The Superintendents’ Environmental Education Collaborative was formed through a partnership between Superintendents and environmental education organizations. SEEC is comprised of district-level superintendents who are committed to support and expand the EE opportunities for their schools, teachers, and students. SEEC is supported by the North American Association for Environmental Education and Project Learning Tree. These organizations have networks of EE providers and resources to support EE efforts by school districts.
We work to advance EE by:
- Assisting school districts in obtaining funding from the ESSA
- Forming partnerships between school districts and EE organizations
- Sharing model programs in school districts to learn from each other
Goal
We seek to increase high-quality environmental education for all students across the nation.
Mission
We aim to expand environmental education programs for all students to provide robust, real-world learning experiences that bolster STEM learning, civic engagement, and prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st-century workforce.
Why Form a Collaborative?
There is a need because:
- Federal funding is timely
- The collaborative connects superintendents to the EE community
- EE enhances environmental literacy
- Environmental issues will dominate future challenges and opportunities
- EE bolsters STEM learning and prepares students for a 21st Century workforce
Learn how the Collaborative works to assist district obtain funding
The Collaborative works to advance EE by assisting school districts in obtaining funding from the ESSA, forming partnerships between school districts and EE organizations, and sharing model programs in school districts to learn from each other.
Why Environmental Education?
- Increases student engagement and enthusiasm for learning
- Reduces discipline and classroom management problems
- Supports state and national education standards
- Teaches students to solve real-world problems
- Improves academic achievement
- Improves students’ health
- Supports STEM and meets 21st century needs
- Cultivates leadership qualities
- Improves focus and cognition
Environmental education (EE) is a process that helps individuals, communities, and organizations learn more about the environment, and develop skills and understanding about how to address global challenges. It has the power to transform lives and society. It informs and inspires. It influences attitudes. It motivates action. EE focuses on the importance of experiential, interdisciplinary education, and helping all learners develop problem-solving and decision-making skills. In K-12 settings, the local environment is a powerful context for learning across the curriculum.
Learn about the benefits of environmental education for K-12 students
There is a need for the collaborative because:
Over the past half century, real progress has been made in increasing the environmental literacy of the general public and leveraging that literacy into action. At the same time, school administrators have made great strides in improving the sustainability of schools and school districts.
This progress has not reached all communities equally. Not every school district has adopted environmental education literacy frameworks and or sustainability initiatives. There is a great opportunity to unify the work that is currently going on in schools – the work to engage teachers and students in learning about the environment, on the one hand, and the work to engage administrators in improving the environmental performance of schools, on the other. SEEC provides a means of sharing and highlighting success stories to inspire others to create their own EE efforts.
Learn about the U.S. Department of Education's Green Ribbon Schools award program
How does the collaborative work?
We work to advance EE by:
- Assisting school districts in obtaining funding from the ESSA
- Forming partnerships between school districts and EE organizations
- Sharing model programs in school districts to learn from each other
Join the collaborative to learn about school districts across the country and their efforts in environmental literacy, to access resources from partners, and learn about funding and grant opportunities. Membership is open to all school superintendents.
Join Here
Why Superintendents?
A superintendent has the power to transform teaching and learning inside and out of the classroom. While environmental education (EE) is for all ages, over 55 million students are in school every day (according to the US Department of Education). With leadership and commitment from Superintendents across the United States to integrate EE into the classroom, many more students will experience the benefits from EE.
Learn how school districts advance environmental education
How can school districts advance environmental education?
- Determine stakeholders and create an action team
- Develop and implement an environmental literacy plan for the district
- Support the development of state environmental literacy plans
- Provide EE professional development for teachers
- Apply for and receive funding for EE
- Partner with EE providers
- Provide field experiences for students and teachers
- Evaluate progress
Join the collaborative to learn about funding and grant opportunities, access resources from partners, and what other superintendents are doing in their districts.