DC EnvironMentors- Environmental Career Pathway Cafritz Grant Narrative I. Executive Summary 1. Application Date:
July 1, 2011
2. Name and Contact Information:
National Council for Science and the Environment 1101 17th St., NW Suite 250 Washington, DC 20036
3. Federal Tax ID:
52-1700932
4. Contact Person:
Jacklyn Krisch, Director of DC EnvironMentors jshafir@ncseonline.org 202-207-0017 (p); 202-628-4311 (f)
5. Amount Requested:
$ 35,000
6. Program Budget:
$77,737
7. Current Organizational Budget:
$3,817,977
8. Period to be Covered:
October 1, 2011 - September 31, 2012
9. Purpose of Request: The DC EnvironMentors Chapter proposes the creation of an Environmental Career Pathway (ECP) that will promote the advancement of under-resourced DC high school students on career paths in the green economy, thereby giving them a valuable edge in the 21st century workforce. DC EnvironMentors seeks to increase the diversity within the green workforce and create a sense of environmental stewardship among urban youth. The goals of our new ECP program are to prepare and interest under-resourced DC high school students in careers in environmental and related science fields. Specific objectives are to, a) equip under-resourced DC high school students with knowledge and understanding of the environmental issues affecting their local surroundings, b) raise student awareness and understanding of the breadth of career opportunities through interactions with professionals, career panels, and skill-building workshops, and c) provide real world work experience in the environmental field through summer internship opportunities .
DC EnvironMentors uses hands-on experiences with professional mentors and community partners to promote environmental knowledge and problem solving skills in urban high school students. Through the DC EnvironMentors ECP, students will be introduced and receive the preliminary skills necessary for career opportunities in the science and environmental fields through experiences with professional. Together they will also cultivate a culture of environmental stewardship through local environmental immersion, research, and service learning. Through various field trips and research, EnvironMentors students will learn about water pollution, air pollution, climate change, and issues relating to the Chesapeake Bay watershed. EnvironMentors’ target audience is ‘average performance’ high school students from underserved communities, who can gain interest in careers in science and environmental fields via immersion in an environmental research experience. Over the past years, the average DC EnvironMentors demographic as been 75% African American, 20% Hispanic, 3% Asian, and 2% Caucasian from high schools in Wards 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8. ECP will specifically recruit 40 of these competitively selected students in their sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school.
10. Organizational History: EnvironMentors is an initiative of the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE). NCSE was founded in 1990 and is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to 1
DC EnvironMentors- Environmental Career Pathway Cafritz Grant Narrative improving the scientific basis for environmental decision-making. EnvironMentors is a key component of NCSE’s Strengthening Education initiative, which seeks to increase the number, quality, and diversity of scientific and environmental professionals in the US, particularly among underrepresented communities. EnvironMentors, launched in 1992 in Washington, DC, moved from the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF) to NCSE in 2006 in order to strengthen its college and career-access pathways and to expand nationally by building on NCSE’s network of over 150 member universities and colleges. NCSE has enhanced the DC EnvironMentors program and has successfully created a National EnvironMentors program that utilizes the DC program as a model for replication in thirteen university-based chapters across the country. During the 2010-2011 academic year, DC EnvironMentors supported over 390 students. Forty students participated in the traditional EnvironMentors program in which they performed rigorous environmental science research projects supported by an adult mentor. EnvironMentors also successfully implemented the Classroom Integration Project, engaging biology and environmental science classes at three DC public schools, providing 14 classes with a combined 260 hours of instruction, and reaching over 350 students throughout the year. DC EnvironMentors also successfully graduated all of its seniors that were actively engaged in the program this year, as well as 96% of our alumni, 92% of whom will be attending a college or university in the Fall. 11. Total support from Cafritz Foundation for past three years: 2010 2009 2007
$25,000 $15,000 $15,000
Program Support for the Classroom Integration Project Program Support for EnvironMentors Teacher Training Program Program Support for EnvironMentors College and Careers Pathway Project
12. Signature of executive director: ___________________________________________ Peter D. Saundry, Executive Director, NCSE
___________________ July 1, 2011
NCSE Fiscal Year: January 1- December 31 Narrative
1. Organizational Information History 2
DC EnvironMentors- Environmental Career Pathway Cafritz Grant Narrative EnvironMentors is an initiative of the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE), which has been dedicated to improving the scientific basis for environmental decision-making since 1990. EnvironMentors was founded in 1992 with a mission to “mentor and motivate high school students from under-resourced communities as they conduct scientific research and acquire skills that will allow them to build careers and become more active stewards of their communities and the environment.” EnvironMentors joined NCSE in 2006 to strengthen the program’s College Access Initiative and has now expanded into a national network with thirteen university-based chapters with DC as the flagship chapter. Current Programs and Activities This year DC EnvironMentors ran two concurrent programs: the DC EnvironMentors College Access Program (CAP) and the Classroom Integration Project (CIP). DC EnvironMentors CAP is the traditional EnvironMentors model that pairs underserved high school students with mentors to create an environmental research project for the chance to win college scholarships. The CIP project funded by the Cafritz Foundation, brought the EnvironMentors model into freshman high school science classrooms to introduce a large student body to science research and local environmental issues. ECP Contribution to NCSE Mission A core element of NCSE’s mission is to increase the number and quality of environmental scientists, professionals, and environmentally knowledgeable community leaders from multicultural and underserved communities. EnvironMentors is a proven strategy for increasing the interest of underserved high school students in science and the environment, boosting their critical thinking skills, and successfully preparing them for college and careers. The purpose of the DC EnvironMentors Environmental Career Pathway (ECP) program is to give students the skills necessary to become competitive college applicants as well as giving them a foundation of knowledge upon which they can build a career in the science and environmental fields. Population Targeted The DC EnvironMentors Chapter’s target audience is underserved DC high school student. EnvironMentors specifically targets students, who, with attention from a mentor and immersion in an 3
DC EnvironMentors- Environmental Career Pathway Cafritz Grant Narrative environmental research experience, can blossom, and be supported on a pathway towards greater interest in local stewardship and a career in science and environmental fields. For the 2011-2012 DC academic year, DC EnvironMentors plans to recruit 40 high school students. ECP students will be recruited from returning DC EnvironMentors and CIP students, teacher nominations, and in-class presentations. 2. Program Request Issues and Needs Addressed According to the Center on Education and the Workforce, the next generation of US workers will be unqualified to take advantage of the eight million jobs in science-related fields expected by 2018 1. Furthermore, underrepresented minorities holding a bachelors degree in STEM only comprise only 6.7% of the current workforce2. DC EnvironMentors seeks to bridge this gap by engaging these youth in the environment and providing them with a guided pathway into becoming an environmental professional. One of the reasons for this shortfall in talent in the sciences is a lack of basic skills that students should have acquired during their primary and secondary education. 3 For example, in the District of Columbia, the 2010 Comprehensive Assessment Testing in Biology results indicated that 57% of all high school students have only a basic (28% having below basic) understanding of biology concepts. 4 There is an urgent need to reinforce an understanding of science and vary the teaching methods to ensure that students are engaged, grasp the information, and obtain the required skills for science advancement. In addition, the expanding urban youth population is increasingly disconnected from the natural world and their local environment. Limited exposure to nature and the outdoors results in limited interest in the environment. When students stop learning through experiencing the world directly, they lose the ability to apply their academic learning to daily life and vice versa. 5 Studies have shown that classrooms 1
Anthony Carnevale, Nicole Smith, Jeff Strohl. "Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements through 2018." Center on Education and the Workforce, Georgetown University. June 2010. 2 National Science Board. "Science and Engineering Indicators - 2002." National Science Foundation. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c0/c0s1.htm 3 ACT. "Rigor and Risk: Reaffirming Quality in the High School Core Curriculum." http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/rigor_report.pdf. Mach 2007. 4 DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Office of Assessment and Accountability. "2010: 9-12 Biology Report Card." http://www.nclb.osse.dc.gov/reportcardbygrade.asp 5 Nancy Jennings, Christopher Koliba, and Steven Swidler. “Place-Based Education in the Standards-Based Reform Era-Conflict or Complement?� American Journal of Education. University of Chicago: November 2005 No. 112.
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DC EnvironMentors- Environmental Career Pathway Cafritz Grant Narrative of diverse, high-poverty students respond best to 'teaching for meaning' approaches that connect concepts taught in the classroom to real world issues.6 ECP will ignite students’ interest in environmental science through field trips to research facilities, stewardship of their local community by advocacy and networking training, and will create a pathways for these interests and skills to turn into potential career opportunities through exposure to environmental and science professionals and internships. Ongoing College Access Accomplishments: During the 2010-2011 year, DC EnvironMentors achieved significant, measurable goals. These included: •
Matching 40 students in one-to-one mentoring relationships and guided teams in development of environmental research projects with a 76% program retention rate.
•
The Classroom Integration Project was implemented at 3 DC public schools, providing 14 classes with over 260 hours of instruction, and reaching over 350 students.
•
Our current DC EnvironMentors seniors are graduating and have been accepted to colleges such as Coppin State, Alleghany College, Trinity University, and Virginia Tech to pursue degrees in Biology and Engineering. 96% of students that have had a DC EnvironMentors experience in high school are graduating, and 92% of them have been accepted to college.
Best Practices Through best practices developed over its 19-year history, DC EnvironMentors has created a successful model to build the scientific research, critical thinking and problem solving skills among underrepresented high school students through development of an environmental research project guided by an adult mentor. Students are matched in one-on-one mentoring relationships with university faculty, university students, and professionals working in environmental or related science fields. Over the course
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Knapp, M. S., N. E. Adelman, C. Mardner, H. McCollum, M. C. Needels, C. Padilla, P. M. Shields, B. J. Turnbull, and A. A. Zucker. 1995. "Teaching for meaning in high-poverty classrooms." New York: Teachers College Press.
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DC EnvironMentors- Environmental Career Pathway Cafritz Grant Narrative of the academic year, students work together with their mentors to develop a research project on an environmental topic of student's choice including a full scientific research paper and poster. EnvironMentors strongly supports its students in embracing environmental stewardship, acceptance of personal responsibility for actions, and community advocacy to improve environmental quality and sustainable behaviors. All students are exposed to the local DC environmental resources and issues including water pollution, air quality pollution, climate change, and issues relating to the Chesapeake Bay watershed through field trips and "hands on" inquiry-based learning. As a result of EnvironMentors’ student-centered approach, many students increase their sustainable behaviors and actions around such personal choices as recycling and conservation in the home and at school. The program will organize a series of career panels and skills workshops to raise awareness of the breadth of green economy careers. Students will also be exposed to work-based learning, through completion of environmental internships over the summer and mentor-shadowing, will provide students with invaluable professional experience and a stronger familiarity with careers options in the new green economy. Such experiences will encourage the students to pursue environmentally-related career paths. Program Setup In the 2011-12 program year, DC EnvironMentors will add into its pre-existing program a series of skill building workshops, career panels, networking opportunities, and offer summer environmental internships in support of its new Environmental Career Pathway (ECP). The goals of our new ECP program are to prepare and interest under-resourced DC high school students in careers in environmental and related science fields. Specific objectives are to, a) equip under-resourced DC high school students with knowledge and understanding of the environmental issues affecting their local surroundings, b) raise student awareness and understanding of the breadth of career opportunities through interactions
with professionals,
career panels, and skill-building workshops, and c) provide real world work experience in the environmental field through summer internship opportunities . DC EnvironMentors will conduct events to highlight different environmental issues in the Washington, DC area. Student will be made aware of the array of environmental challenges faced by the 6
DC EnvironMentors- Environmental Career Pathway Cafritz Grant Narrative community through a series of field trips, expert speakers, and presentations. Field trips will be taken to Great Falls National Park, Morgan State University’s Estuarine Research Center, NASA Goddard's Earth Sciences Division, and National Institute of Health's Hatfield Clinical Research Center, to learn about water quality, Chesapeake Bay issues, climate change, air quality health issues, respectively. Expert speakers from federal agencies (i.e. US EPA, US Geological Survey, NOAA, etc), businesses, and nonprofit organizations will be invited to talk to students about their areas of expertise, research, and career opportunities related to their fields. Students will learn about how these issues are affecting their community, and the work being undertaken to address these issues. Students will learn how to use different tests and equipment for measuring air and water quality, using geospatial mapping tools, and basic climate modeling software to introduce them to the techniques used by professionals in these fields. For example on the NASA and NIH trips, students will learn the variety of ways these research institutes gather information from around the world using geospatial technology, sample analysis, and using past data for modeling trends. During the Data Collection and Analysis workshop students will learn the basics of GIS where they can integrate their collected data with other data layers and see how it provides useful information for their projects. The ECP program will develop a series of workshops to guide the students through their mentoring relationships, building professional communication, time management, and networking skills. The program will proved specific support to students in helping them with the pathway to college. The Communication Skills workshop will teach students various written and oral communication techniques including interview and presentation skills and professional means of communication. The Professional Resources workshop will teach students how to utilize professional research sources including online databases, scholarly articles, and expert interviews in their own research. The workshop will show students how to format a scientific paper, using annotated bibliographies for a literature review, and the procedure for interviewing an expert. Together these two workshops will prepare students for the future professional communications, oral and written, that they will need to succeed in college and their career.
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DC EnvironMentors- Environmental Career Pathway Cafritz Grant Narrative The College Awareness Workshop and local campus tour will support students in expanding their understanding of the college application process and opportunities available through degree programs in the sciences and interdisciplinary studies. The Financial Aid component of the workshop, conducted by local university college admissions staff, will provide students with information and support on the many loans, grants, and scholarships available, and highlight those for under-represented students interested in science and environmental degrees. DC EnvironMentors will also partner with College Summit to offers students the unique opportunity to complete college and financial aid applications, identify targeted schools with college councilors, and draft writing samples with writing coaches, etc. The New Green Economy workshop will provide an overview of the growing opportunities in environmental careers, and environmental aspects of many conventional professions,as well as a variety of green energy jobs. This workshop will be held in conjunction with the Environmental Career Night, where representatives from these New Green Economy sectors will talk about future and current opportunities within their fields. Students will have the opportunity to meet and interview the guests of at the Environmental Career Panel to learn about career paths and any internships available for students. Students will gain exposure to various colleges and careers at ECP networking events. The annual DC EnvironMentors Student- Dean Networking reception is held in conjunction with the Council for Environmental Deans and Directors in January. At this event students interact with approximately 100 environmental Deans and Directors from NCSE-affiliated universities nationwide to learn about the various degree programs and universities. DC EnvironMentors will also organize a "Shadow your Mentor" day where students will have the chance to visit the place of work of their mentor and gain exposure to the professional environment related to their mentors' job. Students will be provided with opportunities to pursue environmental summer internships. DC EnvironMentors will connect students with various organizations that provide internships to high school students or that provide resources for placing students in internships, such as TNC's LEAF Program, Student Conservation Association, NEEF's Planet Connect, and various federal agencies with high school
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DC EnvironMentors- Environmental Career Pathway Cafritz Grant Narrative internship programs. In this way students will gain relevant work experience, opportunities for applying work-based learning, and further exposure to environmental careers and professional work environments. The program culminates annually with the DC EnvironMentors Fair at which students present their research projects to judges. Students have the opportunity to compete for a wide variety of scholarships to college at the Fair. At the DC EnvironMentors Fair, students will apply all of the skills they have learned in the ECP such as presentation and data analysis skills. Community Partners DC EnvironMentors will make use of many solid relationships with other organizations. Field trips will be arranged through partnerships with Morgan State University's Estuarine Research Center, NASA Goddard Environmental Science Division, NIH Hattfield Research Facilities, and the National Parks Service. We will recruit expert panelists from organizations like National Lab Day, NOAA, and local universities such as American University, George Washington University, Howard, and the University of the District of Columbia. We will recruit mentors from our past EnvironMentors volunteers, which include representatives from the following organizations: EPA, NOAA, National Institute of Health, Department of Energy, DC Department of Transportation, DC Department of Environment, NBC4, National Geographic, Federal Energy Regulation Commission, the Natural Resources Defense Council, International Alliance to Save Energy, Environmental Law Institute, Science and Technology Policy Institute, World Resources Institute, and Defenders of Wildlife. Program Outcomes At the end of ECP, students should be able to: • Conduct themselves in a professional manner and have a basic knowledge of professional tools. • Perform rigorous scientific research through the skills learned through workshops in the scientific method, scientific writing and literature research, experimental design, and presentation skills. • Identify major environmental issue within their local environments. • Be competitive college applicants and identify potential careers within the environmental field.
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DC EnvironMentors- Environmental Career Pathway Cafritz Grant Narrative ECP Goals a) equip under-resourced DC high school students with knowledge and understanding of the environmental issues affecting their local surroundings, b) raise student awareness and understanding of the breadth of career opportunities through interactions with professionals, career panels, and skill-building workshops, and c) provide real world work experience in the environmental field through summer internships. Evaluation: EnvironMentors utilizes Pre- and Post-Program Evaluation methodology to track changes in awareness, knowledge, and attitudes toward the environment among our students, as well as college and careers interests over the duration of the academic year. The Pre-Program Survey is administered and analyzed for variations in averages to each question at the beginning and conclusion of the program period. With parental consent, the surveys are sent to Colorado State University for analysis by Dr. Brett Bruyere in the Human Dimensions Natural Resources Department for longitudinal observations of the effectiveness of various aspects of the EnvironMentors Program. Post Program Surveys maintaining similar questions provide valuable information on student growth. DC EnvironMentors also does an annual internal review and asks for Mentor feedback on the program year to aid in this program analysis. Alignment with Other Related Organizations While other organizations target aspects of this area - environmental education, college preparation, and under-resourced communities - EnvironMentors uniquely meets all of these goals by combining science and environmental education with college preparation for underserved students. While certain organizations do run a full year class, such as College Summit or Upward Bound, they does not address research or scientific skills necessary for college. Environmental organizations such as Living Classrooms and National Lab Day, will come into the classroom to do one-time presentations, but this does not allow the students to form their own long-term inquiry-based research projects that spark students' scientific curiosities. While EnvironMentors’ ECP is set apart from other similar organizations
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DC EnvironMentors- Environmental Career Pathway Cafritz Grant Narrative as a fully integrated environmental skills and college access program, we will collaborate will all of these programs to give the students full access to the resources around them. Needed Resources The program will be secured through the long-term grants that support the DC EnvironMentors program. It will need to have at least one staff person to run the program logistically and within the schools. We will build partnerships with local environmental organizations and agencies to provide inkind support through volunteering to be on expert panels, mentors, and field trip opportunities. The specific financial and other resource needs are detailed in the Finances Section of this proposal.
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