The State Board of Education has omitted Ecology, Environment, and Agriculture from the newly proposed secondary level ed standards. The comment period is from June 5 to July 6. This notice from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation provides a link to a form letter you can sign and send. Otherwise:
Send an EMAIL: Karen Molchanow, State Board of Education Board ra-stateboardofed@pa.gov or
send a formal letter via USPS: Karen Molchanow, State Board of Education, 333 Market Street, 1st Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17126.
From: Tarrea Potter <TPotter@cbf.org>
Sent: Monday, June 7, 2021 10:41 AM
Subject: URGENT! PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD IS OPEN!
Hello Conservation and Environmental Advocates!
As you may, or may not be aware, the Pennsylvania Science Standards are currently under review. The last legislatively approved standards are dated 2002. The process began back in September of 2019 and on September 9th, 2020, proposed, “integrated” standards were unanimously approved by the State Board of Education. Unfortunately, the current standards have largely omitted Environment, Ecology and Agriculture from the secondary level. This should be a serious concern for educators, community members, and industry across the Commonwealth. The amount of content that has been omitted is overwhelming, and without specific, explicit standards for Environment, Ecology and Agriculture, educators will not be held accountable for covering the content. We urge you to submit a written comment (we did receive word that only comments that mention specific content that is missing will be counted. To see specific content that was identified as having 1 or NO connections to the proposed standards, click here) to the State Board of Education imploring them to explicitly include Environment, Ecology and Agriculture in the standards revision. Pennsylvania was long known as a leader in environmental education, given its long history of conservation and its abundant natural resources. The public comment period opened on Saturday, June 5th and will remain open for only thirty (30) days. Again, we urge you to voice your concern and encourage the Pennsylvania Department of Education to revise these proposed standards to explicitly include environment, ecology, and agriculture standards! The future leaders of our Commonwealth deserve to have rich, environmental, and agricultural education opportunities!
How do I comment to voice my concern? (Remember to mention specific content missing from the proposed standards ):
Comments are being accepted in writing, starting June 5th 2021:
- Send the Action Alert created by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation at this link:https://bit.ly/3ijtSXN
- This alert can be modified (see personalized action alert) if there are morespecific pieces of information you would like to add OR it can be sent as it is, from you!
- Create an EMAIL: Karen Molchanow, State Board of Education Board ra-stateboardofed@pa.gov or
- Send a formal letter via USPS: Karen Molchanow, State Board of Education, 333 Market Street, 1st Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17126.
- Make your voice heard---share this widely!
Additional Resources:
Announcement in PA Code and Bulletin (June 5th, 2021)
2002 Legislatively Approved Standards:
Proposed Standards:
- Pennsylvania Integrated Standards for Science, Environment, Ecology, Technology and Engineering (Grades K-5) (PDF)
- Pennsylvania Integrated Standards for Science, Environment and Ecology (Grades 6-12) (PDF)
- Pennsylvania Technology and Engineering Standards (Grades 6-12)
PA Department of Education: Pennsylvania Science and Technology and Environment and Ecology Standards
North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE): Guidelines for Excellence: Best Practice in EE
Thank you for your support and your time!
Tarrea R Potter
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Pennsylvania Education Outreach Coordinator
1426 North 3rd St., Suite 220
Harrisburg, PA 17102
Office: 717-234-5550
Direct: 717-200-4526
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