As members of the Colorado Community who are deeply invested in the education of our youth, we strongly recommend the Colorado Department of Education integrate environmental education into the Colorado Model Content Standards as part of the current revision process. 

21^st century or essential skills are imperative for success in higher education, business and the workforce, and as an engaged citizen in the community, state, and country.  These 21^st century skills that the CDE has already identified as important are the same skills needed to understand environmental issues and enable learners to make decisions regarding energy, water, air, and other environmental issues.  Quality environmental education addresses not only the skills that learners need to make decisions regarding the quality of the environment, but it addresses critical life skills needed to be a responsible citizen of any community.

We support the standards revision recommendation provided by the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education to:

• Infuse strong process skills into each of the content standards emphasizing:  questioning and analysis skills, skills for understanding and investigating environmental and other issues, and personal and civic responsibility skills.
• Maintain the strong quality of content related concepts in the existing model content standards.
• Use NAAEE’s Guidelines for Learning (PreK-12) as a model in the revision process.
• Review standards from Wisconsin, Kansas, and Vermont for examples of effective environmental education standards adopted on a state-wide level.

We urge the Colorado Department of Education to recognize the value of environmental education in every learner’s education and recognize the potential for environmental education to help you meet your 21^st century skill goals.

Thank you for your time and consideration. 

Sincerely,

CLICK HERE TO ADD YOUR SIGNATURE (Name, Organization, City)