2023 Excellence in Education Awards

The National Park Service is pleased to congratulate the national and regional recipients of the 2023 Excellence in Education Awards. The Excellence in Education Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the profession of education that model excellence through thoughtful engagement of education principles, innovation, and adaptation.

National Recipient

Duration:

2 minutes, 14 seconds

Mesa Verde National Park staff and partners accepts the 2023 Excellence in Interpretation Team Award.

Seeking Paths in Nature (SPiN)

Kaylyn Barnes, Beth Bramhall, Joel Creasman, Tinker Jenks, Callia Johnson, Laura Pinnix and Marie Junaluska, Kahawis,
Erin Lamm, Jessica Metz, Natrieifia Miller, Susan Sachs,
Malia Crowe Skulski, Kristina Virgil, Beth Wright

Region 1, 2, 4 (Southeast) | Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Seeking Paths in Nature (SPiN) is a curriculum project that integrates Cherokee culture and traditional ecological knowledge with park themes. Park staff and educators from Cherokee middle schools co-created the project, which was initiated and funded by the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.

The resulting six classroom units illustrate how Cherokee have used science throughout their history. The observation and understanding of interactions between all beings is evident in Cherokee ways of knowing, illustrated in traditional stories. Students are shown that observation is a path towards knowing. The units include activities where students create art, stories, and other creative endeavors from their observations. Each unit culminates in ideas for additional lessons to offer student agency to extend their learning and impact in their communities.

SPiN addresses a desire of the Cherokee community to provide an opportunity for non-tribal students in the region to gain a deeper understanding of the culture of their Cherokee neighbors. The project and resulting classroom units are an active way to acknowledge the park’s location within the traditional homelands of the Aniyvwiya (Cherokee).

Teachers at 42 public schools throughout a portion of the traditional homelands of the Aniyvwiya (Cherokee) receive the classroom units after attending a 4-hour training workshop led by park education staff. The activities have been so successful with students that the curriculum supervisor at Cherokee Central Schools has been using them as a model for teachers in elementary and high school on how to embed Cherokee culture into standards-based education.

Additional National Park Service Team Members: Kahawis, Malia Crowe Skulski, Natrieifia Miller, Callia Johnson, Kaylyn Barnes, Kristina Virgil, Erin Lamm, and Beth Wright.

External Team Members: Jessica Metz, Science teacher at New Kituwah Academy (Cherokee language immersion school); Joel Creasman, Principal, Cherokee Middle School; Beth Bramhall, Visual Information Specialist, US Forest Service; Tinker Jenks, Senior Program Manager, Cherokee Preservation Foundation; and Cherokee Speakers Council (Laura Pinnix and Marie Junaluska).

The Excellence in Education Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the profession of education that model excellence through thoughtful engagement of education principles, innovation, and adaptation.

Regional Recipients

Fourth graders at Mount Harmony receive their Every Kid Outdoors passes at a school assembly.

Mount Harmony Monumental Experience
Jen Epstein

Region 1 (National Capital Area) | National Mall and Memorial Parks

The Mount Harmony Monumental Experience project began with the school librarian, Dr. Melaney Sanchez, who envisioned taking all 649 students at Mt. Harmony Elementary School on a field trip to the National Mall. Over the course of five months, every student participated in park-based curriculum in the classroom, a field trip to the National Mall, and a culminating National Mall Night where they shared what they had learned.

Park and school staff collaborated to develop this program that integrates park and school experiences with a multi-touch approach. Students first met rangers in their school, starting with the fourth grade classes who received their Every Kid Outdoor passes from the park education specialist, Jen Epstein. She met with all the students before their field trips. Teachers and park staff worked together to match each grade’s curriculum to different memorials within the park. For example, kindergartners used the Washington Monument to study shapes, while fifth graders studied the war memorials with a walk to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and World War II Memorial.

Each grade level visited a different memorial on the mall and then used lessons they learned in the park in academic lessons and art and music classes. Students also wrote and drew pictures about their experiences, which the school helped them put together in published books.

On National Mall Night, students’ essays and artwork covered the school walls. Students sung patriotic work, picked up their published books, shared what they had learned, and introduced their parents and siblings to a park ranger.

Additional Team Members: Bethany Bagent and Virginia Hughes.

Park Guide Claire Affinito recording a virtual tour stop from the Western Overlook. Ranger Katie Hostetler (right) assists film crew with audio.

Teach to Remember 9/11
Flight 93 National Memorial Interpretation and Education Team

Region 1 (Northeast Region) | Flight 93 National Memorial

Teach to Remember allows students and teachers from grades 6-12 the opportunity to virtually visit Flight 93 and connect with the 9/11 attack via scheduled or on-demand programs. This virtual learning program expands the reach of traditional onsite ceremonies and overcomes inherent limitations with on-site field trips, especially for the Moment of Remembrance on 9/11.

This education program combines creative and critical thinking skills by inviting students to analyze primary documents about the story and draw their own conclusions about the outcome of Flight 93. Post-program activities encourage students to analyze the story and respond in essays about how our world can be changed for the better through acts of courage and teamwork by writing their thoughts in the Write to Remember 9/11 post-event activity.

Teach to Remember is the product of a partnership between park staff and Friends of Flight 93. The project team included feedback from teachers across various disciplines on 9/11 resources and writing prompts and worked with a video production team to make the virtual programs more interactive for students.

The program themes focus on remembering the national loss, honoring the innocent and brave lost 9/11/01, and encouraging students to Choose to Make a Difference and Hope for Tomorrow. Teachers and students are encouraged to begin thinking about, writing about, and sharing how the inspiration and example of 40 ordinary heroes might present solutions and approaches to solving problems in our current world environment.

Additional Team Members: Stephen M. Clark, Katherine Hostetler, Gregory Zaborowski, David Schmitt, Claire Affinito, Joshua Hughes, Samuel Govan, Betsy Keene, Adam Shaffer, Trevor Smith, David St. Louis, WEPA Senior Leadership, and maintenance staff for ground preparations.

External Team Members: Donna Gibson, Courtney Olczak, and Alexa Shaulis, Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial; Chloe Fields, Student Conservation Association Richard J. Guadagno Fellow; James Ferris, Massive Media LLC; Craig Groft and Jose DeJesus, Department of Homeland Security; Peter Findler, Co-Founder and CEO The 9:57 Project (educator) Scott Marsh, Social Studies, Mechanicsburg Junior High School, Ohio Ellen Stolarski, Middle School Librarian, Saint Marys Area Middle School Dawn Erich, Saint Marys Area Middle School; and Tanya Baker, National Writing Project, Writing Our Future – Write to Remember 9/11,

Junior Rangers: Ecosystem Explorers!
Heather Berenson

Region 3, 4, 5 (Midwest) | Cuyahoga Valley National Park

The Junior Ranger Ecosystem Explorers program provides field trips where local students learn to think like a scientist and become more comfortable in the outdoors. Many students in Akron Public Schools have never been to Cuyahoga Valley National Park and are uncomfortable in nature.

Akron Public Schools initiated the project with a request to Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center for assistance with providing place-based programming to all 2nd graders in the district. The schools received funding for a through an annual field trip program funded by the GAR Foundation, which provides awards to nonprofit organizations that serve the Akron community.

The program team worked with field instructors and classroom teachers to develop an activity-based program with a theme of “think like a scientist,” based on a request from teachers to focus on career opportunities. The program also focuses on helping students and teachers increase their comfort in nature. Education center staff provided resources to help the teachers and students prepare for their field trip logistically, socially, emotionally, and academically. This preparation laid the foundation for successful field trip experiences within the park.

All second graders in Akron Public Schools participated in a field trip to the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center to practice observational skills in pond and forest ecosystems. Through pond dipping and sifting through forest leaf litter, students learn how to make observations, think things through, and use scientific equipment like hand lenses and nature journals. By the end of the first year, participating teachers rated the program the highest of their annual field trip experiences.

Additional National Park Service Team Members: Kerry Muhl, Penny Uhlenbrock, and Carrie Cooper.

External Team Members: Trisha Kelly, Akron Public Schools; Bronlynn Thurman, GAR Foundation; Katie Wright, Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park; and January Miller, Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

2023 interns, Luis Avalos, and Rocky Mountain National Park staff explore cross-training opportunities with the Dragonfly Mercury Sampling Project.

Partnerships and Intern Engagement Program
Kurt Baze and Luis Ávalos

Region 6, 7, 8 (Intermountain) | Rocky Mountain National Park

The Partnerships and Intern Engagement (PIE) program fosters a culture where new employees from diverse backgrounds feel welcomed and valued at Rocky Mountain National Park and the field of public land conservation. In this mutually beneficial program, interns gain exposure to and experience in NPS careers and provide direct feedback that the park and its partners can use to strategically improve youth engagement.

In collaboration with Rocky Mountain Conservancy and staff across the park, the program provides introductory career pathways for interns from diverse backgrounds and increases park and partner staff diversity. As of 2022, only 16% of NPS employees identified as a minority group.

The program takes a whole student approach by providing experiences within a variety of NPS careers and activities that address social and emotional well-being. Interns can participate in skill building activities and job shadowing with variety of work groups and professions. Career counseling builds a skill set for navigating the federal hiring process and addressing issues of bias and inclusion and a cohort model provides social activities to foster friendships and camaraderie. Lastly, the program focuses on celebrating success and invites interns to showcase their work and what they have learned.

More than 70 interns participated in the program between 2021 and 2024. Many interns have joined Rocky Mountain National Park in a seasonal, partner or permanent position.

Additional Team Members: Katie Phillips, Luis Ávalos, Kurt Baze, Danielle York, Haley Stapleton, Kendall Kane, Abi Miller, Danielle Wolfe and Danni Thomas, and Rocky Mountain Conservancy.

Denali Distance Learning
Dawn Conroy

Region 11 (Alaska) | Denali National Park and Preserve

Denali’s Distance Learning programs incorporate interactive techniques that make them fun, inclusive, and accessible to students in K-12. Denali offers 8 distinct, park-specific programs featuring highly interactive, audience-centered content that allows space to engage in and practice skills critical to civil discourse.

Each program is associated with optional pre- and post-session activities that strengthen the connections between program themes and home. This includes moments for students to imagine themselves in the park, opportunities to draw connections between Denali and their own home, and chances to engage in skills critical to civil discourse. The program activities immerse students in the material through movement, individual and group brainstorming and response, discussion, and connections to home. By exploring someplace “different” like Denali, participants generate curiosity about their own surroundings.

Additional Team Members: Jessica Drain, Emily Miller, Jess Millman, Jan Tomsen, Jules DeNoto, Sam Hilburn, Elizabeth Beavers, Jamie Milliken, Monica Magari, Stephanie Ford, Katie Karnes, Dan Irelan, Paul Ollig, and Sierra McLane.