December 14, 2023 Newsletter
If you can believe it, we are already halfway through the school year. Teachers and administrators will soon have a much-needed winter break. We hope everyone has a nourishing holiday!
The holidays are usually a time of reflection and we have much to take stock of. CAELI has been hard at work in the first half of the year.
In this month’s newsletter, we share updates from CAELI Project Director, Andra Yeghoian. She reflects on the breadth of work CAELI has been able to accomplish through our Innovation Hubs and CAELI-Wide Working Groups. We are also wrapping up our statewide school landscape survey this month and sharing opportunities from our partners.
Scaling Our Work | An Update on CAELI’s Working Groups
The first half of the 2023-2024 seasons has been inspiring as our CAELI community continues to grow with new members, and as working group projects get underway. The end of the calendar year offers a time for reflection and renewal, and this month, we share the progress of our collective action statewide network. We look forward to returning in 2024 with a renewed sense of purpose in our mission, and wish everyone a restorative holiday season!
Read our recap here.
Help Us Spread the Word! Announcing Our First Statewide School Survey
We are still accepting responses for our first-ever statewide environmental literacy survey. We hope to understand the ways Environmental Literacy Education takes place in California schools and how CAELI can expand efforts in the future!
Our goal is to hear directly from educators, principles, and site administrators across TK–12 schools in California so we can best address the needs on the ground. Complete the 15-minute survey for a chance to win one of four $250 prizes!
Help us get a full picture of the landscape across California by taking our survey if you are eligible and sharing it with any California teachers, administrators, or principals in your life.
RSVP for the Green Ribbon January Network Meeting
Register for CAELI’s Green Ribbon Statewide Network meeting on January 11, 2024. The California Green Ribbon Achievers and Applicants Network is an opportunity to network together and share best practices.
Register for January’s meeting.
Innovation Hub Spotlight
CAELI’s innovation hubs represent a growing community of people dedicated to environmental literacy and outdoor education for youth. Here, we introduce one of our innovation hub leaders!
Opportunities, Events, and News
- The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has officially approved new policies and plans that incorporate environmental education, physical education, and safety into schools in the district. The plan includes a Districtwide Sustainability Plan to hold leaders accountable. Read more.
- Are you interested in the intersection of urban planning and K-12 education? UC Berkeley is searching for a California Program Manager at the Center for Cities + Schools. UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities + Schools (CC+S) is an interdisciplinary, applied research center, linking city planning and K-12 education. Apply here.
- Our friends at Green Schoolyards America are looking for a new Associate Director of Regional Programs in Los Angeles. If you’re interested in helping to implement regional programs to support school districts as they plan, design, implement, manage, and operate green schoolyards and schoolyard forests, consider applying. Learn more and apply.
- The research continues to reiterate the healing properties of being in nature. A new research study from The University of Chicago illustrates how our cognitive functions, including memory, judgment, and reasoning, improve with time in nature. Learn more.
