Leadership Priorities in Action

Ensure that all students have the opportunity to participate in, benefit from, and lead in their local clean energy ecosystem.

• Short-term outcomes could look like this:
  • All districts in a teacher’s region begin including renewable energy engineering challenges.
  • A single K-12 storyline involving clean energy and power grid concepts is built for regional districts.
  • Student internship opportunities are formalized with industry partners in energy-linked fields.
  • Fellow delivers plans to their district to support cross-curricular collaboration between regional teachers.
• Long Term outcomes could look like this:
  • Increasing numbers of students from Fellow’s region enter local energy-linked industries.
  • Students in the region are able to make well-informed decisions around grid modernization and energy resources for their local grid.
  • There is a clear and consistent pathway available for students hoping to enter careers in all sectors of the clean energy economy (trades, utility staff, advanced manufacturing, computer science) visible in the local community.
  • Regional utilities see broadened participation by customers in progressive, resiliency-focused energy initiatives and programs.

Emphasize topics of justice and remove barriers to participation and access imposed on communities populations historically excluded from or harmed by energy development.

Short-term outcomes could look like this:

• Partnerships between school districts and equity-focused organizations are developed.
• Translators are used to generate critical curricular or other documents in languages other than English.
• Fellows work with their Professional Learning Communities to incorporate scaffolds and English Language Development that ensure valuable student differentiation is possible where needed.
• The phenomena used to engage students in inquiry and engineering are not only localized and relevant but connected to critical regional issues addressing regional development and/or social justice.
• A diverse representation of professionals in energy careers is used wherever possible.

• Long-term outcomes could look like this:
  • Community-based organizations and equity-focused groups see permanent integration into planning and implementing regional STEM events.
  • Increasing participation in regional STEM K-12 offerings by underrepresented communities.
  • Regional industries linked to this initiative see increases in roles being filled by traditionally underrepresented communities.
  • There is a diversification of stakeholder groups at the table in discussions around energy resource development.

Build mechanisms and relationships that ensure a self-sustaining, 10-year impact.

• Short-term outcomes could look like this:
  • Receiving letters of support, “sponsorships,” or other robust buy-in from both educational and industry partners for the development of new structures.
    • Click Here to explore how Clean Energy Fellow Courtney Greene brought in support from community organizations for her Action Plan at Fernan STEM Academy in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
  • Thoughtful alignment to long-term educational initiatives in the region, such as NGSS curriculum sourcing, CTE pathways, guidance counseling, and vertical structuring along K-12 progressions.
  • Identifying ongoing, long-term challenges and issues that students working through the Fellow’s project initiatives could address and engage with.
• Long-term outcomes could look like this:
  • Partnership buy-in is recurring and ever evolving with the program long after CE’s involvement ends.
  • Curriculum and programming remain relevant throughout the duration of regional development and remain adaptive to new needs.
  • Systems are built to identify and fill gaps to adjust for long-term shuffling of roles due to teacher turnover.
  • Those impacted by the Fellow’s project programming can move on to take valuable roles in the region in addressing critical challenges.

Amplify tools and expertise beyond the classroom of individual Clean Energy Fellows, providing access to education networks nationwide.

• Short-term outcomes could look like this:
  • Establishing regular meetings amongst school-site STEM coordinators to align student engagement with common goals.
  • Coordinating professional development for district grade bands to train them in the usage of newly developed scope-and-sequence curriculum.
  • Building a webinar that instructs regional teachers in the usage of hands-on tools delivered to a district tool library.
  • Fellows present outcomes, curricular resources, and pathways to community partnerships to educators from expanded regions at State or national-level conferences, such as ACTE or NSTA. 
• Long-term outcomes could look like this:
  • Systems are in place to confirm that new regional STEM coordinators are brought up to speed and maintain the delivery of Clean Energy Fellow’s project curriculum.
  • Teachers and schools are able to continuously refine and update curriculum as they see fit moving forward to best meet the needs of their specific students.
  • Common libraries of resources are established and used amongst regional teachers in need of geographically specific activities.

Develop trusting and symbiotic relationships with industry, education, and community-based partners.

• Short-term outcomes could look like this:
  • Clean Energy Fellows work with local utilities to formalize regular classroom visits and field trip opportunities.
  • Fellows work with community-based organizations to help vet new curricular resources and ensure that they are locally informed, culturally relevant, and employ strategies addressing equity.
  • Fellows collaborate with regional workforce boards to develop tools to enhance opportunities for students to enter their career pathways through energy engagement.
• Long-term outcomes could look like this:
  • Long-term mentorship opportunities are established for industry leaders to engage with students.
  • Students have increased access to new curricular resources that instill urgency around community issues.
  • Pathways into careers with all partners are clear to students and consistently communicated throughout their educational career, and not limited to grades 11-12.