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"I've been to dozens of professional development and
curriculum workshops; the CELF Institute was the best of the best.... I left with
a comprehensive PLAN and felt totally prepared to implement my re-framed unit in
the fall." Boston Latin High School History teacher |
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Greetings! Long,
sunny days are dwindling, but before we leap into our busy autumn schedule, we
wanted to share our summer with you. CELF's numerous Summer Institutes for
Sustainability were a great success, we can say with some CELF-ish pride. The
inaugural Boston course, held for five days in July at Simmons College, was
exciting and productive, earning high praise and national press. Thanks
to the dedicated and tireless work of CELF Boston Institute Coordinator Sarah
Mills, CELF's first Boston Institute attracted 34 teachers from 15 schools from
the Boston-metro area, including a team of 14 educators from the country's
oldest public school - alma mater to five US Declaration of Independence signers
- the Boston Latin School.
Students at the school joined the Youth Climate Action Network [YouthCAN]
after learning about climate change, and, with guidance from Cate Arnold,
8th grade history teacher and YouthCAN advisor, the student
group is actively working toward a solution to the
environmental crisis. As
an exciting first step, Boston Latin School will pilot units developed at the
CELF Boston Summer Institute in the 2010-2011 school year.BLS YouthCAN delegation with National Grid Foundation Board Member Carmen Fields & CELF's Katie Ginsberg & Sarah Mills  |
Collectively, 35 of the participants in the NY and Boston CELF Summer Institutes earned graduate credits for their tremendous efforts this July through our
higher ed partners, Manhattanville and Simmons Colleges. An additional nine teachers earned continuing ed or PDP credits.
What makes the CELF Summer Institute unique is that it brings together teachers of myriad different subjects,
schools and states, and teachers walk away with a
"sustainable" curricular plan in hand. Graduates of this year's
Summer Institute were no exception. What does it mean to re-frame a
lesson plan or curriculum "through the lens of sustainability"? What
does that look like in an actual classroom? Here are two examples:
- David Whitehead, Science Department Chair for Irvington
High School, New York, incorporated sustainability
concepts and standards into his high school-level honors chemistry unit on
Thermodynamics. His students will explore the concept
of energy efficiency, conservation, and how it relates to the environment, by
conducting experiments designed to determine the heat released or absorbed in a
chemical reaction.
- Boston Latin's Cate Arnold
restructured her US History unit focusing on "The Columbian
Encounter" and the European arrival in the Americas
to include a close look at underlying assumptions and cultural values of
conflicting communities. A study of specific and successful indigenous societal
practices - housing, governance, farming - will enable students to consider the
forces that shape societies and determine how values and sustainability are
inextricably linked.
For more information and examples of projects from the CELF
Summer Institutes, see below. |
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Boston Public Schools Superintendent Dr.
Carol Johnson visited the course to congratulate and encourage all the
teachers: "I'm really excited that all of you
have had a chance to participate and learn and I think it reinforces my
notion that the students really will lead the way in this revolution." |
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Understanding sustainability through a thermodynamics activity  | BOSTON SUMMER INSTITUTE
In addition to Superintendent Carol Johnson, other
guest speakers contributed to the vibrant seminar led by Susan Santone director
of Creative Change Educational Solutions (CCES) of Michigan. Lisa Hodes
spoke to the group about the carbon offset industry and how her company, Gold Standard Foundation, certifies carbon credits for sustainable development projects.
Grant Kristofek, an MIT trained mechanical engineer wowed teachers with his
news about innovative green design. Kristofek, Kristofek Consulting Group, is on the development team for Sourcemap.org,
a wildly popular open source tool that examines the supply chain, or the total
carbon footprint of a product. Alan Palm, from the California-based Alliance for Climate Education reminded teachers in a refreshing way that there is no harm in making
sustainability "cool."
CELF Boston 2010 SI
details included: - 34 teachers participated from public and private schools traveling from across MA, ME and CA, working independently from the MA EfS curriculum project.
- 15 participants from Boston Latin School working to create curriculum units for a pilot program to be
implemented during the 2010-2011 school year. One of the BLS YouthCAN major projects has been to lobby for curricular change
to incorporate EfS into the MA curriculum.
- Funding through a generous grant from
National Grid Foundation.
- A tour of the Simmons School of Management Green Roof by Steve Gusmini, Director of
Building and Grounds.
- Additional guest speakers: Jane Hirschi, Executive Director of CitySprouts; Lisa Scolaro, Science Curriculum Coordinator for Cambridge
Public Schools; and Lina Yamashita, program coordinator of Primary Source.
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"The Institute enabled me to really explore ideas I had for my 9th grade sustainability elective course and align them to the wonderful resources made accessible by the collaboration between CELF and CCES." Julie C., New Rochelle High School Science Teacher, NY
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NEW YORK SUMMER INSTITUTEIrvington HS science teachers participating in a sustainable design activity  |
Also in July, 41 teachers from New York and
Connecticut attended CELF Summer Institutes at Reid Castle on the campus of
Manhattanville College, in Purchase, NY. The hot temperatures inspired many
cool and innovative projects and programs, including:  A team of nine Irvington, NY Middle and High
School Science teachers updated and advanced their
district's science curriculum using systems thinking and sustainability as a
foundation. To nurture this effort, CELF will present our Ecological Footprint
Program at the Irvington Middle School
this fall, for 8th grade accelerated science students. - A team of four teachers from Riverside High School,
in Yonkers, NY
worked on unit makeovers to incorporate sustainability (EfS) content and
assessment tools in the district-wide online curriculum map. This will produce
a standardized framework for all Yonkers district faculties to
utilize. The team will continue to develop the curriculum map throughout the
school year, and will participate in ongoing professional development with CELF
and CCES, as part of our joint grant project, Leadership in Best Practices for Sustainability Curriculum and
Professional Development, funded by the Clarence E. Heller Charitable
Foundation.
- Bob Iovino, Briarcliff Manor Middle School
science teacher was inspired to create an interdisciplinary
program while in the course designed for
middle school teachers. He is having it bound into a workbook for distribution
at his school.
- New Rochelle
teachers created a 9th grade EfS elective that will
launch the district's longer term plan for a four year sustainability major, a
program that was "mapped" at the 2009 CELF SI.
- A team of six Chatsworth Elementary School,
Larchmont, NY teachers worked on numerous projects, including a
school-based program encouraging community and school partnership in the
creation of a sustainable herb garden.
- As part of their district-wide curriculum mapping initiative, nine elementary teachers from
Yonkers Public Schools worked on unit makeovers
and science curriculum maps to incorporate sustainability (EfS) content and
assessment tools.
NY Programs' highlights included: - MS/HS 5-day Institute lead presenter Susan
Santone, Director of CCES.
- Guest speakers: Scott Beall, DoRight, Inc. & Integral Vision Learning; Deb
Johnson, Academic Director of Sustainability, Pratt Institute; and Donna M.
Maiello, ASLA and Matthew N. Steinberg, AICP, Divney Tung Schwalbe.
- Elementary School 3-day Institute lead
presenter Tiffany Tillman of Shelburne Farms, VT. Teachers enjoyed the
numerous outdoor activities, collaborating, and using the Understanding by Design model, and the focus
on sustainable communities.
- Funded through generous grants
from the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation and Con Edison.
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"I wanted to thank
you again for such an inspiring course this summer at Manhattanville College. The class was
such a great way to get like minded teachers together to brainstorm and learn
from one another. I have already begun work with my colleagues at Briarcliff incorporating
many of the lessons from the course." Bob Iovino, Briarcliff Middle School Science Teacher, NY
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Learning about energy consumption in their school while participating in the CELF Eco-Footprint Program  | CELF UPCOMING EVENTS
Read more about how Manhattan Country School and
other schools whose staff have participated in CELF Summer Institutes are
embracing sustainability with the CELF Ecological Footprint Program and on-going
professional development in next month's CELF e-News Some CELF UPCOMING EVENTS to note:
Sept. 30th: CELF presentation at the NAAEE National Conference
Oct. 7th: Manhattan Country School Eco-Footprint Program
Oct. 14th: Co-sponsorship of the GSCW Conference Oct. 20th-21st: Leadership Grant Conference Days
Nov. 2nd: NYC Professional Development Day for public high school teachers
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QUICK LINKS...Support Education for Sustainability in schools today!  | |
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Katie Ginsberg
E: katie@celfeducation.org
T: 914-238-4743
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