PEI’s annual FieldSTEM Celebration honors the people and organizations bringing FieldSTEM to life throughout our state.
In 2024, we recognize the following individuals and organizations who have supported our FieldSTEM work in this last year and beyond:
FieldSTEM Teacher of the Year
Robin Driver, Eisenhower High School, Yakima SD
The 2024 FieldSTEM Teacher of the Year is Robin Driver of Eisenhower High School. For the past three years, Robin has been the lead teacher for PEI’s Youth Engaged in Sustainable Systems (YESS) program, a six-week opportunity during the summer for students to earn high school credit and a stipend while gaining ecological restoration skills. Yakima School District is one of the earliest adapters of this program, with Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group as their main partner.
“Robin is always thinking ahead toward the next step,” says PEI’s Green Jobs Coordinator Chelsea Trout. “This program is something she puts her whole self into. She’s great with her students and it helps to work with someone who sees this as a passion project. She is also someone we look to for help with other workshops.”
FieldSTEM School of the Year
Ida Nason Aronica Elementary, Ellensburg SD
Ida Nason Aronica Elementary School was intentionally designed for outdoor learning with input from a broad swath of community members, including students. “Our community really came together,” says former Principal Joanne Duncan. “Kids drew picture of what a day at school would look like, and they wanted outdoor time.”
Teachers at Ida Nason strive to embody the qualities they want students to learn like flexibility, curiosity, and resilience. “Those are core values that we try to model every day,” says Duncan. “We emphasized that it’s okay to try something and it’s also okay if it doesn’t work. The staff really embraced that. We know that as we learn, the students learn.”
Ida Nason has implemented place-based outdoor learning across grade levels with support from PEI coordinators and materials. Their campus includes a pocket forest, pond, school garden and multiple spaces for students to sit and explore nature.
FieldSTEM District of the Year
Tumwater School District, Tumwater
PEI celebrates Tumwater School District’s commitment to getting every student outdoors for field-based, career-connected learning. The district may hold the record for the most community partners engaged, especially if we include their Youth Engaged in Sustainable Systems (YESS) program. K-12 students have gained firsthand experience of geology, performed water quality testing, studied macroinvertebrates in the field, and explored wild food traditions in their region – all with support from multiple state agencies, the City of Tumwater, local conservation groups, and a regional college.
This is a beautiful example of FieldSTEM in action with teachers leading the charge with full administrative support.
FieldSTEM Community Collaborator of the Year
Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group
Collaboration is key at MCFEG. They coordinate efforts to protect and restore wild fish populations and habitat with state and federal agencies, tribes, local conservation organizations and more. Education is also an essential aspect of their work and they have been a strong partner of PEI’s YESS program from the beginning.
“MCFEG is the main community partner for our Yakima YESS program,” says Green Jobs Coordinator Chelsea Trout. “They are great to work with because their YESS program is nearly self-sustaining with little support from PEI, and considerable support from existing relationships with other agencies and organizations. They are great team players, year-round, always looking to expand.”
FieldSTEM Legislator of the Year
Rep. Kristine Reeves, D-Federal Way
Representative Reeves is a working mom, former foster youth, and small business owner who advocates for working families, educators, veterans, and building an economy that works best for all of us. Outside of the Legislature, Reeves is a community & economic development, equity & inclusion, and organizational development consultant.
FieldSTEM Champion
Mark Doumit, Washington Forest Protection Association
Mark Doumit is best remembered as a tireless champion of Washington forests and the driving force behind the state’s landmark Forests & Fish Law that supports salmon habitat and recovery efforts and preserves more than 60,000 miles of streams running through 9.3 million acres of private and public forestland. A former small tree farmer, Doumit served in the Washington State Legislature from 1997 through 2006 before leaving public office to become to lead the Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) as executive director. In that role, he advocated for private forest landowners who manage 4 million acres of woodlands. When he passed away unexpectedly in 2021, it wasn’t just his accomplishments people spoke about; it was his warmth, humor, generosity of spirit, and down to earth approach to the often dry world of legislation
But many may not realize that he also played a central role in PEI’s founding, recognizing the importance of education in protecting forests in future generations.
FieldSTEM 2024 Sponsors
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