Instructors From California, Texas, Mississippi and Illinois to Spend Two Weeks in Costa Rica Preparing to Become Better Science Teachers
FALLS CHURCH, Va.– May 28, 2013 – The Northrop Grumman Foundation and Conservation International (CI) today announced the 16 teachers who have been selected to participate in the second ECO Classroom, a unique and innovative professional development program for public middle and high school science teachers.
The Northrop Grumman Foundation, in collaboration with CI, created the program, sent its first group of teachers to Costa Rica last summer. The program offers teachers supplemental tools and real-world experiences that inspire students to pursue science and technical careers.
It is widely acknowledged among educators and policymakers that insufficient numbers of students are entering science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. One way to address this issue and emphasize environmental stewardship is to motivate educators to engage students in the sciences and to bring unique learning opportunities into their classrooms with real-world curricula and hands-on experiences such as ECO Classroom.
The ECO Classroom program brings groups of public school teachers from across the United States to CI's Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Network ( www.teamnetwork.org ) Volcan Barva site in La Selva Biological Station and Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica. They participate in field data collection on plant and animal biodiversity, climate and land use using TEAM scientific protocols.
The teachers and schools attending this summer are:
Team Name | Name | Location | School Name |
The Brain Trust | Katherine Newton – team lead | Glen Ellyn, Ill. | Gemini Junior High School |
Melanie Mudarth | Wilmette, Ill. | Evanston/Skokie Community Consolidated District 65 | |
Kelda Hutson | Mundelein, Ill. | Warren Township High School | |
Susie Posnock | Highland Park, Ill. | Niles North High School | |
Mississippi Eco Boosters | Robin Rumery – team lead | Ocean Springs, Miss. | Ocean Springs High School |
Lynn Zimmerman | Vancleave, Miss. | St. Martin High School | |
Carole Ziv | D'Iberville, Miss. | St. Martin Middle School | |
Teresa Kelley | Ocean Springs, Miss. | Moss Point High School | |
Lonestar SAS | Christine Mihealsick – team lead | Cedar Park, Texas | Westwood High School |
Leslie Lopez | Round Rock, Texas | Round Rock High School | |
Jordan Ferris | Austin, Texas | Cedar Ridge High School | |
Tina Vick | Austin, Texas | McNeil High School | |
Hormigas Aventureras | Susan Scott – team lead | Escondido, Calif. | Rincon Middle School |
Catherine Melis | San Diego | Del Dios Middle School | |
Sarah Moghal | Oceanside, Calif. | Del Dios Middle School | |
Kristen Whitney | Bonsall, Calif. | Mission Middle School |