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14. June 2015 Newsletter

TRI Contributes to the National Conversation about Early Childhood Education

When you think of New Orleans in June, you might imagine jazz saxophones being played on street corners and great seafood soaked in butter. In early June, 2015, another kind of rich experience will fill the air of The Big Easy — the voices and experiences of early childhood education professionals from across the country.

The NAEYC 2015 National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development will gather together the most cutting-edge, creative thinkers in the field of early childhood education, and TRI is proud to be providing six of those voices.

Marie LeJeune wins T.H. Gentle Endowment

Marie LeJeune, associate professor of teacher education, with whom TRI works on the HighFive grant, has been awarded the very first T.H. Gentle Endowment.

"It's important in my work to continually be connected to what teachers are doing in K-12 schools," she said.

According to the May 6, 2015 article in the Polk County Itemizer-Observer, "Thomas Gentle, for whom the endowment is named, came to Western's campus more than 100 years ago to revitalize the teacher preparation program, and built programs and a faculty committed to excellence in this area."

We at TRI are very excited for Marie, and congratulate her on the well-deserved honor.

Read on our website . . .

Read the Polk County Itemizer-Observer article here . . .

Robyn Lopez Melton Honored as 2015 Emerging Leader in Early Childhood Education

TRI's Robyn Lopez Melton received another national honor, and we at TRI couldn't be prouder.

Last year, Robyn was appointed to the Nominating Panel of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The Nominating Panel helps this nationally recognized organization choose its leadership for the next three years.

Now, Robyn has been recognized by Exchange Press as an Exceptional Emerging Leader in the field of early childhood education.

In November 2014, Exchange Press announced a search for emerging leadership in the field of Early Care and Education. "We undertook the search as treasure hunters, seeking what we knew to be there but which we could not see," according to their website.

Students Improve the Environment through EPA-Funded Projects

Last year, we received an excited email from Mary Beth Tilson, biology teacher at Delta High School in Pasco, Washington. She wrote to tell us that she had just been selected to present at the Sustaining the Blue Planet; Global Water Education Conference in Big Sky, Montana. That email confirmed that the S.I.T.E. program was doing something really great.

Students Involved with Their Environment (S.I.T.E.) was an Environmental Protection Agency-funded program for students in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, Grades 4-12. The funds supported the creation of student-run projects that focused on climate change or protecting America's waters. The program ended January 31, 2015, but not before creating 17 engaging, fun, and life-changing projects.

TRI's S.I.T.E. grant coordinator, Bonnie Morihara, praised the wide variety of funded projects and their results. "Real-world, field-based activities make science meaningful to the students. Activities that engage them in locally based environmental issues lead students to a lifelong commitment to environmental stewardship, citizen science, and community activism."