KEEP is the product of an innovative public-private partnership between educators and energy professionals. For more than twenty-five years, the Wisconsin K–12 Energy Education Program (KEEP) has been working with teachers, administrators, and energy resource managers to increase and improve energy education in Wisconsin schools. The KEEP curriculum and other services and support materials provide Wisconsin students of every grade level the opportunity to receive a logically sequenced, comprehensive education about energy.

The dream of KEEP began in 1993 when the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education (WCEE) proposed that a comprehensive guide to K–12 energy education in Wisconsin be developed. In 1995, the Energy Center of Wisconsin (ECW), a nonprofit energy efficiency research organization based in Madison, agreed to fund the project. The Wisconsin Environmental Education Board and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point also provided support.

In 2000, the ECW (now Slipstream) worked with KEEP staff to ensure long-term financial support through Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s Public Benefits Program, a public-private partnership offering energy information and services to energy utility customers throughout Wisconsin. The partnership with Focus on Energy ended in May 2012. Recognizing KEEP’s value, Wisconsin’s six major utilities have continued their funding for KEEP on an annual basis.

• Vision: KEEP’s vision is communities making informed energy choices now and for a sustainable future.
• Mission: KEEP’s mission is to initiate and facilitate the development, dissemination, implementation, and evaluation of energy education programs within Wisconsin schools.
• Goal: KEEP’s goal is to leverage teacher education to improve and increase energy literacy in Wisconsin’s K-12 schools as a means of contributing to statewide energy savings.

Energy education can help students of today handle many of the energy resource issues and opportunities our nation faces. We have challenging energy decisions ahead of us, and the solutions will include a mix of energy efficiency measures, new technologies, and renewable resources. These decisions will need to be made by educated individuals who have a solid understanding of energy basics, including the pros and cons of both renewable and nonrenewable resources.

What do people know and think about energy? Some will describe how they use energy in their lives and at their workplaces. Many will mention the cost, while others will express concern about environmental impacts. While acknowledging these issues, nearly all people will agree that energy is necessary for maintaining their health, their well-being, their lifestyles, and their economy. Many will even say that they often take energy for granted.

Energy is more than an individual economic, environmental, or sociopolitical issue, and it’s more than a passing concern. It is the agent of change for all processes on Earth and throughout the universe. Every interaction among living and nonliving things is accompanied by the transfer and conversion of energy. Energy is the underlying currency that is necessary for everything humans do with each other, whether in the workplace or in their personal lives and with the natural environment that supports them. Understanding energy in this way enables people to see how issues are interconnected and how a solution to one issue may even lead to the solution of another. For instance, the person who buys a fuel-efficient car saves money on gasoline, reduces air emissions, and decreases our nation’s reliance on imported oil.

Many people believe more needs to be done if energy education is to be widely and consistently instituted throughout Wisconsin in a manner that effectively promotes lifelong learning and links students to the world around them. This program utilizes and encourages school-to-career skills and the use of a rich set of community resources, including professionals representing Wisconsin’s investor-owned, municipal, and cooperative utilities, as well as businesses, environmental organizations, and institutions of higher education. KEEP, through its conceptual framework, curriculum, and hands-on resources, provides a path for students in Wisconsin schools to receive a logically sequenced, comprehensive energy education.

• 2025 Year in Review graphic
• 2024 Annual Report | 2024 Year in Review graphic
• 2023 Annual Report | 2023 Year in Review graphic
• 2022 Year in Review graphic
• 2021 Year in Review graphic
• 20-Year Report | 20-Year Timeline
• 15-Year Report
• 10-Year Report

• 2025 – Slipstream recognizes Samara Hamzé, KEEP Program Manager, as Workforce Development Champion
• 2023 – University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point recognizes Gina Smith, KEEP Resource Specialist, with the Academic Staff Spirit of Community Service Award
• 2015 – Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful IDEAL Award
• 2014 – Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) Inspiring Excellence Award
• 2012 – Wisconsin Technology Education Association (WTEA) bestows KEEP with the Special Recognition Award
• 2006 – Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education (WAEE) awards Jennie Lane, Director of KEEP, with the Aldo Leopold Award for excellence in environmental education
• 2006 – KEEP receives Platinum Partner recognition award from GreenLite
• 2006 – Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers (WSST) recognizes KEEP for Outstanding Contributions to Science Education
• 2005 – KEEP receives Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s (IREC) Renewable Energy Recognition Award for Doable Renewables: An Energy Education Revolution
• 1998 – Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) recognizes KEEP for Outstanding Leadership in Renewable Energy Education

KEEP is grateful for the partnership of the following organizations:

• Focus on Energy ®
• Green & Healthy Schools Wisconsin
• MeterHero
• Reflo
• RENEW Wisconsin
• Slipstream
• Wisconsin Association of Agricultural Educators (WAAE)
• Wisconsin Association of Environmental Education (WAEE)
• Wisconsin Energy Institute
• Wisconsin Energy Workforce Consortium (WEWC)
• Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers (WSST)
• Wisconsin Technology Education Association (WTEA)