Applications for 2012 Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development Due January 31

The 2012 Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) will provide up to 24 U.S. K-12 teachers and administrators with the opportunity to travel to a three-day conference in San Francisco and to Japan for two weeks to learn about ESD efforts and strengthen ESD curricula in both countries. ESD is “a vision of education that seeks to balance human and economic well-being with cultural traditions and respect for the earth’s natural resources,” according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Up to 24 educators from Japan will travel to the United States in late April, and up to 24 educators from the U.S. will travel to Japan in late June. At the end of the program in each country, all 48 educators will gather for a few days of joint collaboration.

Please visit our website at http://www.iie.org/esdteacher for more information or to start an application. The application deadline is January 31, 2012.

COSI Teacher Open House for RACE Exhibit February 18

Teachers (classroom and homeschool) are invited to a free open house to explore COSI’s limited-engagement exhibition, “RACE: Are We So Different?,” showing at COSI from January 28, 2012 through May 6, 2012.

This special five-hour open house event includes free general admission for teachers to COSI, a free giant screen film, and a chance to win a free field trip to COSI for 30 children (transportation not included).

A COSI Team Member will host a teacher information table at the entrance to the RACE exhibition to answer your questions about COSI’s programs for teachers and students. COSI information for teachers, including a free RACE classroom poster, will be available.

Please note that a valid school ID, pay stub, or letter from your school principal or center’s director is required for free teacher admission. Homeschool educators are welcome with proof of homeschool status, such as a letter from your district, or homeschool organization membership card. One free adult per homeschool family, please. Additional family members may purchase general admission. Please check in at COSI’s Box Office on your arrival .

Please click here to RSVP for this free event through COSI’s Facebook page. Advance registration is encouraged but not required. See you on Saturday, February 18!

Doug Buchanan
Education Programs Marketing Manager

Celebrate Another Holiday Tradition: OCESS Annual “12 Grants of Christmas”

Looking for ways to fund classroom projects and school reforms? Check OCESS’s annual “12 Grants of Christmas” here on the OCESS blog and on Facebook for a daily K-12 funding opportunity:

• On the First Day of Christmas...I enrolled my school in the Campbell’s Labels for Education program so we can redeem labels for tons of school supplies and equipment for science, math, art, athletics, educational technology, and more. http://www.labelsforeducation.com/

• On the Second Day of Christmas…I contacted my local Wells Fargo manager to apply for funding for an educational project. https://www.wellsfargo.com/about/charitable/index.jhtml

• On the Third Day of Christmas…I mailed the DuPont Office of Education an idea for an inquiry-based STEM education project. http://www2.dupont.com/Social_Commitment/en_US/educational/index.html

• On the Fourth Day of Christmas…I sent an application to the Toshiba America Foundation to purchase instructional equipment for my grade 6-12 classroom. http://www.toshiba.com/taf/612.jsp

• On the Fifth Day of Christmas…I sent a proposal to the Charitable Leadership Foundation, which funds programs in problem-based learning, classroom management, and STEM education. http://www.charitableleadership.org/index.html

• On the Sixth Day of Christmas….I wrote a proposal for an NEA Foundation grant of up to $5,000 for a project that promotes critical thinking, problem solving, and self-directed learning. http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/educators/grant-programs/student-achievement-grants/

• On the Seventh Day of Christmas….I dreamed big dreams for a Toyota USA Foundation grant for my K-12 science and math education project. http://www.toyota.com/about/philanthropy/guidelines/

• On the Eighth Day of Christmas….I applied to the Kopelman Foundation, which funds small yet high-impact projects that previously might not have attracted a lot of attention and therefore received little financial support. http://www.kopelman.org/home.html

• On the Ninth Day of Christmas….I thought up a classroom STEM project to submit for a $1500 Ohio Space Grant Consortium Mini-Grant. http://www.osgc.org/Minigrant.html

• On the Tenth Day of Christmas….I noticed that the Verizon Foundation funds a wide range of educational projects that could help my school. http://foundation.verizon.com/grant/guidelines.shtml

• On the Eleventh Day of Christmas….I contacted the RGK Foundation with an idea for a project to improve STEM instruction in my school. http://www.rgkfoundation.org/public/guidelines

• On the Twelfth Day of Christmas….I applied to the America the Beautiful Fund’s Operation Green Plant to get free vegetable, flower, and herb seeds for school and community gardens. http://www.america-the-beautiful.org/free_seeds/index.php

And during the rest of the year, you can find more grant opportunities on the OCESS Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/OCESS

From ODE: “Focus Two of the Revised Standards and Model Curricula Rollout Meetings to Begin in January

In January, ODE will begin offering Focus Two of the Targeted Professional Development Meetings. These after-school workshops that run through May are designed to help educators respond to Ohio’s revised academic content standards and model curricula in social studies, English language arts, mathematics and science. In Focus Two, participants will take a deeper look at the 2010 revised standards and how to transition from the 2002 standards. Registrants should plan to take one workshop session in each of the subject areas they teach.
Registration is available in STARS by searching keywords: targeted professional development. Beginning Jan. 3, participants should download materials needed for the meetings from ODE’s Academic Content Standards section by visiting their specific content area (accessible through links at left) and opening the relevant Targeted Professional Development page. The Academic Content Standards section also is accessible at the bottom of ODE’s home page under the Educators heading. Contact hours will be awarded for attendance. For questions about registration, contact lisa.simpson@ode.state.oh.us.

Environmental Education Professional Development Opportunities in 2012 in Central Ohio

Franklin and Delaware Soil and Water and Metro Parks are helping teachers link their students to the environment With Environmental Workshops for Educators, a series of science based workshops for educators of all types held at the nature center of High Banks Metro Park on Route 23 just north of I 270 (except Science Through Stories on February 4th will be held at Spring Hollow Lodge, adjacent to Metro Parks District Headquarters).

Wild About Resources (grades K-12)
Saturday, January 21, 2012
8:30am-4:00pm

Participants will experience a combination of interdisciplinary hands-on activities focusing on wildlife, ecosystems, interdependence and human impact on the environment. Sources for these and related activities will be discussed. Registration fee is $15.

Science Through Stories
Saturday, February 4, 2012 (at Spring Hollow)
8:30am– 4:00pm

Many children’s stories have a good environmental message. Learn how to use literature as a basis for exploring and explaining different environmental topics. Registration fee $20.

Project Wet: Generation 2.0 (grades K-12)
Saturday February 25, 2012
8:30am-4:00pm

Experience and receive the new edition of Project WET: Water Education for Teachers. Now in full color, Guide 2.0 offers new activities on topics such as National Parks and storm water. This resource guide contains teacher-tested and classroom ready interdisciplinary activities developed to engage students in a better understanding of water as a resource, a habitat and a source of life. Guide 2.0 includes dozens of new activities, updates of many original activities and extensive literature connections. Registration fee is $25.

Project WILD – Science and Civics: Sustaining Wildlife
Saturday May 5, 2012 (grades 9-12)
8:30am-4:00pm

Designed to serve as a guide for involving students in environmental action projects aimed at benefitting the local wildlife found in a community, this curriculum can help teachers effectively meet state science and social studies standards. It is also designed to involve young people in decisions affecting people, wildlife, and the habitat they share in their community through the development and implementation of a Service Learning Project. The registration fee is $10, materials are provided by ODNR: Division of Wildlife

For more information contact:

Elizabeth Fields at Highbanks Metro Park, (614) 846-9962 or fields@metroparks.net
Linda at the Franklin SWCD, (614) 486-9613, ext. 115 or Linda-pettit@franklinswcd.org
Dona Rhea at the Delaware SWCD, (740) 368-1921 or dona-rhea@delawareswcd.org