Educators can register now for summer PD to hone their skills on delivering renewable energy lessons and offshore wind energy activities to K-12 students
The KidWind Project, an international leader in clean energy education, has opened registration for its 2023 REcharge Academy. The flagship educator PD program on renewable energy will be held in Atlantic City, New Jersey from July 31-August 3, 2023.
“We are looking forward to returning to the east coast this summer and to building offshore wind turbines and testing them in the ocean,” said Michael Arquin, founder of KidWind. “With generous support from NJEDA we have located our training in NJ this year’s program will focus on helping educators understand offshore wind energy and the importance of educating students about renewable energy.”
Now in its seventeenth year, the REcharge Academy blends lectures from experts and tours of energy facilities with replicable hands-on K-12 lessons to give educators content, as well as context. Educators can anticipate spending days learning about the politics, technologies and economics of renewable energy coupled with a range of engaging activities around energy concepts to use with students.
More than 550 educators from all over the world have attended REcharge Academies and have impacted thousands of students and educators. Once educators complete the courses, they are considered a REcharge Instructor. Instructors may incorporate lessons and curriculum into their own classrooms, or they can work with local schools and districts to share resources and train other teachers in wind and solar energy education. Each year, the network of instructors trains at least 1,000 educators and impacts 30,000+ students through workshops and outreach events.
The fee for attending this year’s REcharge Academy ranges between $1,000 and $1,500 based on accommodation type – fees cover food, lodging and $200 in materials for each attendee.
Many scholarships are available for educators and they are automatically considered for a scholarship when they apply. There are 30 full tuition scholarships for New Jersey educators to attend the academy which include travel and stipends for attending. There are additional scholarships for educators from other states and regions which offer partial or full tuition and some cover lodging, food, and more than $200 in classroom gear. These scholarships were made possible through generous contributions from Pattern Energy, EDP Renewables North America, Orsted, Invenergy, and ClearWay and Toyota.
For more information and to register for the 2023 REcharge Academy, visit: www.kidwind.org/training/recharge-academy.
The American Consortium for Equity in Education, publisher of the "Equity & Access" journal, celebrates and connects the educators, associations, community partners and industry leaders who are working to solve problems and create a more equitable environment for historically underserved pre K-12 students throughout the United States.