1. Chesapeake Bay Environmental Literacy Workplan Update
District of Columbia
Dec. 14, | Grace Manubay

2. Major Accomplishments
MWEE Scope and Sequence documents posted (high school):
Anacostia Environmental Youth Summit
Approximately 400 students in attendance from 13 schools
NGSS/EL training for nonformal educators (with Center for Inspired Teaching)
Approximately 25 educators from 19 organizations
Environmental Literacy Leadership Cadre
16 elementary schools adopting grade-by-grade environmental programs
Grade 4: Anacostia/Potomac River connection
Grade 5: Overnight MWEE emphasized (funded separately)

3. Successful Approaches
DC Public Schools’ Cornerstone Initiative provided elementary science professional development for the first time in many years.
Engineering Is Elementary units have environmental contexts.
Half of the facilitators were environmental educators: great way to show our commitment to collaboration!
Integration of MWEE as a requirement in OSSE’s School Gardens grant.
Opening up the conversation for garden-based MWEEs.
2017 Environmental Literacy Plan
Providing space for activities that are part of our performance targets (e.g., training program for students to provide environmental/ sustainability tours of their buildings)

4. Challenges
Capacity – haven’t had time to set up meetings the following meetings:
Charter school LEAs
University partners
Slow start for DCEEC sustainable schools grant – may have lost momentum from last year, must work to re-engage stakeholder interest in DC green/health/sustainable school certification
DCPS elementary science professional development dropped again, will need to find another “in” to collaborate

5. Opportunities to collaborate
Environmental Literacy Guides project
Based on work being done in Oregon and Colorado
Building on the DC Environmental Literacy Framework, the document will focus on providing teachers with ideas for activities
Local Wellness Policy guidance revision
DC Healthy Schools Act has a requirement for “increasing environmental sustainability in schools”
Do other states have environmental sustainability indicators in their template?