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education > no child left inside
Working to Make Sure There's
"No Child Left Inside"
With the nation facing complicated environmental issues that will challenge us for years to come, it is critical that schools provide students with a solid grounding in environmental education. By making a few changes to the former No Child Left Behind law, we can dramatically improve our schools’ ability to prepare children for real-world challenges and careers, prevent "Nature Deficit Disorder" and help fight childhood obesity, all while working to ensure an environmentally sustainable future.
Since 2007, educators at Roger Williams Park Zoo have been working closely with Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed and other member organizations of the No Child Left Inside Coalition to effect that change, through the No Child Left Inside Act.
Introduced by Senator Reed and Congressman John Sarbanes of Maryland in 2007, the NCLI Act will strengthen and expand environmental education in America's classrooms and help reconnect children with nature. The House version of the bill passed by an overwhelming 3 to 1 margin in 2008. This demonstrated strong congressional support for environmental education and signified a bright future for this legislation.
Ideally, No Child Left Inside will become a part of the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 2010. The ESEA was formerly known as “No Child Left Behind." |
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Details of the No Child Left Inside Act
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has fundamentally changed the way that education is delivered in this country. It has defined the core content that all students in the United States must learn to be considered proficient at each grade level. As of 2007, this included content standards in reading, math, and science. In many school districts, this has translated into teaching only those subjects and standards that are assessed.
If Congress adopts our proposals, a substantially strengthened ESEA will include:
- Funding to train teachers to deliver high quality Environmental Education and utilize the local environment as an extension of the classroom.
- Incentives for states to develop State Environmental Literacy Plans to insure that every student is prepared to understand the environmental challenges of the future.
- Encouragement for teachers, administrators, and school systems to make time and resources available for environmental education for all students.
- Environmental Education will be integrated across core subject areas.
The No Child Left Inside Act amends the NCLB law in the following ways:
- Provides federal funding to states to train teachers in environmental education and to operate model environmental education programs, which include outdoor learning.
- Provides funding to states that create environmental literacy plans to ensure that high school graduates are environmentally literate.
- Provides funding through an environmental education grant program to build state and national capacity.
- Re-establishes the Office of Environmental Education within the U.S. Department of Education.
What the No Child Left Inside Act Could Mean for Local Schools
Passage of the NCLI bill could mean that more local schools would be able to take advantage of the Zoo’s unique and valuable environmental education resources. A 37-acre living classroom, the Zoo offers a great variety of standards-based programs that allow teachers and students to explore, discover, observe and apply real-world context to the lessons learned in school.
The Zoo is a proud member of the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association (RIEEA). RIEEA is working to ensure that Rhode Island develops and implements an Environmental Literacy Plan that will comply with the provisions of the No Child Left Inside Act. For more information about RIEEA, please visit www.rieea.org.
We thank Senator Reed for his leadership on this important issue and are thrilled that Rhode Island is committed to leaving no child inside!
For more information about the critical need for environmental education in America's classrooms, as well as further details and latest news regarding the No Child Left Inside Act, please visit the No Child Left Inside Coalition website. |
