National Park Foundation Helps Raise Funds to Support Teacher Ranger Teacher Program in California National Parks
WASHINGTON – Twelve national parks in California are participating in the National Park Service’s 2017 Teacher Ranger Teacher Program, thanks to funding from the National Park Foundation. The Teacher Ranger Teacher program is an extended summer professional development opportunity for educators from K-12 schools to learn about the resources and educational materials available through the National Park Service. The National Park Foundation funding will ensure that teachers will be able to bring to their classrooms the lessons, stories, and skills they’ll gain from their experiences in California’s remarkable national parks.
Teachers participating in the Teacher Ranger Teacher program will have the opportunity to engage in parks and park resources, participate in a webinar about lesson planning, develop at least one lesson to be used in their classroom or school, assist the park with an education project, and increase their understanding of place-based learning. This program will offer teachers a unique opportunity to infuse their teaching skills with NPS-based Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education resources and the use of primary sources and place-based learning. The emphasis of this program is to link national park units and teachers from schools with underserved student populations in urban and rural school districts.
Administration of the program, professional development hours, and graduate credit hours will be made available to participants through the University of Colorado, Denver through a cooperative agreement. Application information and details about the program are online at teacherrangerteacher.org.
The 2017 Teacher Ranger-Teacher Program includes 12 California national parks:
- Cabrillo National Monument
- Death Valley National Park
- John Muir National Historic Site
- Joshua Tree National Park
- Manzanar National Historic Site
- Pinnacles National Park
- Point Reyes National Seashore
- Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
- Redwood National Park
- Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
- Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
- Yosemite National Park
The 2017 Teacher Ranger Teacher positions at California national parks are made possible, in part, through the generous support of the Chevron Corporation.
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.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
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 INSPIRE 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.