May 2002

Strategy A. Establish a Steering Committee with Stakeholder Representation

Although not directly notified, it has come to our attention that one of our collaborating agencies, the Springfield Urban League, has ceased to operate. To strengthen the Steering Committee, new persons have been invited and confirmed participation unless otherwise noted:

Peggy Rentschler, Ohio Department of Education Social Studies consultant.
Barbara Cleveland, Columbus Public Schools, Homeless Children and Youth Program
Sandra Miller, Office of Early Childhood Education, Ohio Dept of Education (unconfirmed)
Dianne Radigan, Childrens' Hunger Alliance, Columbus

Strategy C. Establish regional networks of EE resource providers and connect with key stakeholders among the underserved audiences.

Urban/Minority Educators

Teresa Mourad, Project Director; Cheryl Ashworth, EECO Region 8( Cleveland) Director and Carolyn Watkins, Chief, Office of EE at Ohio EPA presented sessions at the Ohio Alliance for Black School Educators Conference in Beachwood OH last month. Andre Hornsby, President of National ABSE highlighted their partnership with NAAEE and spoke to the benefits of EE and strongly encouraged OABSE to collaborate with EECO. Teresa also attended the OABSE sponsored Social Studies Focus Group meeting. These were very positive moves toward a closer relationship with OABSE.

High School

Region 10 reported that things have not progressed as people contacted have not been as responsive as desired. Project Director will review with regional director to consider next step.

Region 11 is thinking about offering workshops during teacher inservice days but concrete plans have not yet been formulated.

Early Childhood

Cincinnati Public Schools have committed support for professional development of preK-1 teachers in the district and with additional services to be provided to 4 schools by EE providers.

A meeting is being organized later this month with Akron-Summit County Headstart consultants and EE providers to explore an enriched program for the Headstart teachers and schools.

Goal 2 Strategy A. Evaluate the progess of Pilot Program in Cincinnati

We are running slightly behind on the evaluation. However, Dr. Joe Heimlich has helped to develop the evaluation questionnaire for teachers and we will be implementing the survey over the next two weeks. We are also currently looking to expand the project in Cincinnati and in one other city.

April 2002

Progress

Strategy C. Establish regional networks of EE resource providers and connect with key stakeholders among the underserved audiences.

Social Studies

Region 7 will convene a local meeting May 21. Region 7 director participated in the Ohio Council for Social Studies (OCSS) Conference over the weekend. More details will be reported next update. Project Director contacted Social Studies consultant, Donna Nesbitt at the Ohio Department of Education and received encouragment for the project. They will identify a staff member to serve as liaison on our project. Ohio is in the process of revising content standrads fpr all subject areas. Project Director will participate in the focus group meeting on Social studies content standards hosted by the Ohio Alliance for Black School Educators (OABSE)

Urban/ Minority

Region 1 (Columbus) held a meeting April 10 gaining some key insights. In addition to EE providers, in attendance were also a rep from the 2^nd Harvest Food Bank, and consultant with the Columbus Public Schools Homless Children and Youth Program. This consultant also works with the Faith Ministries Church and the Columbus Urban League. We talked about connecting with after-school programs run for the children of homeless families, special education programs, gifted education programs and service learning programs and with the growing Somalian community. The emerging consensus was to develop a program in a nonformal setting with connections to the Columbus Public Schools, the community agencies and EE providers.

We raised the question: how should EE be presented to be relevant to homeless children?

Keys to successful urban EE include a focus on:

Relationships and family -it's the togetherness that makes "home" .
Security and safety
Other ideas for entry:
Focus on the beauty around us - Community gardens which can become a service learning project.
Focus on urban animals, rodents
Hands-on Urban geology studying the pavements and walls
Links with food how animals and people get it creating edible gardens
Links with animal homes building a bird house and then going on to talking about housing needs towards citizenship skills component. The idea that every place is unique.

In addition, programs should reinforce the learning that takes place in schools in relation to the academic standards. The group also brought up the fact that community agencies do not generally have a large staff available to run these programs. The idea of a volunteer and youth leadership training was well-received.

Another meeting will be convened next month to develop these ideas and bring other community agency representatives to the meeting.

Strategy F. Reconvene stakeholders at EECO 2002 and 2003 Annual Conference

EETAP funds supported 9 registrations for EECO's 2002 Annual Conference.

EETAP also provided funds for Hyder Houston s keynote presentation and workshop. The was well-received relaxed style put everyone at ease on subject of cultural diversity. workshop attracted more than 25 registrations but unfortunately a truck accident major highway delayed traffic several missed the workshop.

During the first half of the workshop, Dr. Michele Morrone from Ohio University presented the preliminary findings of her research on the underserved audiences in EE funded through the Ohio EE 2000 project. We also heard a report from EECO's urban EE pilot program, Discover our Urban Environment (DUE). Fifth grade Science teacher from Clifton elementary and project staff talked about the merits of the program. One striking comment was the idea the program came to the teachers. They did not have to seek it out. This is a telling statement of where EE is and how it can become more accessible. Offering workshops and expecting teachers to step forward will not be successful in reaching new audiences

Hyder's segment of the workshop invited participants to reflect on the values we hold which affect how we perceive situations around us. Although her instructions for the workshop activities could be more clearly stated, the workshop was useful in highlighting the need to go beyond our prejudices, our own comfortable circles, and intentionally inviting people from other cultures and groups to help shape our activities. For future consultations, specific linkages with EE would be helpful in taking us further.

One of the highlights for our project at the conference was an interesting dinner conversation at which the following were present: Teresa Mourad, Project Director; Dave Irvine, EECO President, OABSE President, Gloria Noland; Dave Wright, another member of the project Steering Committee; Hyder Houston, Carolyn Watkins, Ohio EPA Office of EE Chief and EECO Board adviser, Susan Setterlin, conference co-chair, and Linda Sigismondi, EECO member.

The conversation found its way to the subject of the challenge of working with the minority communities and getting their participation at statewide meetings. We talked about more local conversations taking place instead of these statewide meetings. Hyder also suggested the use of conference calls instead of face-to-face meetings. As a result of this conversation, OABSE President urged EECO to submit a full page ad in the OABSE Conference program and invited EECO to attend their focus group meeting on the Science and Social Studies standards. Getting to know key local OABSE leaders during their conference will be valuable. It was very encouraging to have this support.

March 2002

Strategy C. Establish regional networks of EE resource providers and connect with key stakeholders among the underserved audiences.
We received 88 responses to the letter and survey mailed out to regional resource providers listed in OhioÕs EE resource directory from every region in the state. Of these 61 indicated they are willing to attend stakeholder meetings.

Social Studies
Meetings scheduled in March for Regions 3 and 7 covering Social Studies will be postponed to April or May. In Region 7, we were able to get interest among educators but the meeting date just did not work out. In Region 3, our director needed more time to make contacts. At the same time, we also have some exciting new leads to follow to bring in Social Studies educators to the table. We will contact state leaders and regional liaisons for the Ohio Council for the Social Studies and for the Ohio Geographic Alliance.

Urban/ Minority
Three regions with an urban focus will plan a workshop for May. Project Director will be key facilitator for all these meetings. In each of the meetings/workshops, there will be discussion on Òwhat is EEÓ, what barriers are perceived to access, a presentation on a few selected EE activities and a general review of relevant EE resources to facilitate planning. Community agencies, formal and nonformal educators will be invited. A proposal was submitted to present at the next Ohio Alliance for Black School Educators Conference (OABSE) to be held in the Cleveland area.

Urban EE Pilot Program
Project Director visited Clifton Elementary, our pilot site in inner city Cincinnati on Feb 27, to speak with the teachers and the principal about the project, which involved presentations and fieldtrips offered by12 organizations and additional resources from 4 other organizations. All the teachers had only positive things to say and they were very appreciative of our local Project CoordinatorÕs role in pulling everything together. A full report of the activities of the last 6 months will be published in EECOÕs upcoming newsletter. We will be working on evaluating the project and beginning the process to seek out two more schools to join the program. We will also investigate branching into the Social Studies content for Clifton for next year as well.

Language Arts
EECO was present at the Ohio Council of Teachers of the English Language Arts (OCTELA) conference as planned. Project Director will be working with regional director in Region 6 to plan possible workshops as part of the followup for the Creative Writing Institute for teachers this summer.

Early Childhood
In Cincinnati (Region 5), plans for next year are underway with the goal to create a program that will include several followup site visits as well as other professional development opportunities at selected preschools. The program is being developed in consultation with the Cincinnati Public Schools administration. In Alliance (Region 9), conversations with early childhood educators have been initiated. In Toledo (Region 2), several inservice workshops have been offered to Toledo Head Start teachers. We will be tracking the strengths and weaknesses of these programs in order to be more effective.

High School
The two regions working on this audience are neighbors and will work together. Region 11 and Region 10 in south east and east central Ohio have initiated conversations with local educators to get ideas for high school educator workshops. This is another major effort that will require much patience and innovation to implement.

Strategy F. Reconvene stakeholders at EECO 2002 and 2003 Annual Conference So far, 7 educators have signed up to attend our conference, including the President of the Ohio Alliance of Black School Educators (OABSE).

Evaluation Design
On February 20, 26 educators gathered to work on the conceptualization of the evaluation instrument and process. Region 12 was unrepresented due to last minute work conflicts. It was also disappointing that none of the 7 educators representing the minority educators were present for a variety of personal reasons. A followup meeting has been planned in September. We hope that by then, regions would have specific plans in place so that specific instruments can be created.

Process by which stakeholders were invited
Steering committee members and regional directors were asked to nominate educators they have contact with. In all cases, regional directors or the Project Director personally invited stakeholders and Project Director followed up with letters upon confirmation of interest. All invited were given a packet of information and the agenda for the meeting.

Online Searchable Database
We will be seeking quotes from other sources to compare with what EE-Link is offering.

Feedback for EETAP
The first phase of our diversity initiative is all about relationship-building, which is a time-intensive process requiring constant personal follow up and phone calls. Regional Directors are finding a need for Òtalking pointsÓ to be developed to help them approach new contacts. In this regard, the support and training provided by Emilio Williams last summer as we were trying to put together two Cultural Sensitivity Workshops proved helpful. We are seeking to customize answers to the question, Òwhat is environmental educationÓ for each of these audiences. It would be very interesting to find out what customized answers have already been developed so we can compare notes and strengthen our project.

It would be very beneficial to have this addressed at an EETAP States Leaders training.

February 2002

Strategy C. Establish regional networks of EE resource providers and connect with key stakeholders among the underserved audiences.

Region 11 conducted a meeting of providers last month and plan to hold another meeting in March. A letter and survey has been mailed out to regional resource providers listed in Ohio s EE resource directory. The responses are being tabulated. Project Director will support regional directors efforts by participating in as many of these meetings as possible. Already scheduled are visits to Regions 1 and 2 for February.

Much work is also continuing at the state level with the Project Director actively cultivating new relationships:

1. The next Ohio Alliance for Black School Educators Conference (OABSE) will be held in the Cleveland area and several EE resource providers in the region have been invited and are willing to offer presentations. This is the first time that such a coordinated effort is being made to serve this audience.

2. Project Director will be present at the conference of the Ohio Council of Teachers of the English Language Arts (OCTELA). OCTELA is assisting in publicizing EECO s Creative Writing Institute and will position us to develop more professional development programs for Language Arts teachers in the next year.

An unfortunate setback is a break in our connection with Social Studies teachers. We had hoped to work with the state coordinator for Project CITIZEN but the coordinator has since left the position and we will have to seek other ways to develop connections with social studies educators.

Strategy F. Reconvene stakeholders at EECO 2002 and 2003 Annual Conference

Marketing materials have been mailed. Information has also been sent out via email and is available on the web. We are actively recruiting up to 25 people from diverse stakeholder groups to participate in the conference and in a special workshop with Hyder Houston.

Evaluation Design

The Steering Committee has defined the broad parameters for the evaluation design. On February 20, about 38 educators including the Steering Committee and regional directors will gather to work on the specifics of the evaluation instrument and process. The 38 educators come from all regions.

It is unfortunate that the Feb 20 date is a conflict for several persons we had invited to the meeting. This included stakeholders from Regions 3, 7, 9 and 12. However, there is a lot of support for the project and the regional directors will still be present at the meeting. Further, these stakeholders already have a working relationship with the regional directors. Our process will engage more stakeholder discussions at the regional level to make sure that the multiple viewpoints are considered.

Expand coordinated professional development in EE for in-service teachers and non-formal educators among diverse audiences.

A Steering Committee of eleven individuals has been established with a variety of stakeholder audiences represented including government agencies, nature centers, universities, community service agencies, high school and early childhood educators and minority educators. EECO is proud and honored to be able to secure the commitment of key educators within a short time frame. We are very excited about the project and was able to convene a meeting in November when we discussed how to proceed with the evaluation design plan. It is significant to note that on the committee are both educators who are familiar with environmental education and others who are new. A copy of the meeting summary has already been submitted.

Ohio EETAP has cast a rather wide net in attempting to engage underserved audiences. Yet unrepresented on the committee are social studies and language arts educators. Since only one region is involved in each of these areas, it may be adequate to invite key representatives to special meetings of the Steering Committee to discuss progress in those areas.

Focus Region

Strategy C. Establish regional networks of EE resource providers and connect with key stakeholders among the underserved audiences.

Regions 5 and 9 held a meeting of resource providers in November 01 and January 02. Regions 1, 7 and 12 have a meeting scheduled in February. A letter and survey is in the process of being mailed out to regional resource providers listed in Ohio s EE resource directory. The response will help us establish the network of providers for the particular audiences.

Plans have been made to bring Ms. Hyder Houston, teachers from our model urban school in Cincinnati and Ohio University researcher, Michele Morrone to a workshop at the the 2002 conference to be held from April 5-7 in Columbus. Marketing materials are in the process of being mailed. Information will also be sent out via email and made available on the web.

EECO has just completed the 2^nd edition of the Directory of Ohio EE Sites and Resources. The Ohio EPA will print and help disseminate the print version. A preliminary discussion was made with the Ohio EE Fund to explore local support for the online database using the information we have already gathered.

The Steering Committee has defined the broad parameters for the evaluation design. In February, we will convene an assembly of 40 educators including the Steering Committee and regional directors to work on the specifics of the evaluation instrument and process.