The Commonwealth of Virginia has a strong commitment to environmental literacy supported by state agencies, local nonprofits, universities, and of course school districts themselves. Virginia Department of Education and their partners encourage school districts to participate in the biennial collection of data, known as the Environmental Literacy Indicator Tool (ELIT), to understand the landscape and inform efforts to advance the implementation of environmental education. Self-reported data about how prepared school divisions feel to implement a comprehensive and systemic approach to environmental literacy from the 2024 ELIT Survey show 22% of reporting divisions are “well prepared,” 59% are “somewhat prepared,” and 19% are “not prepared.” Results from individual school districts are also available.
To review progress on the student, planning, and sustainable schools outcomes, visit Chesapeake Progress.
The Standards of Learning (SOL) for Virginia Public Schools establish expectations of what students should know and be able to do at the end of each grade or course in English, mathematics, science, history/social science and other subjects. The SOL in certain disciplines support environmental literacy explicitly and in others implicitly. The Environmental Science Content Guidelines provide content and practice expectation for students enrolled in the secondary environmental science course.
The Profile of a Virginia Graduate describes the knowledge, skills, experiences and attributes that students must attain to be successful in college and/or the work force and to be “life ready.” There are three main facets to the Profile of a Virginia Graduate including: 1. The explicit integration of the “5 C’s” into instruction: critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration, communication and citizenship; 2. An emphasis on the development of core skill sets in the early years of high school; 3. The establishment of multiple paths toward college and career readiness for students to follow in the later years of high school, which could include opportunities for internships, externships, and credentialing.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation's Office of Environmental Education has the goal of fostering collaborative partnerships with organizations to empower both non-formal and formal educators to cultivate environmentally literate K-12 graduates throughout the state of Virginia. Currently, the office is actively crafting a comprehensive strategic plan for K-12 environmental literacy, developing an interactive GIS repository, providing a dynamic map of valuable resources across Virginia, and managing and allocating funds for the annual Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEE) grant program.
The Facilitator’s Guide to MWEE Training is a modular resource to support consistent MWEE training across the region. The VA version includes local case studies and connections to the Standards of Learning (SOLs).
The ELit Plan Template is a resource for school districts to use as a baseline for designing written plans that document where environmental literacy experiences occur over a student's K-12 experience.
The ELM is a comprehensive planning document that articulates the trajectory of a MWEE. Find and use exemplar ELMs developed by teachers and educators from across the region for inspiration.
The Funding page lists regional and state grants to support MWEEs and environmental education programs.
VEN is a network that represents strategic parts of the statewide environmental education ecosystem. VEN’s primary goals are to improve and enhance communication channels at the state-level to advance school district-level and community environmental literacy programming. To get involved with VEN, reach out to Candace Lutzow Felling (CandaceLF@gmail.com).
VAEE is the professional organization for environmental educators in Virginia with a mission to advance environmental literacy through the power of environmental education by promoting excellence, fostering collaboration, and inspiring community engagement.
VAST is the Virginia state chapter of the National Science Teachers Association and has a mission of promoting excellence in science teaching and learning in Virginia.
VSELA is dedicated to ensuring an excellent science education for all Virginia students. Their membership consists of state and division level science leaders, higher education faculty, and leaders within the informal science education community.
Virginia Department of Education solicits and selects applications from school districts across the commonwealth to nominate to the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools program. More information about this process can be found on the VA Department of Education’s webpage.
Virginia Naturally (VAN) Schools is the official environmental education school recognition program of the Commonwealth, administered by the Department of Wildlife Resources. The goal of this program is to recognize the exemplary efforts undertaken by Virginia schools to increase the Environmental Literacy of its students. More information can be found on the Virginia Naturally webpage.
The James River Association collaborated with three school divisions – Amherst, Hopewell, and Surry – to implement MWEEs for all 7th grade students in each county. Discover more about these unique experiences in this blog post.
The new Teachers Innovating and Designing Experiential Science (TIDES) Hub is set to transform teacher preparation programs by providing essential resources for incorporating MWEEs in their courses. This online platform aims to support the faculty of teacher preparation programs by enhancing their content and pedagogical knowledge, offering instructional resources for their courses, and equipping pre-service teachers with the tools needed to integrate environmental education and MWEEs into their future classrooms. Learn more in this blog post.
A handful of school divisions in Northern Virginia are using a unique approach to scaling sustainability and environmental literacy efforts through Sustainability Liaisons. In Arlington, each school has its own leader who is leading the charge on environmental literacy and sustainability. This localized approach compliments division-wide efforts like their Environmental Literacy Plan which outlines where MWEEs and other outdoor field experiences occur over a student’s K-12 career, among other important elements. Learn more in this blog post.