Are you an administrator, faculty, or staff member at an urban middle school (grades 4-8)? Are you interested in using a top quality, unbiased, hands-on, minds-on, multidisciplinary curriculum to address national and state education standards requirements while instilling an environmental and water stewardship ethic in students? Would you like your students to continue to develop critical -thinking and problem-solving skills as they go beyond the curriculum and work together to complete water stewardship projects on your campus or in your community?

If you answered yes to these questions, your school may be ready to join the Team -Team WET School! All you need to get started is:

• a local sponsor to support the program in your school (contact CEE for assistance)
• an energetic Team WET School Campus Coordinator to serve as a teacher leader for your school
• a team of teachers willing to mentor student water stewardship projects
  

Continue reading to discover the benefits of becoming a Team WET School

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When schools enroll in the Team WET Schools initiative they can look forward to these exciting benefits:

• a designation ceremony to recognize your school as a Team WET School
• a WET in the City teacher training workshop on your campus
  
• a second professional development workshop to support a student water stewardship project
  
• local and national recognition for participating in Team WET Schools
  
• a network of partners to support teachers in their water education efforts
  
• WET in the City Curriculum and Activity Guides for each teacher attending training

• a Water Education Resource Kit that includes teaching aids to help with your school implementation of Team WET Schools educational activities
• service learning opportunities for students
• WET in the City Spanish Language Student Pages
• an urban water test kit that provides a hands-on introduction to the basic concepts of water chemistry and tests for ten water quality parameters
  

Team WET Schools are part of a water education network dedicated to instilling a water stewardship ethic in urban youth across the nation. As part of that commitment, if your school decides to become a Team WET School, CEE staff will work with you to plan a Team WET School Designation Ceremony, a fun, interactive event to help generate excitement and support for the program from within the school building and from the surrounding community. Local and national Team WET Schools partners, local officials, school district representatives, neighborhood community leaders, students' parents, and the media will be invited to join the celebration.

During the designation ceremony, your school is presented with a "Proud to be a Team WET School" banner and a certificate to recognize and commend the school's commitment to environmental education and responsible water stewardship. The school also receives a Team WET Schools Water Education Resource Kit containing numerous items to inspire and assist in planning and implementing student-driven projects on campus or in the local community.

Following Team WET School designation, the school enrolls teachers in a six-hour WET in the City training workshop. During the workshop, CEE representatives model activities from the WET in the City Curriculum and Activity Guide, demonstrate how the guide may be used to meet curriculum requirements across the disciplines, and offers participants an opportunity to prepare and present lessons from the guide. To ensure the local relevancy of the workshop, CEE invites local experts and partner organizations to present pertinent information about water issues in the area. CEE also introduces teachers to the benefits and responsibilities of participating in the Team WET Schools program and gives them an opportunity to brainstorm ideas for how they can team up to involve their students in a potential water stewardship project of their choosing.

To initiate the student project component of the Team WET Schools program, Team WET School teachers collaborate with students to propose a student water stewardship project. After receiving this information from a school, CEE works to mobilize partners from the local network to provide support appropriate for the chosen project. Projects directly involve students in planning and implementing activities to conserve water, protect water quality, or educate others about the importance of water resources. Part of CEE's support includes presenting, or co-facilitating with a qualified environmental education partner, a "how-to" workshop for Team WET teachers, student leaders, community members and others that are integrally involved in the success of the proposed project.

Upon completion of a student water stewardship project, the Team WET School hosts an event to celebrate and commemorate students' success. For example, a school at which students planned and installed a school-site xeriscape habitat may hold a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony for this new outdoor classroom resource. CEE attends these events to share in the celebration and recognize students in their water stewardship efforts.

If you and your school are ready to join the team and become a Team WET School? Contact us.

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