PWCS Environmental Literacy Plan
Executive Summary
Environmental Literacy means students have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to solve problems and resolve issues individually and collectively that sustain ecological, economic, and social stability. Environmental Literacy is recognized as an essential part of a well-rounded education. To support the development of environmentally literate students, this plan, in alignment with PWCS Vision 2025: Launching Thriving Futures Strategic Plan, outlines how students will develop skills for understanding and addressing environmental issues and practice personal and civic responsibility for environmental decisions.
Children are naturally curious about their environment, and by tapping into that interest environmental education can be an effective tool for teaching cross-curricular environmental and sustainability concepts. PWCS recognizes that the built environment and human activity consume limited natural resources and produce greenhouse gases. A robust environmental education program is therefore essential to achieving the goals of reducing the division’s overall carbon footprint, protecting the environment, conserving economic resources, and contributing to community wellness. The PWCS “Profile of a Graduate” innovator and visionary persona brings a sense of hope, creative thinking, and encouragement to collaboratively solve the challenges facing society today and in the future.
Through engagement in cross-curricular initiatives and project-based experiences, every student in the division will graduate with the knowledge and skills to make informed environmental decisions regarding stewardship of the planet. That stewardship and protection includes the air we breathe, the climate we live in, the water we drink, the watersheds we fish and swim in, the land we farm and live on, and protecting the species that share our community. The plan provides implementation goals and objectives for students, teachers, schools, and the division. Instruction must be intentional with planned measurable outcomes that will drive dispositions and behaviors leading to sustainable communities. Environmental Literacy instruction is currently taking place in grade level bands, and this document emphasizes the cross-curricular nature of environmental literacy. This plan includes an alignment guide of cross-curricular standards which indicates where directly related environmental literacy instruction is taking place as well as environmental literacy targets, measured by key performance indicators.
An environmentally literate person, then, has the ability individually, and collectively with others, to make informed decisions about their environment; is willing to act on those decisions to increase the sustainability of their community; and participate in civic life to affect changes in behavior to accomplish sustainability goals. This plan forges the pathway for all students to be part of the solution for our communities’ environmental challenges.