Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators

Teacher Awards

Teacher awardees will receive a commemorative plaque and an award of $2,000 to be used to further the recipient's professional development in environmental education. Additionally, the teacher's local education agency will receive an award of $2,000 to fund environmental educational activities and programs of the teacher (and not for construction costs, general expenses, salaries, bonuses, or other administrative expenses).

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators, teachers must meet the following eligibility requirements.

• Teach K-12 on a full-time basis in a public school that is operated by a local education agency ¹ , including schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Hold a current teaching license from the state (or valid reciprocity from the state for a license from another state)
• Have at least 5 years of K-12 teaching experience, including a minimum of 3 years of teaching an environment-based curriculum or environmental education
• Anticipate a classroom teaching assignment involving environmental education for the upcoming school year
• Be a citizen of the United States, its territories or possessions, or lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residency ²

Notes:
¹ For this program, a local education agency is one as defined by section 198 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (now codified at 20 U.S.C. 7801(26)).
² The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services defines lawful permanent residency as any person not a citizen of the United States who is residing in the United States under legally recognized and lawfully recorded permanent residence as an immigrant, also known as "Permanent Resident Alien," "Resident Alien Permit Holder," and "Green Card Holder."

Selection Criteria

Teachers must have an outstanding record of teaching, as described below. Applications will be judged by their responses to each of these six equally weighted rating factors:

• Innovation
  • To what extent does the applicant demonstrate the desire to advance environmental education through innovative approaches in his or her school or the community?
  • To what extent does the applicant utilize outdoor, experiential, or place-based learning?
• Achievement
  • To what extent does the applicant's work result in demonstrated student achievement of improved grades or test scores?
  • To what extent are the applicant's former students continuing to participate in the environmental field through environmental or science internships and extracurricular activities?
  • To what extent are the applicant's former students who have graduated from high school pursuing a college major and/or career in the environmental field, including but not limited to natural and environmental science, environmental education, conservation, and sustainability? (If none have graduated, please explain why not; if this element is not applicable, it will not be included in the rating process.)
• Serving the Underserved
  • To what extent does the applicant work in schools in or with students from communities or populations that are disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution, including minority, low-income, or indigenous communities or populations?
  • To what extent does the applicant tailor his or her methods to serve the diverse needs of the student population being taught or advised?
• Community
  • To what extent does the applicant successfully spread environmental education beyond his or her classroom?
  • To what extent does the applicant serve as an inspiration or example in other classrooms and grade levels at his or her school, at other schools within his or her school district, or beyond?
  • To what extent does the applicant involve students' parents/guardians and/or members of the surrounding community in the applicant's environmental education activities?
• Leadership
  • To what extent does the applicant demonstrate leadership in the field of environmental education?
  • To what extent does the applicant broaden the teacher base through mentoring, public speaking, and/or networking in support of environmental education?
  • To what extent does the applicant express a commitment to fulfilling his or her vision for the advancement of environmental education?
• Integration
  • To what extent does the applicant integrate environmental education into the broader school curriculum, including science, physical education, history or social studies, and art, music, or language arts?

Judging Process

Applications will be reviewed according to the EPA Region in which the applicant's school is located by a panel composed of internal and/or external reviewers. The panel will rank the applicants according to how well they meet or exceed the criteria, using a 20-point scale for each factor, and make recommendations to EPA and CEQ.

During the review period, a few applicants may be asked to provide additional information or documentation to verify their eligibility, such as proof of a teaching license from the State, or proof from the local education agency(ies) of 5 years of employment as a teacher, and 3 years of teaching an environment-based curriculum and/or environmental education. The applicant's response to the request for additional information must be received within 14 days from the date the request is sent; if the information is not received by that date, the application will not be considered further.

Disclaimer

EPA reserves the right to reject all applications in one or more of the EPA regions and to make no awards in those region(s)under this announcement. In addition, EPA reserves the right to make fewer than two awards in one or more regions. If EPA decides to make fewer than two awards in one or more regions, it will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any applicant or affect the basis upon which the applicants were evaluated or selected for award and maintains the integrity of the competition and the evaluation and selection process.

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Application Process

The deadline for submitting applications for the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators was January 31, 2012. For reference purposes, details about eligibility and application requirements, selection criteria, the judging process and answers to frequently asked questions are provided on this website.

• Application Requirements and Form
• Frequently Asked Questions

Winners and Honorable Mentions

The 2011-2012 award winners were announced in May 2012. The teacher and the chief executive officer (e.g., superintendent) of the awardee's local education agency (e.g., school district) will be asked to provide the names of local or regional newspapers, TV/radio stations, websites, or other public media to receive press releases about the awards.

Teachers were selected for the Honorable Mention (one or more per EPA Region) and recieve a certificate; the CEO of each teacher's local education agency will be notified of the recognition.

The 2011-2012 winners of the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators are:

• Lizanne Cox, Common Ground High School, New Haven, Connecticut
• Ed Lindsey, Old Town High School, Old Town, Maine
• Patricia Lockhart, Hubert Humphrey PS 57R, Staten Island, New York
• Aaron Baker, Randolph High School, Randolph, New Jersey
• Rebecca Sanders, Crellin Elementary School, Oakland,  Maryland
• Robert Carroll, Plaza Middle School, Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Deborah Wasylik, Dr. Phillips High School, Orlando, Florida
• Frank McKay, Exploris Middle School, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Sandra Vander Velden, Fox River Academy, Appleton, Wisconsin
• Howard Hill, Highland Park High School, Highland Park, Illinois
• Clifford Strain, Flour Bluff ISD - Junior High, Corpus Christi, Texas
• Bradd Schulke, East Mountain High School, Sandia Park, New Mexico
• Denise Scribner, Eisenhower High School, Goddard, Kansas
• John Broda, Buffalo Ridge Elementary, Cheyenne, Wyoming
• Sally High, Pagosa Springs Middle School, Pagosa Springs, Colorado
• Riccardo Magni, Pioneer Valley High School, Santa Maria, California
• Mike Town, Redmond High School, Redmond, Washington
• Deirdre Bingaman, Donnelly Elementary School, Donnelly, Idaho