations, sample policy language, and more for you to use to promote greener policy options related to any school sustainability issue.
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.
Future City is a project-based learning program where sixth- through eighth-grade students image, research, design, and build cities of the future that showcase their solution to a citywide sustainability issue. The 2018 – 2019 theme is Powering Our Future. Teams will design a resilient power grid for their future city that can withstand and quickly recover from the impacts of a natural disaster.
Participants complete five deliverables: a virtual city design using SimCity; a 1,500-word city essay; a scale model; a project plan; and a presentation to judges at Regional Competitions in January 2019. Regional winners represent their region at the Finals in Washington DC in February 2019.
Registration for the 2018 – 2019 competition closes on October 31, 2018. Visit the website to learn more and register your team.
Green Apple Day of Service gives parents, teachers, students, companies, and local organizations the opportunity to transform all schools into healthy, safe, and productive learning environments through local service projects. Check out project ideas, pick up helpful event resources, and register your project online. Register by March 15, 2019 to be eligible for a Green Apple Award.
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.
Outdoor Classroom Day is a global campaign to celebrate and inspire outdoor learning and play. On this day, thousands of schools around the world take lessons outdoors and prioritize playtime. In 2017, over two million children in over 100 countries took part. This year, Outdoor Classroom Day will be held on May 17 and November 1. To participate, visit the website, sign up, and check out the online resources for activities, lesson ideas, and materials to inspire your Outdoor Classroom Day.
The Real World Design Challenge (RWDC) is an annual competition that provides high school students, grades 9-12, the opportunity to work on real world engineering challenges in a team environment. Each year, student teams address a challenge that confronts our nation’s leading industries. Students utilize professional engineering software to develop their solutions and generate presentations that convincingly demonstrate the value of their solutions. RWDC provides students with opportunities to apply classroom lessons to the technical problems that are being faced in the workplace.
Registration is open until November 17, 2018. Students on the national winning team will receive $50,000 scholarships from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Students in grades K-12 are invited to participate in a national recycling awareness contest sponsored by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and JASON Learning. The theme of this year’s contest is, “Recycle to Rebuild.”
Students are challenged to apply the knowledge, ideas, and skills they have gained from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to research, imagine, prototype, and test ways to use recycled materials to help rebuild infrastructure.
Students are invited to create an original video or poster that tells the story of their “Recycle to Rebuild” solution, and how they can up with it and tested it. Videos or posters should educate others about the challenge we face to rebuild infrastructure and inspire them to explore recycling solutions – both big and small – that will bring our infrastructure into the 21st Century and beyond!
Students can enter the contest as individuals or as a team of up to four individuals. One video and one poster will be selected as a finalist from each of three grade bands: K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. Up to two grand-prize winners will be selected. Grand prize winners will receive a trip for one team representative and a parent/guardian chaperone to ISRI’s Annual Convention and Exposition to be held in Los Angeles in April 2019.
Entries due December 15, 2018.
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest
This nationwide contest challenges public school teachers and students in grades 6 – 12 to apply STEM project-based learning to improve their local communities. Ten finalists will be selected to attend a pitch event to demo their prototypes in front of a live panel of judges in April 2019. Three national winners will receive $100,000 in Samsung technology and classroom resources. The deadline to enter is October 30, 2018.
Scaling up Healthy, Climate-Friendly School Food: Strategies for Success
Friends of the Earth’s latest report—Scaling Up Healthy, Climate-Friendly School Food: Strategies for Success––spotlights a growing movement of pioneering school districts using their massive purchasing power to provide plant-forward, climate-friendly food that is healthier for students and the planet. This report, which includes four detailed case studies, is based on lessons learned from 33 interviews with school food professionals. It documents specific climate benefits of menu shifts and provides valuable resources, detailed strategies, examples, and best practices from 18 school districts. The report also points to major policy and structural barriers and highlights policy actions that can help flip institutional incentives from an emphasis on highly processed, industrial animal products to healthy, fresh, climate-friendly, plant-forward meals.
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.
The World’s Largest Lesson was developed by Project Everyone to introduce the United Nations’ Global Goals for Sustainable Development to children and young people and unite them in action to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change. This year’s Lesson started on September 24. Visit the website to learn more about this project, find resources and lesson plans for each of the 17 goals, and learn how you can join this global effort.
Grand Challenges for Engineering Related Resources
DiscoverE offers a growing number of hands-on activities, videos, and other resources that volunteers, parents, and students can use to explore engineering. The site also introduces national engineering outreach programs.
Developed by a team of University of Texas faculty, NASA engineers, and secondary teachers working with funding from the National Science Foundation, Engineer Your World is an innovative, student-centered curriculum that engages learners in authentic engineering experiences and inspires them to embrace an engineer’s habits of mind. Collaborative, student-directed projects build resilient problem-solving skills and empower students to think like engineers, to adopt engineering processes, and to pursue engineering disciplines for the betterment of our world.
JASON is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1989 by Dr. Robert D. Ballard. JASON provides curriculum and learning experiences in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for K-12 students, and high-quality professional development for teachers.
Each comprehensive JASON Learning curriculum features print and digital materials, hands-on activities, videos, and online games for students, as well as lesson plans, implementation tips, professional development, and a powerful digital platform for educators. Live, interactive events throughout the year connect the JASON community with inspirational STEM role models, including renowned scientists and other experts who have pursued STEM careers.
This NASA webpage includes a wealth of resources, lesson plans, and teaching materials for K-12 educators to support STEM curriculum.
National Environmental Education Foundation Rooted in Math Educator Toolkit
Mathematics allows us to analyze current conditions within an environment, make predictions about future trends, and respond in ways that surpass what is possible through simple observation. When looked at in the context of the other STEM subjects (science, technology, and engineering), mathematics becomes a necessary tool in the practice of these fields, enabling the collection and comparison of scientific data that then informs the technology and engineering design of the future.
The National Environmental Education Foundation has developed a free toolkit for educators, including lesson plans, activity ideas, and informational resources, to help bridge the gap between mathematics and the natural world.
National Science Foundation Engineering Classroom Resources
This collection of lessons, activities, and web resources curated by the National Science Foundation aims to help educators, students, and students’ families learn more about engineering.
Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a nonprofit organization that provides a transformative learning experience for K-12 students and teachers across the United States. PLTW empowers students to develop and apply in-demand, transportable skills by exploring real-world challenges. Through our pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science, students not only learn technical skills, but how to solve problems, think critically and creatively, communicate, and collaborate. PLTW also provides teachers with the training, resources, and support they need to engage students in real-world learning.
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.
A program of Solar One, Green Design Lab is a K-12 education program that promotes experiential learning opportunities through science, technology, and design. Solar One’s programs increase environmental knowledge about energy, water, materials science, and food while fostering sustainable behaviors and stewardship. Using the school as a learning laboratory, Solar One’s K-12 programs introduce students to hands-on, real-world experiences, support the development of creative thinking and problem-solving skills, and turn students into advocates for sustainability in their schools and communities.
The Green Design Lab program delivers professional development opportunities to teachers; offers a curriculum package centered on the school building as a learning laboratory; and provides resources including videos, worksheets, and a toolkit for educators.
STEM-Works is a resource for teachers, mentors, parents, STEM professionals, volunteers, and everyone passionate about getting children eager to learn about science, technology, engineering, and math. The organization’s website features STEM-related activities for a number of topic areas, including space, robotics, energy, and extreme weather; advocacy information and materials; and a page highlighting cool jobs in STEM fields.
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.
Grants and Awards
Annie’s offers Grants for Gardens donations to schools and other educational programs that help build school gardens. The Fall 2018 application period is open through November 1, 2018. Learn more about eligibility requirements, funding, and how to apply on Annie’s website.
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 January 15, 2019.
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 January 15, 2019.
Funding opportunities are available to any qualified K‐12 school enrolled in Fuel Up to Play 60. Sponsored by the National Dairy Council, state and regional Dairy Councils, and other supporting organizations, this competitive, nationwide funding program provides money— up to $4,000 per year, per school — to jump start healthy changes. Funds are used to help schools implement one Healthy Eating Play and one Physical Activity Play from the 2018 – 2019 edition of the Fuel Up to Play 60 Playbook.
To apply, schools must:
- Enroll in Fuel Up to Play 60
- Have a registered program advisor
- Participate in the National School Lunch Program
Learn more and download an application from the website. The deadline to apply is November 7, 2018.
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. Applications for 2019 are being accepted through January 31, 2019. Learn more about the application process and what current and past fellows have accomplished on the Fund for Teachers website.
FY 2019 Farm to School Grant Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will award up to $7.5 million in competitive grants to eligible entities through the Farm to School Grant Program in fiscal year (FY) 2019. Each grant helps implement Farm to School programs that increase access to local food in eligible schools, providing students with quality meals at a reasonable cost while also supporting local producers. In FY 2018, USDA awarded 73 grants across the United States.
The 2019 Request for Applications includes three tracks—Implementation, Planning, and Training. Each track provides funding for a specific range of activities:
- Implementation grants are intended to help schools, school districts, state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, small- and medium-sized agricultural producers or groups of small- and medium-sized agricultural producers, and nonprofit entities working with schools or school districts to scale or further develop existing farm to school initiatives. Implementation awards range from $50,000 – $100,000.
- Planning grants are for schools or school districts, state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, small- and medium-sized agricultural producers or groups of small- and medium-sized agricultural producers, and nonprofit entities working with schools or school districts that are just getting started on farm to school activities. These funds are intended to help these entities organize and structure their efforts for maximum impact by embedding known best practices into early design considerations. Planning awards range from $20,000 – $50,000.
- Training grants are intended for state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, small- and medium-sized agricultural producers or groups of small- and medium-sized agricultural producers, and nonprofit entities to support trainings that strengthen farm to school supply chains or trainings that provide technical assistance in the areas of local procurement, food safety, culinary education, and/or integration of agriculture‐based curriculum. Training awards range from $20,000 – $50,000.
Deadline for application submissions is December 4, 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.
NSTA’s Shell Science Lab Program
Shell and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) have partnered to recognize outstanding middle and high school programs for their exemplary approaches to science lab instruction utilizing limited school and laboratory resources. The Shell Science Lab Challenge showcases the work of teachers who submit innovative, replicable strategies to deliver quality lab experiences with limited equipment/resources, and award teachers/schools with additional tools, resources, and rich professional development opportunities needed to support high-quality science teaching and strengthen their existing capabilities. To be eligible:
- Applicants may be individual teachers or teams of teachers of science in grades 6-12, in the United States and Canada, representing their schools.
- A teacher is limited to one application per year (whether submitting as an individual or team applicant).
- A school may submit an unlimited number of applications.
The Shell Science Lab Challenge national winners will be honored during a black-tie dinner gala at the NSTA National Conference on Science Education. The grand prize winner will receive a lab makeover support package valued at $20,000.
Applications are due by 12PM EST on December 21, 2018 via online submission.
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.
