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Setting Goals and Making Connections

Creating a plan for an entire school district can be daunting. Taking time in the early stages to form a backbone team and set shared goals are essential for a successful environmental literacy plan (ELP). A project in 2025 surveyed education leaders representing 12 different ELPs from across the Mid-Atlantic. This page shares some of the strategies that worked for them, with links to their plans, for these important early stages. Look for more strategies from completed ELPs throughout this toolkit.

  • Consider creating a shared agreement for backbone team members to sign so everyone understands and agrees on the process and their role.
    • The Steering Committee Agreement was signed by every member of the team working to create the ELP for Middlesex County Public Schools. All members had an opportunity to contribute to the agreement before signing; this helped ensure that all participants understood and committed to shared responsibilities and expectations.
  • Develop a shared vision for environmental literacy. This vision may evolve as the backbone team learns more about the district’s environmental education landscape and develops their goals.
    • Early in the document, Richmond Public Schools (page 11) defines environmental literacy and shares why the backbone team thinks it is important to be cross-curricular and available to all students.
  • Develop shared goals and measurable outcomes and a plan for regularly measuring the success of the ELP.
    • Potential measures of success could include tracking improvements among Sustainable School efforts, science course test scores, or standardized test scores within the district before and after the implementation of the ELP. Other measures may target class attendance for outdoor learning experiences or student reflections on environmental-based curriculum.
  • Connect to the school district’s strategic plan. In addition to reading the school district’s plan, who can you speak with to better understand the plan and the district’s progress? Some ELPs were designed to mirror the language and appearance of the district’s plan to visually demonstrate the connection.
  • Connect with other local plans. Decide how the backbone team will understand the relevant goals and priorities of city, county, and/or state plans to make connections and hopefully build more support.
    • Prince George’s County Public Schools (page 8) aligned their ELP with the county’s Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP). The ELP outlines collaboration between the Focus Work Group and the Prince George’s County CCAP Commission to develop a systemic approach to integrate education about climate change.
  • Define your audience. How does the backbone team envision the ELP being used? Is it a report to school staff, leadership and the community on how environmental literacy experiences are embedded and scaffolded? Is it a tool, with links to program materials and partner contacts, meant to support teachers incorporating more environmental education? Is it meant for multiple audiences at once?
    • The Richmond Public Schools (page 2) ELP includes a “How to Use This Plan” section that outlines the most relevant sections for formal educators, nonformal educators, administration and leadership, and caregivers and families based on their specific roles and responsibilities. This approach ensures stakeholders can easily navigate the ELP and access resources that are crucial for their role in supporting environmental literacy.