November 2015
WE ARE FEELING GRATEFUL

  
MS 51 Conducts Water Analysis
SHOWING GRATITUDE: SERVICE LEARNING IN EfS 
What's the difference between Community Service and Service Learning?
Did you participate in Community Service activities as a young person? This is a valuable way for youth to contribute to their communities with the focus on helping others in need. Around this time of year, students, teachers and families often do community service by volunteering at a local food pantry or soup kitchen.
Community Service is a part of the big picture of Service Learning.  Service Learning deepens and extends the idea of community service by making learning the focus of the efforts.  It becomes embedded in the curriculum design so that students' efforts in their communities are informed by classroom studies, neighborhood investigations and engagement over time.

"I am deeply grateful to Patti for her years of energy, creativity, commitment and tenacious service to CELF. She is certainly a ripple that led to waves of great things and is appreciated by all who have had the opportunity to work with her." -CELF Executive Director, Katie Ginsberg

EXPRESSING OUR GRATITUDE: PATTI BRESSMAN
As a founding Board Member, Patti was instrumental to shaping the programs, operations, character and success of CELF. Tireless in her efforts to see the organization spread its mission, Patti used her myriad talents as a gifted graphic designer, financial planner, event planner, and people-connector to help build the impactful, successful organization CELF is today. 
As COO, Patti spent countless hours designing professional program materials, strategizing fundraising platforms, and using her creative ideas to inspire and launch several flagship programs such as the Students for a Sustainable Future EXPO (held at Pace University), the LifeStraw 100 Schools Campaign and the Student Ambassador Program for high school students. She forged several important partnerships for CELF with Pace School of Law, Pace University, Vestergaard Frandsen, Whole Foods and many others.   

  
 CELF and LAUSD Pilot team at Point Fermin, San Pedro, CA

LA PILOT OFF TO A STRONG START 
CELF launched its "Leadership Training in Sustainability Curriculum" as a pilot program for three Los Angeles Union School District middle schools. The LAUSD collaborated in the first CELF Institute by providing a phenomenal outdoor education site, Point Fermin, in San Pedro. Participating teachers engaged in CELF's introductory EfS activities and began planning their first curriculum projects. All will be using an online learning platform  to connect with CELF's resources, with each other and with CELF's large cohort of NY educators.
The LAUSD views CELF's professional development program as a strategy to increase rigor and relevance in existing STEM and ELA curricula, thereby enhancing instructional practice and student engagement. School administrators said they see the program as a bridge between existing programs on cultural relevance, student leadership and project-based learning. The project will help focus schools' efforts on sustainability content areas such as food, agriculture and water. It will also support literacy and writing skills across the curriculum. One pilot school will use CELF as a partner in its endeavors to become a STEAM school. All are enthusiastic about working with CELF on developing faculty capacity and skills for building systems thinking into current curriculum in order to improve student performance on data analysis and reading comprehension and to learn about tipping points of complex systems.
Sara Hwong in the field

STUDENT PROFILE: SARA HWONG
CELF recently caught up with founding Student Ambassador (SAM) member, Sara Hwong, who is pursuing a degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Environmental, Energy, and Resource Economics. Sara is grateful for her experience with CELF and explained that she connected what she learned as a SAM with the content in her freshman year Environmental Science and Sustainability class. "The training that I received as a SAM definitely increased my environmental knowledge, especially on issues that concern global water safety issues." 

IS 227 & PS 57 students collaborate to prepare school garden beds
WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE
We are exceedingly grateful to all our funders large and small who are supporting us in our mission to bring Education for Sustainability into K-12 education. Your donation helps support programs that prepare students and teachers for a sustainable future. Please MAKE A DONATION today.

 
CELF's mission is to make Education for Sustainability (EfS) an integral part of every school's curricula and culture - from kindergarten through high school - to prepare current and future students to be active and responsible citizens of a sustainable world.