Schoolyard Habitats. District Certification Program

Transcription

1 Schlyard Habitats District Certificatin Schlyard Habitats District Certificatin Prgram Natinal Recgnitin f Schl District Cmmitment t Envirnmental Stewardship and Student Achievement thrugh Outdr Learning. Natinal Wildlife Federatin s Schlyard Habitats Prgram was established in 1998 t wrk with schls, schl districts and partners t create utdr learning classrms and gardens that prvide n-site lcatins fr teachers and students t have experiential learning labratries fr science, math, English and ther subjects. Outdr classrms prvide a learning atmsphere where students can demnstrate skills, apply cre cncepts and increase their aptitude in multiple disciplines. Natinal Wildlife Federatin s Schlyard Habitats district certificatin prgram recgnizes schl districts (public and private) that are cmmitted t creating, using and maintaining schl gardens and utdr classrms as learning centers by certifying them as Schl District Wildlife Habitats. Schlyard Habitats district certificatin prgram can be initiated by a schl district, partners wrking with a schl district r by NWF r its Affiliates wrking in cllabratin with a schl district. Individual schls are welcme t certify under the Certified Wildlife Habitat prgram, but district certificatin must encmpass the entire schl district. The schl district certificatin prgram can take several years t cmplete and wrk that has been dne in previus years can be included fr meeting the criteria. T supprt meeting the criteria fr certificatin, the cllabrative wrk f multiple partner rganizatins can be cunted tgether t represent the schl district as a whle. Schlyard Habitats District Certificatin is given t districts that meet the fllwing criteria: Have a certain percentage f schls (based n the size f the district) that have certified Schlyard Habitats with Natinal Wildlife Federatin Have a certain percentage f students at each certified schl that receive instructin using the Schlyard Habitats each year Wrk in partnership with NWF either directly r thrugh NWF partners r Affiliates Prvide prfessinal develpment t teachers and educatrs t encurage the use f Schlyard Habitats and/r teaching f envirnmental educatin Demnstrate a cmmitment t envirnmental educatin and/r sustainability at the schl district administratin r schl bard level Demnstrate a cmmitment t wrk with the lcal cmmunity and partner rganizatins t prvide training f cmmunity vlunteers t supprt schls in teaching r using utdr classrms Schlyard Habitats District Certificatin awards yearly recgnitin t schl districts fr their cntinuing cmmitment t utdr learning and increasing student knwledge and stewardship f wildlife and ecsystems in their cmmunity. Recgnitin includes: Natinal Wildlife Federatin Wildlife Center Drive Restn, Virginia

2 Schlyard Habitats District Certificatin Letter f Cmmendatin fr the Schl District and its partners Presentatin f an award plaque recgnizing the district as a Schl District Wildlife Habitat Award certificates fr key individuals and partners in the district certificatin effrt Certificate fr meeting annual gals at the end f each schl year fllwing certificatin Recgnitin f the Schl District s achievements n NWF s website, in scial media platfrms and in media cmmunicatins Prfile f the schl district in NWF publicatins including Natinal Wildlife magazine Qualificatin Criteria 1) District Awareness and Participatin Prvide a Letter f supprt r acknwledgement r agreement frm the schl district t demnstrate schl district engagement in Schlyard Habitats district certificatin. Letter needs t be current when submitted with the applicatin fr certificatin and can be frm the schl district administratin r schl bard. 2) Certify Schl Grunds as Natinal Wildlife Federatin Certified Wildlife Habitats. Schl districts will need t certify a percentage f schls in the district as Schlyard Habitats under NWF s Certified Wildlife Habitat prgram ( Schls can be a cmbinatin f public, private, and charter schls within the schl district bundaries. Schl grunds can included ff-site nearby public settings if used by schls as teaching facility (i.e., a lcal park). Minimum qualificatins t certify Percentage f schls in a schl district that must be Natinal Wildlife Federatin Certified Wildlife Habitats, based n the ttal number f schls in the schl district: Under 20 schls 60% f schls certified schls 50% f schls certified schls 40% f schls certified 300 plus schls 30% f schls certified Annual gals t maintain certificatin An additinal 10% f schls need t certify annually until 100% f schls are certified. 50% f schls need t demnstrate cntinuing use f the utdr classrm thrugh an annual survey. Natinal Wildlife Federatin Wildlife Center Drive Restn, Virginia

3 Schlyard Habitats District Certificatin 3) Student Bdy Participatin Prvide dcumentatin that students are participating in utdr learning acrss the schl district each schl year. Include in dcumentatin the frequency f utdr learning (weekly, mnthly, schl year). A minimum f 25% f the student bdy needs t be engaged in utdr learning each year. Minimum qualificatins t certify Summary f activities (in ttal) that demnstrate the frequency and average amunt f time a specified number f students f particular grades spent utside (fr example: 300 K-5 students get utside fr recess fr 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week; Science instructin fr middle students is taught utside tw days a mnth fr 45 minutes with a ttal f 300 students). Summary may als include participatin in single events r n-ging activities, including but nt limited t, creating an utdr classrm, maintaining the schl grunds, cmmunity service, service learning prjects, festivals r celebratin events. Annual gals t maintain certificatin Demnstrate an increase the percentage f students engaging in utdr learning and/r unstructured utdr play and the amunt f time each student is spending utside ver the curse f a schl year (within the guidelines f the schls district s utdr plicies). 4) Prfessinal Develpment Prvide prfessinal develpment fr staff n teaching in and maintaining an utdr learning envirnment. Prfessinal develpment may be prvided by the schl district r partners. Prvide a summary evaluatin f the number f teachers/administrative and/r maintenance staff trained annually and number f teachers putting their training int practice (lessns delivered in utdr classrms) acrss the district: Minimum qualificatins t certify Teacher/Administratin and/r Maintenance training prvided based n district size Under 20 schls 10% schls 8% schls 5% 300 plus schls 3% 1% f teachers actively teaching utdrs Annual gals t maintain certificatin Natinal Wildlife Federatin Wildlife Center Drive Restn, Virginia

4 Schlyard Habitats District Certificatin Maintain training activity level at time f certificatin (r better) and increase the number f teachers actively teaching utdrs by 1% annually. This can include recertificatin trainings fr teachers and new teacher develpment. 5) Maintenance and Sustainability f Schlyard Habitat/Outdr Classrm Minimum qualificatins t certify Demnstrate that 30% f utdr classrms are maintained and sustained fr use as utdr classrms and learning labratries. Prvide a summary, which can include but nt limited t visual representatin f current cnditin f classrm (vide r phts), landscaping plans, inventry f schls r rating a maintenance schedule r ther means f schls in district submitted at time f certificatin Annual gals t maintain certificatin Dcument that at least 30% f schls that are certified are maintaining their utdr classrms. 6) Cmmunity Outreach and Engagement Minimum qualificatins t certify Demnstrate participatin f cmmunity members (thrugh vlunteerism r ther engagement) with the schl and utdr classrm. Participatin can include but is nt limited t: PTA, fundraising, vlunteering in classrm, field trips, gardening/maintenance, etc. Annual gals t maintain certificatin Prvide demnstratin f cmmunity engagement which culd include number f vlunteers engaged, events held, r ther cmmunity building activities. 7) Sustainability and Grwth Plan Minimum qualificatins t certify Demnstrate a cmmitment t sustainability (energy use, water use, utdr time fr students/teachers, transprtatin, etc.) thrugh an existing schl district sustainability plan and/r dcument f intent t create a sustainability plan within a year and/r participatin at the district level in a schl greening/sustainability prgram such as Ec-Schls USA. Annual gals t maintain certificatin Demnstrate a cmmitment t sustainability and schl greening by increasing the percentage f green schl initiatives by 5% r increasing the number f students actively participating in schl greening prgramming (events and activities) r increasing the number f schls actively participating in green schl prgrams (such as Ec-Schls USA) by 3% annually. Natinal Wildlife Federatin Wildlife Center Drive Restn, Virginia

5 Schlyard Habitats District Certificatin Schl District Certificatin Applicatin Please include the fllwing with yur applicatin: Cver Letter Schl District Letter f Supprt The Cmpleted Applicatin Frm List f schls certified as Schlyard Habitats under NWF s Certified Wildlife Habitat prgram Supprting Dcuments (ptinal) can include a list f partners, maps f certified schls, newsletters, letters f supprt frm partner rganizatins, etc. Name f Schl District: Applicatin Submitted By Name Organizatin Title Phne Number Address Mailing Address Qualificatin Criteria Hw has yur schl district met the fllwing qualificatin criteria? Please see the explanatin f Qualificatin Criteria fr details. 1. Schl District awareness and participatin Prvide a Letter f supprt r acknwledgement r agreement frm the schl district. 2. Percentage f schls in the district certified as Schlyard Habitats under NWF s Certified Wildlife Habitat prgram. If yur schl district has Under 20 schls 60% f schls certified schls 50% f schls certified schls 40% f schls certified 300 plus schls 30% f schls certified Hw many schls are in yur schl district? Natinal Wildlife Federatin Wildlife Center Drive Restn, Virginia

6 Schlyard Habitats District Certificatin Hw many f yur schls have certified Schlyard Habitats with NWF s Certified Wildlife Habitat Prgram? Please prvide a list f the certified schls. 3. Student Bdy Participatin Prvide dcumentatin that students are participating in utdr learning acrss the schl district each schl year. A minimum f 25% f the student bdy needs t be engaged in utdr learning each year. Summary f activities (in ttal) that demnstrate the frequency and average amunt f time a specified number f students f particular grades spent utside (fr example: 300 K-5 students get utside fr recess fr 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week; Science instructin fr middle students is taught utside tw days a mnth fr 45 minutes with a ttal f 300 students). Hw many students are enrlled in the district s schls? What percentage f students are participating in utdr learning each year? 4. Percentage f Teachers/Administratrs and/r Maintenance staff trained in teaching in and maintaining an utdr classrm based n the number f schls in the district. Under 20 schls 10% f staff trained schls 8% schls 5% 300 plus schls 3% Hw many teachers des yur district emply? Hw many staff (nt including teachers) des yur district emply? What percentage f yur teachers received training in teaching in and maintaining an utdr classrm? What percentage f yur (nn-teacher) staff received training in teaching in and maintaining an utdr classrm? What percentage f yur teachers are actively teaching utdrs? 5. Maintenance and Sustainability f Schlyard Habitat/Outdr Classrm Demnstrate that 30% f utdr classrms are maintained and sustained fr use as a classrm and learning labratry. Attach any necessary dcumentatin. What percentage f yur schls certified Schlyard Habitats are being actively maintained and sustained fr use as utdr classrms and learning labratries? Natinal Wildlife Federatin Wildlife Center Drive Restn, Virginia

7 Schlyard Habitats District Certificatin 6. Cmmunity Outreach and Engagement Demnstrate participatin f cmmunity members (thrugh vlunteerism r ther engagement) with the schl and utdr classrm, which can als include a list f cmmunity partner rganizatins and their activities. 7. Sustainability and Grwth Plan Demnstrate a cmmitment t sustainability (energy use, water use, utdr time fr students/teachers, transprtatin, etc.) by prviding an existing schl district sustainability plan and/r dcument f intent t create a sustainability plan within a year and/r participatin at the district level in a schl greening/sustainability prgram such as Ec-Schls USA. Natinal Wildlife Federatin Wildlife Center Drive Restn, Virginia