Want to Get Kids Outside Next School Year? PEI Can Help

FieldSTEM Support

How PEI can help your school Prepare Now for Outdoor Learning This Fall

As the 2022-23 school year winds down it’s the perfect time to think about scheduling PEI professional learning for school and district staff. Some of the ways our team can help you prepare to incorporate FieldSTEM next year:

Connecting your school/district with local community partners to design field experiences utilizing sites and content experts
Conducting a schoolyard audit to identify opportunities for outdoor learning
Identifying how outdoor learning aligns to WA state learning standards
Sharing tools and resources for integrating school gardens with your curriculum
Mentored planning time with grade-level or grade-band colleagues

Read examples of how educators in the Brownsville, Cascade and Aberdeen Districts prepared for 2022-23. Contact your regional FieldSTEM Coordinator to learn more.

Career Pathways

PEI’s Statewide CTE Frameworks Connect Students to Outdoor-Based Careers

Typically, Career and Technical Education (CTE) frameworks are written at a local level for use by a specific school or district. That approach has both strengths and challenges, according to PEI Project Specialist Michelle Townshend. “The frameworks are locally relevant,” she explains, “but the problem is that nobody outside of that district knows about them and other people end up re-creating the same things without much outside help.”

In contrast, in 2017 PEI Executive Director Kathryn Kurtz led work with the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council to begin working with a collaboration that included OSPI, school districts, community colleges, Tribes and employers to build a CTE framework that would be statewide and allow for local adaptation.

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Introduction to FieldSTEM

PEI’s Expanded Introductory Course Series Attracts More Educators

Between February and May 198 teachers from 72 school districts attended one or more of PEI’s eight introductory FieldSTEM courses. It was the second year PEI has offered the series and attendance increased in 2023. Each two-hour session covered an aspect of PEI’s tools and resources and the FieldSTEM model’s components, from Math and English Language Arts (ELA) Performance Tasks (including a specific introduction for Dual Language teachers) and High Impact Field Investigations to Fostering Outdoor Observation Skills, Field Investigations, FieldDesign and Civic Engagement.

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Teacher Tips & Tools

4 Ways to Support Forests with Family

June, and July are notable months for the transition from spring to summer, the anticipation of breaking from school, and a few of our favorite family-focused holidays.

Strong family memories are made outside. And all children should have the opportunity to learn about and enjoy the outdoors with the grownups who love them. This summer, dedicate yourself to finding time to spend time in nature with your family—we promise it’s time well-spent.

Plus, despite what you may think, you don’t need to drive far away and buy fancy shoes or expensive accessories to visit a forest! We encourage you to make a plan and recreate responsibly, but forests may be closer than you think, even in busy urban areas!

Drop what you’re doing, grab the rest of the family, and hit up a forest! Sustainably managed forests are good for you and good for the planet.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Read More

Source: Project Learning Tree

FieldSTEM Celebration

Save the Date!

You're Invited!

Join PEI as we celebrate teachers, schools, districts and community partners statewide. Dinner and an awards presentation will be followed by a silent auction and live music courtesy of Sturgeon Moon, an 8-piece band.

Upcoming Events

Date	Workshop	Location
June 3	State of Salmon: Curriculum for 3^rd Grade Educators	Statewide
June 16 & 17	Plant/ Tree ID & GIS Course	Statewide**
June 27 & 28	Engaging Communities in Forestry Education	Skagit, Whatcom
June 28	FieldSTEM and River Mile Network	ESD 112

*Registration will open to the public at a later date.
**Not open to the public.
***Workshop Full
Visit our c alendar for more information.

With Gratitude

Thank you to last month’s donors and funders!

Bill Monahan
Career Connect Washington
Gareth Waugh
Icicle Fund
John Ison
OSPI
The Kroger Company
Washington Friends of Farms and Forests

Washington State Department of Natural Resources

Donate to PEI