ACES to Advise Colorado Department of Education

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ACES is proud to announce its participation in the first Colorado Environmental Education Leadership Council. This council, made up of regional sub-councils, will work with the Colorado Department of Education to consult and advise on methods to effectively implement the Colorado Environmental Education Plan (CEEP.) 

The CEEP was created through a collaboration between the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources to foster the partnerships and awareness needed to promote, coordinate, and sustain standards-based environmental education across the state. The CEEP was adopted by the Colorado State Board of Education on December 5th, 2012 with bi-partisan support.

ACES Ed has over 30 years of teaching and supporting standards-based environmental education in and out of the classroom. The ACES Ed program is unique and continues to be the only environmental education program in the country with full-time teachers installed in 3 different public schools, integrating experiential field science study with classroom-based teaching. 

In the past year, we’ve worked to expand the ACES Ed reach and influence through focusing even more on teacher training programs and professional development for educators. Although working directly with students will always remain at the core of our work, we realize that educating and influencing teachers allows us to reach an even greater number of students without needing to overextend our teaching capacity.

As ACES Education Director, I sit on the Northwest Region Council and work has already begun to share the long-standing history the ACES Ed program has across the state. I am really looking forward to this “cross-pollination” between education organizations and school districts across the region and am excited to work with the other council members to consult and advise on effective implementation of the CEEP.

CEEP is a coordinated strategy between PreK-12 teachers, environmental education providers, and leaders in Colorado to:

• Restore and increase field experiences as part of the school curriculum

• Improve statewide access to existing environmental education programs and materials

• Make connections with Colorado Academic Standards and 21st Century Skills to support classroom instruction 

• Create opportunities for enhanced and ongoing professional development of educators.

For more information on members of the inaugural Colorado Environmental Education Leadership Council, visit:

http://www.caee.org/colorado-environmental-education-leadership-council

~ Arin Trook, Education Director