Support a non-regulatory,
science-based, egalitarian and popular (over 90% of Americans think EE should
be in schools) solution to environmental problems through a tax-deductible
contribution today! Donate Here!
Header Picture Captions
Left to Right: Friends of Rock Bridge Memorial S.P. Nature Detectives,
Summer 2010; Academie Lafayette, Kansas City, Stream Class; Sustain Mizzou
Green Team recycling at an MU home football game, Columbia. If you have pictures
of your students learning aout or working in the environment (with permissions)
send them to weaverjc@missouri.edu and we will post them.
Contact Information
Jan Weaver
weaverjc@missouri.edu
MEEA
P. O. Box 13
Columbia MO 65205-0013
95% of Americans think environmental education
should be taught in schools. Coyle, K. 2005. Environmental Literacy in America: What
ten years of NEEF Roper Research and Related Studies Say About Environmental
Literacy in the U.S.) http://www.neefusa.org/pdf/ELR2005.pdf)
Research
1998 Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment
as an Integrating Context, 2000 California Assessment Project, 2005
California Assessment Project Phase 2 - Elementary Schools at www.seer.org. SEER
is the State Environmental Education Roundtable:
California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota,
New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington) Using
the environment as an integrating context significantly improved
student scores on standardized tests in science, math and language
arts in elementary schools, and in science, language arts and social
studies in middle through high schools, with no negative impacts
on the other subjects.Environmental education also improved students’ attendance,
decreased office referrals and suspensions, and increased teachers'
enthusiasm and commitment to teaching. Using the environment as an
integrating context means 1) using a relevant context - local resources,
situations and issues, 2) tackling demanding questions (usually initiated
by students after an initial prompt), 3) using interactive approaches,
4) having a learner orientation 5) using authentic assessments (reports,
letters, ordinances, bills, grants), and 6) having an integrated,
interdisciplinary, collaborative approach
Standards
The North American Association for the Advancement of Environmental
Education has developed Guidelines for Environmental Educators
The Children in Nature Challenge is a program to recognize communities
and families who create opportunities for their children to get outside
and discover nature firsthand. A number of resources from Missouri state
agencies can help communities get started. Why is this important? Children
benefit physically, mentally, and even spiritually by reconnecting with
nature; it helps them feel happier and healthier. Educating children
about nature also helps foster a lifelong appreciation of the plants
and animals that live around us, and can make children better future
stewards of our precious natural resources.
The No Child Left Inside Act (NCLI) provides
financial support for states that have an Environmental Literacy
Plan (ELP) on
file with their state department of education. An ELP is a comprehensive,
integrated plan for incorporating environmental educaiton into public
schools. See Missouri's draft ELP here
There are six major elements in an ELP:
Content Standards: specific content standards, content
areas and courses or subjects where instruction takes place;
Graduation Requirements: description
of how state high school graduation requirements will ensure graduates
are environmentally literate;
Teacher Professional Development: description
of programs for professional development of teachers to improve their
environmental content knowledge, skill in teaching about environmental
issues and field-based pedagogical skills;
Assessment: description of how the
state education agency will measure the environmental literacy of students;
Implementation and Funding: description
of how the state education agency will implement the plan, including
securing funding and other necessary support; and
Facilities and Grounds: plans and
resources for school facilities and grounds.
*Please note that the following information is for
the No Child Left Inside Act of 2008.
1. State Environmental Literacy Plans NCLB Title
II To qualify for environmental education grant monies under
Title II and Title V, a state educational agency must develop and submit
a K-12 plan to the United States Department of Education for peer review
and approval that will ensure that elementary and secondary school
students are environmentally literate. The plan will be submitted by
the state educational agency in consultation with state natural resource
and environmental agencies and with input from the public. A state
educational agency may submit an existing state plan that has been
developed by or in cooperation with state environmental organizations
provided that the plan meets specified requirements. State plans must
include: relevant content standards, content areas, and courses or
subjects where instruction will take place; a description of the relationship
of the plan to state graduation requirements; a description of programs
for professional development of teachers to improve their environmental
content knowledge, skill in teaching about environmental issues, and
field-based pedagogical skills; a description of how the state educational
agency will measure the environmental literacy of students; and a description
of how the state educational agency will implement the plan, including
securing funding and other necessary support. A state educational agency
may use state funds for the development of the State Environmental
Literacy Plan 1.
2. Grants for Enhancing Education through Environmental
Education NCLB Title II Creates an environmental education
grant program for teacher professional development and student programs
(modeled on the Math/Science Partnership in Title II of NCLB). The
purpose of this grant program is to ensure the academic achievement
of students in environmental literacy through the professional development
of teachers and educators and outdoor learning experiences for students.
One hundred million dollars are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this grant program and the state environmental literacy plans (2)
for fiscal year 2008 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years. The
United States Department of Education awards grants to state educational
agencies, to whom eligible partnerships apply for these grants. Eligible
partnerships include a local educational agency and may include: a
teacher training department of an institution of higher education;
an environmental department of an institution of higher education;
another local education agency, a public charter school, a public or
private (3) elementary school or secondary school, or a consortium
of such schools; a state environmental or natural resource management
agency or a local environmental or natural resource management agency
(4); a business (5); or a nonprofit or for-profit organization of demonstrated
effectiveness in improving the quality of environmental education teachers,
such as through outdoor environmental education experiences (6).
3. Environmental Education Grant Program to
Help Build National Capacity NCLB Title V Creates an environmental
education grant program to help build national capacity by providing
funds for the development, improvement, and advancement of environmental
education. This grant program also supports the dissemination of proven
environmental educational models, studies of national significance,
and the development of new state or national financing sources for
environmental education. Eligible recipients of these grants from the
United States Department of Education include nonprofit organizations,
state educational agencies, local educational agencies, or institutions
of higher education that have demonstrated expertise and experience
in the development of the institutional, financial, intellectual, or
policy resources needed to help the field of environmental education
become more effective and widely practiced.
1 Sentence not included in S.1981. 2 Phrase not included
in H.R.3036. 3 Word not included in S.1981. 4 Phrase not included in
H.R.3036. 5 Word not included in S.1981. 6 Phrase not included in H.R.3036.
Missouri Co-Sponsors of NCLI - please call or
write and thank them for their support!
Kansas City: 101 W. 31 Street, Kansas City, MO 64108, phone: 816-842-4545,
fax: 816-471-5215
Independence: 211 West Maple Avenue, Independence, MO 64050, phone:
816-833-4545, fax: 816-833-2991
Please contact these representatives and educate them
about NCLI!
William Clay District 1(St.
Louis City) Washington, DC: 2418 Rayburn House Office Building Washington
D.C., 20515 Phone: (202) 225-2406 FAX: (202) 226-3717
Todd Akin District 2 (St. Louis
County, St. Charles) Washington D.C.: 117 Cannon House Office Bldg.,
Washington, D.C. 20515, (202) 225-2561, (202) 225-2563 (fax)
Viki Hartzler District
4 (Sedalia, Blue Springs, Jefferson City, Lebanon) Washington, DC:
1023 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515-2504, Telephone:
202-225-2876
Sam Graves District 6
(Liberty, St. Joseph) Washington, D.C.: 1415 Longworth House Office
Building, Washington, D.C. 20515, Phone: (202) 225-7041, Fax: (202)
225-8221
Billy Long District 7 (Springfield,
Joplin) Washington D.C.: 1541 Longworth HOB, Washington DC, 20515,
(202) 225-6536, (202) 225-5604 Fax
Jo Ann Emerson District
8 (Cape Girardeau, Rolla, Farmington, West Plains) Washington DC: 2440
Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515, (202) 225-4404
Blaine Luetkemeyer District
9 (Columbia, Hannibal, Washington - MO) Washington D.C.: 1118 Longworth
HOB, Washington, D.C. 20515, Phone: (202) 225-2956, Fax: (202) 225-5712
Roy Blunt Washington
D. C.: 260 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C., 20510,
(202) 224-5721 FAX (202) 224-8149
Missouri Environmental
Literacy Plan
Coordinator: Jan Weaver, weaverjc@missouri.edu
Content Standards: Regina Knauer, Missouri Department of Conservation
- Education Programs; Erica Cox, Missouri Project WET; Linda Dooling,
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education - Teacher
Development
Graduation Requirements: Jim Lubbers, Missouri Department of Natural
Resources - Solid Waste Division; Jenna Rhodes, Grandview High School
- Science and MEEA
Teacher Professional Development: Regina Knauer, Missouri Department
of Conservation; Erica Cox, Missouri Project WET; Linda Dooling, Missouri
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Assessment: Nikki Davenport, University City Schools - Math/Science
Curriculum; Jan Weaver, University of Missouri - Environmental Studies
Implementation and Funding: Angelette Prichette, Missouri Department
of Higher Education - Research, Amy Buechler, Conservation Federation
of Missouri - Teaming With Wildlife; Fran Fry, Niangua Schools
Facilities and Grounds: Andrea Putnam, Missouri Department of Natural
Resources - State Parks; Donna Utter, AbitibiBowater Paper Recycling,
Fran Fry, Niangual Schools
In July 2009 the working group met with delegations
from Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska at a summit in Nebraska City. The first
draft of the action plan was created and brought back to each state to
work on.The Missouri leadership team worked on each of the
six elements to move them forward and then met again in the summer of
2010 to pull an intial draft together.In April 2011 Jenna Rhodes and
Jan Weaver met to incorporate suggestions and to realign the goals, strategies
and action items. The revised plan was submitted to the working group
members in June, and only modest grammatical corrections were suggested.
In July 2011, the draft plan was submitted to the MEEA board, which approved
it for distribution for feedback and comment.
MO ELP Goals and Strategies (objectives and action steps
are outlined in the pdf above). Comments can be emailed to Jan Weaver at
weaverjc@missouri.edu, or can be posted on MEEA's facebook page.
Goal 1 - Missouri Students Will be
Environmentally Literate
Strategy 1. Determine how EE is actually implemented
in Missouri schools.
Strategy 2. Identify barriers to teaching EE in
Missouri schools
Strategy 3. Develop resources for overcoming barriers
discovered in Strategy 2
Strategy 4. Evaluate student performance on
measures of environmental literacy using multiple strategies.
Goal 2
- Formal and Non-Formal Educators Will Understand and Use Best Practices
in Environmental Education
Strategy 1. Set nationally aligned, state
approved standards for EE certification in Missouri
Strategy 2. Create
pathways and courses for EE certification.
Strategy 3. Engage pre-service
teachers in EE certification through college programs.
Strategy 4.
Engage in-service teachers in EE certification through professional
development.
Strategy 5. Engage non-formal educators in EE certification
through professional development.
Goal 3 - Educational Settings and Resources Will Foster
Environmental Literacy
Strategy 1. Create a state recognized "Green
Ribbon Schools" program for schools.
Strategy 2. Ensure Missouri
students participate in a high-quality outdoor educational experiences
in elementary, upper elementary/middle and high school (3 times in
their school career).
Strategy 3. Ensure school yard programs are supported
in all districts.
Strategy 4. Create a web-based database for curricula
and other environmental education resources.
Strategy 5. Create stand-alone
environmental science courses for use in middle and high school settings
as well as through virtual programs.
Strategy 6. Create a Missouri
Environmental Education Grants Program.
Goal 4 - Environmental Education in Missouri
Will be Sustainable
Strategy 1. Create a State Office of Environmental
Education within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
(DESE).
Strategy 2. Create a State Environmental Education Interagency
Committee (SEEIC) to coordinate state level EE efforts.
Strategy 3.
Create a State Environmental Education Advisory Board (SEEAB) to coordinate
state organization efforts.
Strategy 4. Develop sustainable funding
streams for the State Office of Environmental Education, Missouri Environmental
Education Association (MEEA) and other environmental education providers.
Suggested Changes
incorporate language that recognizes after school programs
incorporate language that recognizes service learning
incorporate language that recognizes pre-K programs
find alternative wording for "State Office of EE" (goal 4)
find alternative wording for Certification, possibly Credential (goal
2)
Copyright (c) 2010 Missouri Environmental Education Association , P.O. Box 104505,
Jefferson City, MO 65110-4505
