Keystone Commitment Status:Keystone Commitment Status:

Meaningful Watershed Educational Meaningful Watershed Educational ExperienceExperience

Chesapeake Bay ProgramEducation Workgroup

September 23, 2004

• Watershed-based experiential education

• Applicable to all academic subjects

• Aligns with jurisdictional education standards

• Investigative or project oriented

• Projects strive to improve environment

• Sustained activity

• Community focused

Beginning with the class of 2005, provide a meaningful Bay or stream outdoor experience for every school student in the watershed before graduation from high school

Meaningful Watershed Meaningful Watershed Educational ExperienceEducational Experience

Value of Value of Environmental EducationEnvironmental Education• Increases student academic achievement in all

subjects– Helps states reach goals of No Child Left

Behind

• Increases environmental stewardship– Helps CBP reach water quality goals

Research Sources:State Education & Environment RoundtableNational Environmental Education & Training

FoundationChesapeake Bay FoundationMaryland Association of Environmental & Outdoor

Educators

AccomplishmentsAccomplishments• Defined & began implementation of

“meaningful watershed educational experience”

• Incorporated watershed content into state mandated learning standards

• Established NOAA B-WET grant program supporting project implementation

• Held biennial Education Summits to discuss successes & barriers

Funding NeedsFunding Needs

1: Numbers based on 65,000 students in the class of 2005, and training of 5,000 teachers. 2: Numbers based on 150,000 students in the class of 2005, and training of 30,000 teachers.3: Numbers are based on 75,000 students in the class of 2005, and training of 12,000 teachers4: Numbers based on 5,400 students in the class of 2005, and the training of 700 teachers.

$-

$1,000,000

$2,000,000

$3,000,000

$4,000,000

$5,000,000

$6,000,000

$7,000,000

$8,000,000

$9,000,000

$10,000,000

Curriculum Integration & MaterialsSchool InfrastructureSchool System Implementation***Teacher training/Staff Development**Direct Student Support*

850,000 1,500,000 1,056,00069,000

# Students:Class of ‘05

Tracking MWEETracking MWEE• “Every student” is ambitious, elusive goal

• Goal is behavioral change in students

– MWEE is one mechanism to reach goal

– Quality is as important as quantity

• Status Report available Spring 2005

– Numbers will be at school district level

– Based on superintendent voluntary input

A hundred objective measurements didn't sum the worth of a garden; only the delight of its users did that. Only the use made it mean something. - Lois McMaster Bujold, A Civil Campaign

MWEE ChallengesMWEE Challenges

• Level of institutional commitment

• Level of funding available

• No specific state regulations

• Tracking is resource intensive

• Quality vs. Quantity

PSC & EC PSC & EC Support NeededSupport Needed• Chief Executives re-endorse MWEE

commitment:– CBP State Leadership– State Superintendents of Public Instruction

• Consider some reliable state MWEE funding

• Ensure staff understanding & participation, especially DOE staff– To optimize integration already in place– To ID & implement cross-jurisdictional needs– To promote, assess & track MWEE

implementation