Professional Development
Save the Date!
The Green Schools Conference and Expo (GSCE) is coming to Atlanta in 2017.
Register to attend GSCE to advance healthy, high-performing green schools! The 2017 conference is scheduled for March 21-22, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Westin Peachtree Plaza. Gather with green school champions for two days of learning and collaboration to support our shared mission of equitable, healthy, and high-performing schools, where students can learn how to sustain and improve the world around them. Make plans to attend today…we look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!
Are you a Green Schools National Network member? If so, you can register for the early bird registration rate even after that deadline ends! Learn more about becoming a member below.
A limited number of reduced rate hotel rooms are available. Learn more about room rates and travel for GSCE 2017.
Plenary speakers and conference programming are now available! Learn who GSCE is bringing in to speak at the conference and what you can expect to learn about over the following two days.
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 member of the program, you will learn from and be inspired by the people who are transforming schools across the country.
Choose from 5 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.
2017 CELF Summer Institute: Education for Sustainability
The Annual CELF Summer Institute in Education for Sustainability (July 10 – 13, 2017, Manhattanville College, New York) is an intensive 4-day workshop that enables teachers to integrate the concepts of sustainability into their existing curricula. The Institute equips K-12 teachers with practices and teching methods to address the core concepts of education for sustainability – the intersection of social, economic, and ecological systems – and how the balance of those three systems is vital to a sustainable future, and relevant to all subject areas.
Each Institute begins by building a learning community and a common vocabulary around sustainability, and progresses with hands-on activities, case studies, special guest presentations, and field work. The schedule includes supported planning time so that participants will have tangible materials to bring back to their classrooms.
Participating teachers will:
- Gain a greater understanding of the science and economics behind global issues affecting our planet.
- Create student-centered sustainability projects.
- Apply concepts like systems thinking, interdependence, and community to instructional practice.
- Engage in hands-on learning activities that can be used with students.
- Develop new school change-making strategies.
Benefits and Resources:
- Gain access to CELF’s online curriculum library.
- Align curriculum projects with national education for sustainability standards and performance indicators.
- Learn from and share best practices with Institute facilitators and peers from across the region and around the world.
- Access post-Institute support for on-going education for sustainability implementation.
Registration is open for the 2017 Institute. The 4-day program costs $450 per teacher and discounts are available for school teams. Learn more about registration and credit options here.
2017 NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers Program
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers is a two-week workshop for middle school science teachers featuring hands-on activities, lectures, tours, and visits with NIST scientists and engineers in their laboratories.
Teachers who participate in the NIST Summer Institute gain:
- Increased understanding of the subjects they teach
- Increased understanding of how scientific research is performed
- Materials and resources to implement what they learned at NIST in their classrooms
- Increased enthusiasm for science
- A network of scientists and engineers at NIST with whom to consult
Teachers finish the NIST Summer Institute with a wealth of new knowledge about core topics such as forensics and materials science, and materials to integrate these topics into their classroom while meeting curriculum standards.
2017 program dates are July 10-21, 2017. Interested teachers must submit applications through their school district or private school administration by March 3, 2017. Learn more about the program and the application process here.
Children & Nature Network’s International Conference and Summit
The 2017 Children & Nature Network International Conference and Summit will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from April 18 – 21, 2017. The 2017 conference theme, “Kids Need Nature, Nature Needs Kids,” reflects the Network’s goal of ensuring that all children have access to the many benefits of nature — and the need to inspire new generations of environmental stewards. The conference will promote meaningful, cross-sector engagement to create a world in which all children have access to nature in their daily lives by:
- Presenting evidence about the role that nature plays in healthy childhood development
- Sharing best and promising practices
- Providing actionable tools and resources
- Exploring and advancing strategies for policy change
- Including representation from diverse voices, backgrounds, and sectors
- Inspiring participants to take personal/professional action to increase nature access for children, families, and communities around the world
- Strengthen connections and relationships in the growing international community of children and nature advocates
Registration is now open! Learn more about attending the conference, including travel information, on the conference website.
Citizen Science Association 2017 Conference
The 2017 Citizen Science Association Conference will be held May 17-20 in St.Paul, Minnesota. The conference provides a venue for citizen science researchers, practitioners, community members, and theorists to come together and share knowledge and best practices in the interest of advancing the field of citizen science. Educators engaging in citizen science in their classroom are encouraged to attend and take advantage of the workshops, events, and networking opportunities offered during the conference. More information about registration, hotels, and travel can be found on the conference’s website.
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.
CWI is offering discounted rates through February 28th for each of its 2017 summer institutes. Its East Institute will be held in Burlington, Vermont from June 19-23, and its West Institute will be held in Los Angeles, California from July 24-28. Visit the website to learn more about these professional development opportunities and to register.
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.
All of the Alliance’s 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 system-wide information on school efforts.
Learn more about upcoming events and training programs.
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.
The Power of Positive, Inspiring Solutions
Presenter: Guy Dauncey
Monday, February 20th 2017 7:30-8:30pm EST
Judging by Guy’s experience speaking in high schools, the new generation, following Gen X and the Millennials, is Gen W – Generation Worry. When he asks students: “When you think about the future of our world, what do you feel – Hope or Worry?” Very few hands go up for “hope”—almost all go up for “worry.” Our need as educators is to generate hope – to turn Gen W into Gen H.
The webinar will showcase the power of positive, inspiring solutions to the worries that are causing so many young people to lose hope, including the climate crisis, the wider ecological crisis (which includes the oceans filling up with plastic), and larger economic and political worries. It will show how, using a positive three-step approach, you can turn worry into hope, and then into action.
Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short-Term Program
The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is administered by the Institute of International Education. It seeks to promote mutual understanding among teachers, their schools, and communities in the U.S. and abroad by:
- Building teachers’ and students’ global competence
- Sharing of best educational practices internationally
Through the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short-Term Program, U.S. K-12 teachers and educators can apply for grants to engage in collaborative projects for approximately 2-6 weeks abroad, with a preference for 3 or more weeks. Participants consult with and support schools, non-profit organizations, teacher training institutions, and other educational organizations abroad. This short-term program is offered in addition to the longer program, which is for a period of three to six months.
The grant award provides funding for program expenses while abroad, including travel costs, lodging, meals, local transportation, and related expenses. These grants give U.S. educators flexibility to participate in the Fulbright Program while meeting their teaching and professional commitments.
Grants for 2017 are available in Botswana, Colombia, India, Mexico, the Palestinian Territories, South Korea, and Vietnam. Click here to see more information on program opportunities.
National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) Ocean Literacy Webinar Series
The NMEA Ocean Literacy Committee is hosting a three-part webinar series. Each webinar will cover a different topic and topics will build on the one prior.
Webinar 3: Thursday, February 23
Organizing for Ocean Literacy – Implementation at Different Scales
1:00 p.m. EST
Join us for examples of how educators, scientists, and policy makers have deployed the Ocean Literacy Framework and the Ocean Literacy/Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Alignment document. We will focus on moving from ideas to impact by looking at examples of Ocean Literacy-inspired curricula, non-formal programs with a focus on Ocean Literacy, and how the alignment of NGSS with Ocean Literacy can be leveraged to support funding efforts, strategic planning activity, and teacher professional learning.
Nature Based Education Summer Institute
The University of Maine – Farmington will be hosting a Nature Based Education Summer Institute from June 23 – 24, 2017. Sessions will be interactive and outdoors, and appeal to a range of educators working across age levels and settings. The Institute is designed for educators-in-training as well as those who have extensive experience in the field. Opportunities to connect with colleagues will foster shared learning and exploration.
Registration for the Institute is now open. Visit the conference website for pricing and updates.
NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellowship
The NEA Foundation recognizes that educators must be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and disposition needed to prepare students for the global age. Through the Global Learning Fellowship program, educators have an opportunity to lead the profession by acquiring the necessary skills to integrate global competence into their daily classroom instruction, advance pedagogy in their school/district, prepare students to thrive in the flattened global age, and contribute to closing the global achievement gap.
The NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellowship offers 12 months of professional development opportunities to support educators as they cultivate global competence skills and build global lesson plans that are shared with educators around the world. Over the course of one year, Fellows are supported by NEA Foundation staff, partners, and other field experts as they work through the following:
- Online coursework on effectively integrating global content into core instruction
- Online resource guide and webinars, comprised of country-specific concepts
- A fall professional development workshop
- A nine day summer international field study
Applications for the program are being accepted through February 28, 2017.
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.
Shelbourne 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. Shelbourne Farms offers a variety of experiences that inspire deep connections to community, and a commitment to a healthy future.
ABCs of Farm-Based Education (March 10 -12, 2017)
Discover easy and fun ways to develop agricultural education programs with engaging, kid-tested, educator approved activities! If you are looking for new ideas for an existing program, or are starting to explore the opportunities of farm-based education, this workshop is for you! Spend three days engaging in hands-on discussion and activity-based learning and exploration of the Shelburne Farms campus, including the dairy, farmyard, garden, and forest classrooms. Experience activities from Shelburne Farms’ publications Project Seasons and Cultivating Joy and Wonder as we discuss ways to engage school groups and farm visitors. Workshop topics include: creating a safe learning environment, developing programs, resource sharing and networking among participants, and more!
Register for this workshop here.
Student Climate and Conservation Conference 2017
The Student Climate & Conservation Congress (Sc3) is a week-long leadership training program held annually at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s National Conservation Training Center – the nation’s top environmental training facility. Participants, also known as Sc3 Fellows, spend a week studying and discussing environmental, social, and economic interconnections to address climate change and conservation challenges affecting their generation in an ever changing world.
Applications are now being accepted!
WHO: Current 8th – 11th Grade Students
WHEN: June 25 – July 1, 2017
WHERE: National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV
COST: $950 if you apply by March 15
$1100 if you apply by April 15
$1250 if you apply by May 15 – Application Deadline
6 nights, all-inclusive (except transportation to DC)
Financial aid & scholarships are available.
Teachers for Global Classrooms Program
The Teachers for Global Classrooms Program (TGC) is a year-long, fully funded professional development opportunity for U.S. elementary, middle, and high school teachers to become leaders in global education. Global education is integral to building 21st century skills, and teachers are the greatest resource to empower students as global citizens. TGC equips teachers to bring an international perspective to their schools through targeted training, experience abroad, and global collaboration.
TGC Fellows become global ambassadors in their classrooms, schools, and broader communities through:
- Collaboration with U.S. and international colleagues to promote mutual understanding.
- Rigorous professional development so teachers return to their schools as catalysts for global engagement.
- International field experience and curriculum development focused on global competency, technology integration, and cross-cultural communication.
Applications for the 2017-2018 TGC Fellowship are being accepted until March 20, 2017 at 11:59pm EST.
Resources
Experiential Tools: Resources for Teaching and Group Facilitation
Experiential Tools was founded by author and educator Jennifer buy safe ambien online Stanchfield in an effort 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.
Field Investigations: Using Outdoor Environments to Foster Student Learning of Scientific Practices
Field Investigations: Using Outdoor Environments to Foster Student Learning of Scientific Practices is a framework of scientific practices that scientists use in the field. This guide was developed to help K-12 teachers introduce their students to the methodologies used for scientific field research and guide them through the process of conducting field investigations using these scientific practices. In particular, this guide demonstrates how to use descriptive and comparative methodologies for field studies typically used in the environment and natural resource sectors. The guide has been updated to address how the three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards may be used to integrate field investigation scientific practices with real world content through crosscutting concepts that practicing field scientists and engineers tackle in their role as professionals.
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.
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.
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 Teachers Association Best STEM Books of 2017
The National Science Teachers Association has released its first ever list for “Best STEM Books.” The panel of judges selected books that reinforce STEM thinking—modeling innovation, demonstrating authentic problem-solving, and assimilation of new ideas, all while exploring solutions that show progressive change or improvement.
Best STEM Books is a joint project of several organizations: the American Society for Engineering Education, the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association, the National Science Teachers Association, the Society of Elementary Presidential Awardees, and the Children’s Book Council. The list provides knowledgeable recommendations to educators, librarians, parents, and caregivers about the best trade books with STEM content.
The NCF-Envirothon is an annual competition where teams from participating states and Canadian provinces compete for recognition and scholarships by demonstrating their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management. The competition is centered on four universal testing categories (i.e., soils/land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, and wildlife) and a current environmental issue.
The Envirothon program is an effective educational tool, capable of supplementing environmental education both inside and outside the classroom. Led by a volunteer advisor, teams usually meet from late autumn until spring. Teams work collaboratively to develop their knowledge of ecology and natural resource management and to practice their environmental problem-solving skills in preparation for Envirothon competitions.
Visit the website to learn more about past, current, and future competitions, as well as how to get your school involved.
Climate Change and Human Health Lesson Plans from NIEHS
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) recently developed a Climate and Health learning module for use in high school classrooms interested in exploring the health impacts of climate change. The module promotes learning about the complex interactions between climate change, the environment, and human health and uses content from the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s 2016 report, The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment. The materials are available free of charge and can be adapted for other grades and informal educational settings. The module integrates multiple science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and cross cutting concepts for earth and life sciences. It was designed with Next Generation Science Standards in mind.
Additional NIEHS developed environmental health and science training materials can be found at: https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/scied/teachers/
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 provide teachers with the training, resources, and support they need to engage students in real-world learning.
School Cafeteria Discards Assessment Project
The School Cafeteria Discards Assessment Project (SCrAP) was developed by the Environmental Research and Education Foundation – in collaboration with the School Nutrition Foundation – to quantify both food waste and related wastes (e.g. recyclables, to landfill) generated in cafeterias at K-12 schools nationally. The project aims to gather information regarding the quantity of waste generated in school cafeterias and obtain an understanding of how this waste is managed both at the school and after it is hauled away.
Would you be willing to help? We are looking for trendsetters who want to make the environment cleaner and greener while at the same time educating students. Your participation will help guide policy and future initiatives to minimize waste generation and maximize sustainability for schools across the nation. Specifically, we need elementary, middle, high schools and combined schools (e.g. private, charter) to participate in the program.
Watch this short video to learn more about the SCrAP Program and visit the website to register your school. Participating schools can submit their questionnaires through the end of March 2017.
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.
State of the River Teacher’s Guide
The State of the River Report — developed in partnership with Friends of the Mississippi River and the National Park Service’s Mississippi National River and Recreation Area — assembles and analyzes a wealth of data, and communicates in plain terms how the river is doing to answer these frequently posed questions. The State of the River Report describes 14 indicators that illustrate the condition of the river.
The Teacher’s Guide aims to apply the content of the State of the River Report to grades 3-12 classrooms. Lessons are anchored in Minnesota state standards providing information, resources, and activities that fulfill a benchmark. By design, lessons may stand alone or be embedded in a unit of study. Field trips are not necessary to provide students with engaging, interactive, place-based experiences! The Teacher’s Guide provides lessons that educators can easily implement in their schools and classrooms.
Grants and Awards
The Braitmayer Foundation is interested in proposals utilizing innovative practices in K-12 education throughout the United States. Of particular interest are:
- Curricular and school reform initiatives.
- Preparation of and professional development opportunities for teachers, particularly those which encourage people of high ability and diverse background to enter and remain in K-12 teaching.
Grants are awarded up to $35,000. Applications for 2017 grants should be submitted online between February 1 and March 15. To learn more about the application process, view past recipients, and to submit an application, please visit the Foundation’s website.
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 March 15, 2017.
EPA’s Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators
The Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators recognizes outstanding kindergarten through grade 12 teachers who employ innovative approaches to environmental education and use the environment as a context for learning for their students. Up to two teachers from each of EPA’s 10 regions, from different states, will be selected to receive this award. The White House Council on Environmental Quality, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers this award to honor, support, and encourage educators who incorporate environmental education in their classrooms and teaching methods.
- Teacher awardees will receive a Presidential award plaque and an award of up to $2,500 to be used to further the recipient’s professional development in environmental education. Teacher awardees will also receive a congratulatory letter from a senior official from EPA and/or the White House.
- The teacher’s local education agency will also receive an award of up to $2,500 to fund environmental education activities and programs (and not for construction costs, general expenses, salaries, bonuses, or other administrative expenses).
- Honorable Mention recipients will receive certificates of recognition.
Applications due March 1, 2017.
EPA’s President’s Environmental Youth Award
The President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) recognizes outstanding environmental projects by K-12 youth. The PEYA program promotes awareness of our nation’s natural resources and encourages positive community involvement. Since 1971, the President of the United States has joined with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recognize young people for protecting our nation’s air, water, land, and ecology. It is one of the most important ways EPA and the Administration demonstrate commitment to environmental stewardship efforts created and conducted by our nation’s youth.
Each year the PEYA program honors a wide variety of projects developed by young individuals, school classes (kindergarten through high school), summer camps, public interest groups, and youth organizations to promote environmental awareness. Thousands of young people from all 50 states and the U.S. territories have submitted projects to EPA for consideration. Winning projects in the past have covered a wide range of subject areas, including:
- restoring native habitats
- recycling in schools and communities
- construction of nature preserves
- tree planting
- installing renewable energy projects
- creating videos, skits, and newsletters that focused on environmental issues
- participating in many other creative sustainability efforts
PEYA has two parts — a regional award for Grades K-5 and a regional award for Grades 6-12. Each award-winning project will receive a Presidential plaque. All qualified applicants will receive a certificate honoring them for their efforts to protect human health and the environment.
Applications are due March 1, 2017.
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.
The Lead2Feed Challenge is the contest component of the Lead2Feed Student Leadership Program, which challenges students to identify and use their leadership skills to complete a service project. The Lead2Feed Challenge gives students a jump start into the real world of leadership by offering comprehensive lessons aligned to standards and 21st century skills. Lead2Feed is aligned with Common Core State Standards and 21st Century Skills and meets the community service requirement for many associations, clubs, and school districts.
To participate, teachers/advisers must register their classrooms and submit completed project(s) once they have finished the 10- Lesson or 6- Lesson track. Projects are judged each April and teams can win up to $20,000 for their charity and up to $10,000 in tech products for their school or youth club.
The Lead2Feed Challenge is open to entries all year long. Entries received by the first Friday in April each year are judged for the current contest year. Entries received after the first Friday in April are placed into the next year’s judging cycle. Full Lead2Feed Challenge Rules are here.
The NEA Foundation Learning and Leadership Grants
The NEA Foundation Learning and Leadership Grants support public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of the following two purposes:
- Grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences, such as summer institutes, conferences, or action research.
- Grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson plan development, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff.
Grants awards are $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups engaged in collegial study. Applications may be submitted anytime throughout the year and are reviewed three times a year, every year. Deadlines for applications are February 1, June 1, and October 15.
Voya Foundation grants are focused on Financial Resilience. We work to ensure that youth are equipped with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) expertise and financial knowledge necessary to compete in the 21st century workforce and make smart financial decisions that lead to a secure retirement.
We accomplish this by accepting year-round grant applications from organizations that:
- Provide innovative and experiential K-8 STEM learning opportunities to promote an early interest in STEM career fields, and improve teachers’ capabilities in STEM; or
- Provide financial education curriculum to grade 9-12 students focused on navigating major financial milestones including student debt, credit, home ownership, financial products and services/financial capability, and family needs.
Learn more about applying for a Voya Foundation Grant.
