New Mexico Brings in Teachers for Annual EE Conference

By Dr. Elaine Hampton, NM State University

 The Environmental Education Advocate - Fall 1998

The following information is provided to you as a service of the National Environmental Education Advancement Project (NEEAP). We encourage you to use it and please credit the National Environmental Education
Advancement Project where appropriate.

Approximately 150 people attended the "Water for Tomorrow, Teaching It Today" Conference in Las Cruces, October 2-3, 1998. Over 100 of these were teachers and University students involved in teacher preparation programs. Most were New Mexico teachers, but because of the regional nature of the water issues, teachers from Texas and Cuidad Juarez, Mexico also attended. It was an honor to have so many educators involved as attendees and presenters. Conference registration included membership to the EE Association of New Mexico (EEANM), and it is our desire that these new members will become active in the organization and use their expertise to move us toward our goal of providing high quality environmental education programs throughout the state and region. How did we achieve such an impressive teacher turnout? We used creative resources and went out of our way to invite the teachers.

Resources: In order for educators to attend a conference, funds must be provided for their transportation, registration, lodging, and costs for substitute teachers. Most schools today do not have sufficient funds to sponsor their teachers, so EEANM contacted the EPA national office to request special conference funding for this purpose. In addition, the Waste-management Education Research Consortium (WERC) provided an EPA teacher training grant with funds for conference participation. All excess funds generated from conference registrations were also used to support the teachers.

Getting teachers to attend: Even with funding offered, teachers will often "pass up" a good conference opportunity because of the great competition for their time and their desire to stay with their classes. However, new teachers are often anxious for professional development opportunities. With this in mind, we featured in the conference announcement that there would be plenty of free resources for teachers. In New Mexico, we searched especially for resources in Spanish and English. This was a chance for EE providers to share their products with classroom teachers. A National Science Foundation teacher preparation program has generated a database of new NM teachers (1-3 years). These teachers were sent a special invitation. Students in science methods classes and student teaching blocks at the colleges and universities in the state were also offered special invitations. A special "blitz" of the schools in the Las Cruces area placed conference flyers and posters saying "Free Conference" and "Free Classroom Resources" on the tables in the teachers' lounges and workrooms.

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