APPLICATION DEADLINE: June 30, 2000

The President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), in partnership with the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation (NEETF), is proud to announce a new program of Environmental Education Teacher Professional Development Awards. This program identifies outstanding K-12 teachers who are environmental educators and/or use the environment as an integrating context for learning for their students. One teacher from each state and six additional jurisdictions (Washington, DC; Puerto Rico; Department of Defense Dependent Schools; Department of State Overseas Schools; Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools; and U.S. Territories as a group American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and the Virgin Islands) will be selected for this honor.
Awardees will receive a Certificate of Merit and an award of $1000 to be used for their own professional development.

Applications are encouraged from teachers from all locations (urban, suburban, small town, rural) and all underrepresented minority groups (Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Alaskans, Native Pacific Islanders).

The CEQ Environmental Education Teacher Professional Development Awards Program is conducted by the President s Council on Environmental Quality in partnership with the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation (NEETF), and with generous support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Education and the AT&T Foundation.


ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for the CEQ Award, teachers must:

• Teach K-12 in a public or private school in a state or eligible jurisdiction;
• Have at least five years of teaching experience, and at least three years of teaching an environment-based curriculum and/or environmental education;
• Be full-time employees of their school districts;
• Anticipate a classroom teaching assignment for the following year;
• Be assigned at least half time during the school year to classroom teaching.

CRITERIA

Teachers must have an outstanding record of teaching in two primary areas:

• Have demonstrated exceptional skill at helping students master complex
  information about environmental issues, and,
• Have successfully used the environment as a vehicle for:
• Fostering the development of problem-solving and critical thinking skills;
• Improving academic achievement and test scores;
• Improving student enthusiasm for learning, reducing absenteeism, and improving self-confidence and citizenship;
• Use of innovative teaching techniques that foster outstanding age-appropriate learning, team teaching and more;
• Use of the environment to support multi-cultural programs and learning.
  

APPLICATION PROCESS

Teachers must complete the official Fact Sheet for Teachers, providing information about themselves, their educational background, and their teaching experiences as requested. Two Letters of Support are also required. These letters must be from individuals who are personally familiar with the quality of the applicant s teaching in environmental education and/or environment-based education. At least one Letter of Support must come from a colleague or administrator. The Fact Sheet for Teachers and Guidelines for Letters of Support can be found on NEETF's website (http://www.neetf.org) or may be requested from:

CEQ Awards
NEETF
1707 H Street NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20006-3915
202-261-6478
email: CEQawards@neetf.org

The deadline for receipt of all application materials is June 30, 2000.

SELECTION PROCESS

A non-partisan, objective, and highly regarded panel of educators and education system representatives will review all applications from eligible teachers. They will rank the candidates according to how well
they meet the criteria, and make the final selections in consultation with CEQ and NEETF.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Names of the award winners will be announced in Fall 2000. Award winning teachers will be notified of their award in writing, with copies to the nominators and the principal of the school in which the awardee teaches. Each winner will be invited to provide the name(s) of local or regional newspapers, TV stations, or other public media to receive press releases about their awards.

RECOGNITION

Each awardee will receive a Certificate of Merit and a $1000 cash award. The cash award is to be used within three years for the teacher s own professional development in the area of environmental
education or environment-based education.

Awardees will be invited to participate at no cost in a workshop of one of the following programs: Project Learning Tree, Project WILD, or Project WET. Awardees will also be invited to engage in a continuing dialogue via email about environmental education and environment-based education with national leaders in the field. They will be informed about new developments, and will be asked for their advice on proposed national and regional programs to promote and enhance environmental learning.