National Park Foundation Funds Professional Development for Teachers in National Parks
WASHINGTON — With funding from the National Park Foundation, 17 national parks in California and the Washington, DC area are inviting teachers to participate in the National Park Service’s 2018 Teacher Ranger Teacher (TRT) Program. TRT is an extended summer professional development opportunity for K-12 educators to engage with the National Park Service’s educational resources. Application information and details about the program are online at teacherrangerteacher.org.
Through the TRT Program, teachers bring their talents to parks across the country and gain valuable place-based teaching experiences. TRT teachers engage in parks and with park resources, assist the park with an education project, and explore lesson planning, including developing at least one lesson plan to be used in their classroom or school. The TRT program offers teachers a unique opportunity to infuse their teaching skills with National Park Service-based Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education resources and the use of primary sources and place-based learning. The program also focuses on connecting teachers from schools with underserved student populations in urban and rural school districts with national parks.
Administration of the program, professional development hours, and graduate credit hours are made available to participants through the University of Colorado Denver through a cooperative agreement.
The national parks participating in the 2018 Teacher Ranger Teacher Program thanks to National Park Foundation funding are:
- Anacostia Park
- Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument
- Cabrillo National Monument
- Death Valley National Park
- Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site
- George Washington Memorial Parkway
- Greenbelt Park
- Joshua Tree National Park
- Lava Beds National Monument
- Manzanar National Historic Site
- Point Reyes National Seashore
- Redwood National and State Parks
- Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
- Tule Lake Unit of WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument
- Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
- Yosemite National Park
These 2018 Teacher Ranger Teacher positions are made possible, in part, through the generous support of the Chevron Corporation, which has supported TRT positions since 2017.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
Celebrating 50 years, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and ENGAGE the next generation of park stewards. In 2016, commemorating the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, the Foundation launched The Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks, a comprehensive fundraising campaign to strengthen and enhance the future of these national treasures for the next hundred years. Find out more and become a part of the national park community at www.nationalparks.org.
ABOUT CHEVRON
Chevron Corporation is one of the world's leading integrated energy companies. Through its subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide, the company is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemicals and additives; generates power; and develops and deploys technologies that enhance business value in every aspect of the company's operations. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.