Join NJSBA and Sustainable Jersey for a Facebook Live Event on February 28 at 2pm announcing the release of the Report on K-12 Climate Change Education Needs in New Jersey. The event can be accessed here: www.facebook.com/njsba.

The report will serve as a key resource for the school community to successfully navigate new learning standards adopted in June 2020 that made New Jersey the first state to incorporate K-12 climate change education across content areas.

In response to the standards change, NJSBA and Sustainable Jersey convened the Climate Change Education Thought Leader Committee to determine an appropriate plan for implementing these standards statewide. The committee, co-chaired by Solomon and Henry, included local school board members, representatives from state and federal government, New Jersey’s major education groups, nonprofit environmental advocacy groups and leaders from higher education and the private sector. The goals identified by the committee are to:

• Ensure that all New Jersey public school teachers are prepared to fully integrate climate change education across grade levels and content areas within five years of adoption of the 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards.

• Educate all members of school communities, including families, students, teachers, school staff, administrators, school board members and community partners on scientifically accurate information regarding climate change to ensure that schools are equipped to foster a sustainable future and economic prosperity.

• Encourage community-focused collaboration among stakeholders, including board members, students, families and teachers, facilities professionals and administrators to ensure that schools develop a comprehensive approach to climate change education.

• Use an equity-focused approach to ensure that the neediest schools and districts receive the necessary financial and logistical support for climate change education implementation. Further, the disproportionate effects of climate change seen by communities of color, immigrant communities and low-income communities must be highlighted.

• Center climate change education and experiences on what is happening locally. Place-based approaches to education that emphasize the New Jersey specific effects of climate change, and the local actions that impact global trends are more likely to make a lasting impact with students and motivate communities to commit to solution-building.

• Provide multiple entry points to allow for school- and teacher-autonomy in deciding how to integrate climate change content within each unique learning context.

Among those speaking will be Dr. Lawrence S. Feinsod, NJSBA executive director; Randall Solomon, Sustainable Jersey executive director; John Henry, NJSBA senior manager for STEAM and sustainability; and Dr. Lauren Madden, a professor in the School of Education at The College of New Jersey.