NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2024-2008219 NOFO Report.pdf

Fiscal Year 2024 Chesapeake B-WET Program - School District Programming

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 4

A. Program Objective 4 B. Program Priorities 16 C. Program Authority 21

II. Award Information 21 A. Funding Availability 21 B. Project/Award Period 22 C. Type of Funding Instrument 23

III. Eligibility Information 23 A. Eligible Applicants 23 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 23 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 24

IV. Application and Submission Information 24 A. Address to Request Application Package 24 B. Content and Form of Application 24 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 38 D. Submission Dates and Times 38 E. Intergovernmental Review 39 F. Funding Restrictions 39 G. Other Submission Requirements 39

V. Application Review Information 41 A. Evaluation Criteria 41 B. Review and Selection Process 49 C. Selection Factors 51 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 52

VI. Award Administration Information 52 A. Award Notices 52 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 53 C. Reporting 57

VII. Agency Contacts 57 VIII. Other Information 57

Notice of Federal Funding Page 1 of 58

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Federal Agency Name(s): National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: Fiscal Year 2024 Chesapeake B-WET Program - School District Programming

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2024-2008219

Federal Assistance Listings Number: 11.457, Chesapeake Bay Studies

Dates: The deadline for applications is 11:59 PM Eastern Time on February 16, 2024 and applications must be submitted using www.grants.gov (Grants.gov). PLEASE NOTE: it may take Grants.gov up to two business days to validate or reject the application. Please keep this in mind in developing your submission timeline.

Informational webinars about the FY 2024 Chesapeake B-WET funding announcement will be held on December 12, 2023 at 11:00 AM and December 18, 2023 at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. To register for these webinars, please visit:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/3056261228833922400. An additional webinar focused on the climate resources included in this NOFO will be held on January 8, 2024 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time. To register for this webinar, please visit:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8991406303871180636.

Note that the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office’s B-WET Coordinator will be available to answer questions Monday through Friday, 7:30AM-4:00PM Eastern Time excluding federal holidays.

Funding Opportunity Description: Chesapeake B-WET funds locally relevant, authentic experiential learning for K-12 audiences through Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed states. MWEEs involve learning both outdoors and in the classroom as students engage in issue definition, outdoor field experiences, synthesis and conclusions, and environmental action projects. The goal is to increase understanding and stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay and local watersheds, including the rivers, upland streams, and natural habitats found throughout the region. Projects advance the environmental literacy goal of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and the NOAA Education Strategic Plan.

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This funding announcement has two priorities, numbered without regard to importance for funding: 1) Implementing MWEEs in School Districts and 2) Supporting School District Capacity for Environmental Literacy. Note that a separate funding announcement through B- WET for Statewide K-12 Environmental Literacy Capacity Building is also available on Grants.gov.

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FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

a. OVERVIEW NOAA recognizes that knowledge and commitment built from firsthand experience, especially in the context of one's community and culture, is essential for achieving environmental stewardship. Carefully selected experiences driven by rigorous academic learning standards, engendering discovery and wonder, and nurturing a sense of community will further connect students with their watershed, help reinforce an ethic of responsible citizenship, and promote academic achievement. Environmentally literate individuals can become effective future workers, problem solvers, and thoughtful community leaders and participants.

The NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program is an environmental education program that promotes locally relevant, experiential learning for students in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12). B-WET was established in 2002 in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and currently exists in seven regions: Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico, New England, California, Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and Great Lakes.

The goal of this funding opportunity is to support K-12 environmental literacy programs that provide students with Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) and related professional development for in-service teachers, administrators, and/or other educators serving K-12 students. Watersheds are an excellent context for environmental education.

Tidal and non-tidal waters and the surrounding landscape provide hands-on, place-based laboratories where students can see, touch, and learn about their local watershed and the greater environment.

Successful B-WET projects provide formal education that supports the environmental literacy goal of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement (https://www.chesapeakebay.net/what/goals/environmental-literacy) and NOAA’s Education Strategic Plan (https://www.noaa.gov/education/explainers/2021- 2040-noaa-education-strategic-plan).

Information on the Chesapeake B-WET program, including examples of education partnerships that have been funded to date, can be found at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/chesapeake-bay/past-and-current-chesapeake-b-wet-projects.

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Potential applicants are encouraged to contact the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (contact information in Section VII) before submitting an application with questions about applicability of project activities to B-WET goals and objectives.

b. DEFINING THE MEANINGFUL WATERSHED EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

(MWEE)

All seven regions throughout the country use the MWEE as an approach to delivering high quality environmental education (www.noaa.gov/education/explainers/noaa-meaningful-watershed-educational-experience). Additional MWEE information and resources are available on the Bay Backpack website (www.baybackpack.com), including:

1)An Educator’s Guide to the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (the MWEE Guide);

2) The MWEE 101 and MWEE 201 online trainings;

3) The Facilitator’s Guide to MWEE Training; and

4) Evaluating a MWEE Resource.

The Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) is a learner-centered framework that focuses on investigations into local environmental issues and leads to informed action. MWEEs are made up of multiple components that include learning both outdoors and in the classroom and are designed to increase environmental literacy by actively engaging students in building knowledge and meaning through hands-on experiences. In these experiences, the core ideas and practices of multiple disciplines are applied to make sense of the relationships between the natural world and society. MWEEs help connect students with their local environment and equip them to make decisions and take actions that contribute to stronger, sustainable, and equitable communities.

The MWEE consists of four essential elements and four supporting practices that build upon each other to create a comprehensive, student-centered learning experience. Throughout the MWEE, teachers provide structure, support, and encouragement as students use their curiosity and creativity to investigate and take action to address a local environmental issue.

To support teacher implementation of MWEEs, B-WET has also included six characteristics that are recommended to be included in teacher professional development activities.

MWEEs are appropriate for all grade levels with content and practices growing in complexity and sophistication across the grades — starting with teacher-guided investigations and progressing to student-led inquiry. Using the MWEE framework helps

Notice of Federal Funding Page 5 of 58 educators create an engaging program to achieve their learning objectives (i.e., the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students should be able to exhibit following instruction).

Learning objectives should address academic standards, but might also include other objectives, such as teamwork, social-emotional learning, and civic responsibility.

1. MWEE Essential Elements

The MWEE consists of four essential elements that describe “what students do:” Issue Definition, Outdoor Field Experiences, Synthesis and Conclusions, and Environmental Action Projects. These elements, together with the supporting practices, create a learner-centered framework that emphasizes the role of the student in actively constructing meaning from the learning experiences. The essential elements are not meant to be linear. In fact, some elements, such as Synthesis and Conclusions, occur repeatedly throughout the MWEE.

1.1 Issue Definition

During Issue Definition, students learn about an environmental issue by planning and conducting background research and investigations. An environmental issue is an environmental problem, often with observable phenomena, to which community members bring a variety of perspectives. To provide structure for their exploration of the issue, students focus on a driving question that is defined by the teacher. This question is the “big picture” question that sparks curiosity and organizes student inquiry and investigations, which ultimately informs environmental actions. It should be open-ended, relevant to students’ lived experiences, and meet learning objectives. To support youth voice and deepen the learning, students are actively involved in co-developing supporting questions with teachers to better understand the driving question and environmental issue.

To explore the driving and supporting questions, students gather information by making observations, finding and reading credible sources, talking to experts, and carrying out field investigations. Students also consider environmental policies and community practices and reflect on personal, stakeholder, and societal values and perspectives to develop a comprehensive picture of the root causes of the environmental issue.

1.2 Outdoor Field Experiences

Students participate in multiple Outdoor Field Experiences to explore the driving question

Notice of Federal Funding Page 6 of 58 and strengthen their connection to the natural world. Within appropriate safety guidelines, students are actively involved in planning and conducting the field investigations, including developing supporting questions to explore the driving question in the field. Field experiences allow students to interact with their local environment and contribute to learning in ways that traditional classroom or laboratory settings may not. During field experiences, students can use their senses, scientific equipment, and technology to make observations, collect data or measurements, and conduct experiments necessary to answer their supporting questions and inform environmental action. Students who have opportunities to learn in, thrive in, and appreciate the outdoors can become informed and engaged champions for our natural resources.

Outdoor Field Experiences can take place on school grounds or at locations close to schools, such as streams or local parks. They can also take place at off-site locations such as state or national parks, wildlife refuges, marine protected areas, or nature centers that are often staffed by experts and may provide access to field equipment and facilities. A range of partners, including environmental educators, natural resource professionals, or trained volunteers, can help facilitate field experiences; however, they should be co-developed and co-taught with teachers so that field experiences support learning objectives. Teachers and partners should ensure an accessible outdoor learning environment for all participants, including students with a range of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social abilities. They should also prepare students by providing information and discussing what students can expect to see, feel, or experience during their time outdoors to ensure students feel safe and comfortable during their field experiences.

1.3 Synthesis and Conclusions

During Synthesis and Conclusions, students reflect on each experience and investigation in relation to the issue, and share their claims and conclusions with each other. Teachers should plan for this to occur regularly throughout the MWEE. This learning and frequent reflection provide the foundation for the development of claims and environmental action that address the driving question and connect to the environmental issue. Throughout this process, students should demonstrate understanding of their investigations and conclusions with their peers or the school community. This could involve multiple disciplines and a variety of formats including discussion, journaling, presentations, graphing, performing skits or songs, or creating art.

1.4 Environmental Action Projects

As a result of their investigations, students identify solutions and develop Environmental

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Action Projects that directly address the issue within their school, neighborhood, or community. Students are actively engaged in and, to the extent possible, drive the decision-making, planning, and implementation of the action project. Teachers facilitate this process by forming groups, moderating, and answering questions. Students reflect on the value of the action and determine the extent to which it successfully addressed the issue.

This essential element allows students to understand that they personally have the power to bring about change by taking action to address environmental issues at the personal, community, or societal level. Taking action instills confidence in students and can contribute to students becoming environmental stewards in their communities.

Environmental Action Projects can take many forms and may fall into the following types:

-Restoration or Protection: actions that assist in the recovery or preservation of a watershed or related ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. Examples include:

plant or restore protective vegetation/trees; restore a local habitat; remove invasive plants;

clean up litter at local beaches, parks, or school grounds; develop a school garden, natural history area, community garden, or other sustainable green space; install rain gardens to help manage stormwater.

-Everyday Choices: actions that reduce human impacts on watersheds and related ecosystems and offer ways to live more sustainably. Examples include:

refuse/reduce/reuse/recycle; monitor and save water in the face of potential drought or reduction in water availability; compost food or yard waste; research and implement energy efficient strategies or energy alternatives at school and/or at home.

-Community Engagement: actions that inform others about how to address community-level environmental issues. Examples include: give presentations to local organizations; organize community events; record or broadcast public service announcements; share information on social media; post flyers in community; share posters at community events/fairs/festivals;

mentoring.

-Civic Engagement: actions that identify and address issues of public concern. Students acting alone or together to protect societal values or make a change or difference in a student’s school, neighborhood, or community. Examples include: present to school principal or school board; attend, speak, or present at town meetings; write to local or state decision makers or elected officials.

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2. MWEE Supporting Practices

The MWEE also includes four supporting practices that describe “what teachers do,” along with their partners, to ensure successful implementation with students. The supporting practices are Teacher Facilitation, Learning Integration, Sustained Experiences, and Local Context.

2.1 Teacher Facilitation

MWEEs require that teachers support student learning for the duration of the MWEE, both inside and outside the classroom. Teachers balance roles of facilitation, direct instruction, and coaching to create a student-centered learning experience where the essential elements of the MWEE come together to support goals for learning and create opportunities for students to take active roles in the learning process. Teachers provide space for student choice and voice by creating learning experiences that center on what students value. Even when activities or lessons occur at partner sites or are primarily led by partners at the school, teachers should be actively engaged. Teachers should connect these experiences to prior learning, foster critical thinking, and lead reflection after the experience so, regardless of the facilitator, the entire MWEE experience feels cohesive to the students.

To support this level of engagement, teachers should have access to professional development opportunities that support their content knowledge, understanding of the MWEE framework, and confidence and intention to implement MWEEs independently (see Teacher MWEE Professional Development Characteristics for specifics).

2.2 Learning Integration

The MWEE is an educational framework that helps teachers meet their learning objectives in an engaging way. MWEEs are not meant to be something “extra”, but rather a means of enriching lessons for deeper student learning while meeting academic standards. To achieve this vision, MWEEs should be embedded into the school curriculum to support goals for learning and student achievement. They can also provide authentic, engaging interdisciplinary learning that crosses traditional boundaries between disciplines. Finally, the MWEE essential elements can also be used by educators in out-of-school settings (for example, after school programs, clubs, or summer camps) to enrich activities and complement school-based programming.

2.3 Sustained Experience

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MWEEs rely on teachers to plan and implement a series of rich and connected learning opportunities where each essential element — from asking questions during Issue Definition through implementing Environmental Action Projects — builds upon and reinforces the others. To accomplish this, MWEEs are incorporated into a unit or multiple units, where learning happens both in and out of the classroom. This provides adequate time for students to not only reflect on the individual lessons and experiences, but also on how all of the elements cohesively come together. While an individual lesson may occur in one class period or field experience, that lesson or experience should be explicitly connected to the larger learning sequence of the MWEE.

2.4 Local Context

MWEEs have teachers use the local environment and community as a context for learning that is relevant to students’ lives. Situating the MWEE within local contexts promotes learning that is rooted in the unique culture, history, environment, economy, literature, and art of a students’ school, neighborhood, or community. To enrich MWEEs, local resources (e.g. partners, expertise, field sites) should be incorporated. Partnerships, such as those with local community-based organizations, create opportunities for students to engage with members of their community of diverse cultures, values, and expertise that can create a more equitable and inclusive experience.

Programming should be designed to be culturally relevant and make authentic connections to students' lived experiences. Cultural relevance is defined as the ability to effectively reach and engage communities and their youth in a manner consistent with the cultural context and values of that community.

Emphasizing the local context enables students and teachers to develop stronger connections to, and appreciation for, their local environments and communities. This also enables students and teachers to explore how their individual and collective decisions affect their immediate surroundings and in turn affect larger ecosystems and watersheds.

3. Teacher MWEE Professional Development Characteristics

Professional development providers play a crucial role in preparing teachers to implement successful MWEEs with their students. Professional development that includes characteristics such as: relevant content; explicit modeling of educational frameworks;

collaboration, feedback and modeling instruction such as student-centered teaching;

adequate time for professional development including time for ongoing support; and offering

Notice of Federal Funding Page 10 of 58 participation incentives that teachers value leads to a variety of positive outcomes.

Professional development should empower teachers to confidently and competently use the MWEE framework to support standards-based learning that aligns with local education agency initiatives. Teachers should gain confidence in the value of MWEEs and strategies for conducting them so that they will be able to implement MWEEs after the professional development has ended. To set teachers up for success, the following six overarching characteristics, informed by education research and evaluation results, are recommended for inclusion in professional development to support teachers implementing MWEEs.

3.1 Increases teachers’ knowledge and awareness of environmental issues

Professional development facilitators should ensure that teachers have an adequate level of content knowledge in science and specific to their grade level and discipline to support their MWEE. The content knowledge should also be connected to the interactions between natural systems and social systems, including human impacts on local watersheds and larger Earth systems. Recognizing that environmental issues often include different perspectives and opinions about the environment, teachers must also experience and build skills that enable them to address these traditionally non-academic factors in their classrooms. When combined, this knowledge and these experiences often result in teachers who are more aware of, and more prepared for, the complexity of implementing MWEEs.

3.2 Models MWEE framework

Professional development should also provide opportunities for teachers to understand the goals and rationale behind the MWEE as a framework for fostering learning and environmental stewardship. Facilitators of teacher professional development should utilize the same techniques and experiences that teachers are expected to use with their students, such as hands-on Outdoor Field Experiences, critical thinking about environmental issues, and Environmental Action Projects.

Based on current education research and B-WET evaluation results, we recommend professional development (PD) providers consider the following in the design of professional development to support change in teacher practice and the implementation of impactful MWEEs.

According to evaluation data on teacher PD, between 24-30% teachers are not participating in environmental action projects, one of the MWEE essential elements, during PD. Research suggests teachers are more likely to engage their students in activities they experience themselves during professional development programs. Therefore, MWEE professional

Notice of Federal Funding Page 11 of 58 development should always include opportunities for teachers to participate in environmental action projects that connect to the watershed issue being studied, as well as the inquiry activities their students will take to plan and implement their own action projects.

Regarding the time allocated for professional development, educational research findings and evidence from the B-WET national evaluation system support the B-WET program recommendation that professional development include more than 30 hours of professional development (for example, in-person multi-day workshops, virtual lectures or demonstrations, field-based data collection, one-on-one consultations), of which more than 10 hours should be spent doing hands-on inquiry and/or engaging in action projects in the outdoors. It has been shown that these targets will change teacher practice and increase the likelihood that teachers will implement impactful MWEEs. Where states and/or school districts put limits on the amount of time teachers can spend in professional development, applicants should describe those limitations and how they will maximize the professional development time that is available.

Professional development, and subsequent implementation with students, may take place on school grounds or at off site locations. Where appropriate, professional development should include tools for teachers to implement MWEEs on their school grounds and/or adequate resources for transportation for teachers to participate in off site PD.

For more information on effective ways to model professional development, download the Facilitator’s Guide to MWEE Training from the list of resources on Bay Backpack (http://baybackpack.com/mwee/what-is-a-mwee).

3.3 Includes collaboration, feedback, and models high-quality instruction

Effective professional development includes peer collaboration, time for teachers to experience, plan for, and practice model activities and lesson plans, and opportunities for reflection and feedback. Collaborative opportunities that include observing effective teaching practices and replicating these practices with expert instruction and feedback, can result in higher likelihood that teachers will apply these practices when implementing MWEEs. Such opportunities also foster exchanging ideas and create a collaborative atmosphere for changing the culture around adopting new teaching practices at multiple levels within a school system. In addition, when teachers experience high-quality instruction, such as active learning and student-centered inquiry, they are more likely to use high-quality instruction when implementing MWEEs with their own students.

3.4 Allows for adequate instructional time and ongoing support

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Professional development should be multi-day, occurring consecutively or over the course of several weeks or months and include time for ongoing support for teachers. Professional development facilitators should build in adequate time for the types of experience described above, including time to learn, practice, reflect upon, and design practices they learn during the professional development. Even in cases where teachers participate in robust multi-day workshops, such as summer or weekend courses, it is still essential that professional development providers have structures and opportunities in place for ongoing teaching support and enrichment. This can take the form of follow up meetings, web-based forums for communication and feedback, mentor teachers who can serve as points of contact, or teams of teachers from one particular school.

3.5 Offers appropriate incentives

Having appropriate incentives can increase participation in professional development programs. For example, teachers who participated in B-WET-funded professional development programs in the past reported that receiving a stipend or continuing education credits were the “most valuable” incentives enabling them to participate in those programs.

While a variety of incentives can be offered to professional development program participants, it is clear that continuing education credits and stipends can enable participation in ways that other incentives might not.

3.6 Meets jurisdictional guidelines and engages leadership

Each jurisdiction has established guidance and recommendations relevant to all forms of teacher professional development. When possible, professional development opportunities for MWEEs should adhere to guidelines set forth by state and/or local education agencies.

Outreach and training opportunities for school administrators will also help ensure jurisdictional alignment and increase high level support for both environmental education and continuing teacher professional development for teachers.

4. Other Considerations

4.1 Includes NOAA assets, including personnel and resources

NOAA has a wealth of applicable products, data, and services as well as a cadre of scientific and professional experts who can enhance student and teacher experiences both in the classroom and in the field. These resources complement the educator’s strengths and

Notice of Federal Funding Page 13 of 58 augment the educational resources. Additionally, NOAA personnel can serve as important role models for career choices and stewardship. For more on NOAA assets for education please see: https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections, NOAA in your state (https://www.legislative.noaa.gov/NIYS/), and NOAA in your backyard (https://www.noaa.gov/education/noaa-in-your-backyard).

For applicants seeking to address the Climate Change special interest area, NOAA provides data, tools, lessons, activities, and information that support students and communities’ understanding and preparedness for climate variability and change. Specific resources that are well-suited for climate change education include:

- Chesapeake Exploration Teaching Climate Change online course (https://cbexapp.noaa.gov/course/view.php?id=5581) - a resource for teacher and educator professional learning around climate change.

- Climate Change Environmental Literacy Model (ELM) Exemplar (https://www.baybackpack.com/blog/education-for-climate-action) - climate-focused MWEE documented in the ELM format that is readily available for use, adaptation, and localization.

- Climate Change Curriculum Inventory (https://www.baybackpack.com/blog/education-for-climate-action) - compilation of existing climate change curriculum that is sustained, meaningfully organized, and readily available for use, adaptation, and localization.

- Climate.gov (https://climate.gov/teaching) - NOAA Climate.gov's mission is to provide science and information for a climate-smart nation. The Teaching Climate tab serves as the homepage of the Essential Principle of Climate Literacy and connects to the CLEAN Network’s educational resource collection (lessons).

- Resilience Assets (https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/resilience-hub/resilience-assets) - a list of relevant assets and links to NOAA datasets, potential NOAA partners, and other resilience-related assets from federal and non-federal organizations

4.2 Meaningful Engagement of Underserved Communities and Partners

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office seeks to support projects that are led by or collaborate with community organizations and institutions that represent underserved communities.

Meaningful engagement of underserved communities is intended to ensure that these communities are integral to the visioning, decision-making, and leadership for environmental

Notice of Federal Funding Page 14 of 58 education programs; to ensure that the scope of such programs are inclusive of the priorities and needs of these communities; and/or to ensure that the benefits of such programs flowback to underserved communities.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to develop and grow mutually-beneficial partnerships that honor the strengths of these communities and organizations. It is recommended that these partners be actively involved in project planning as well as programmatically and financially recognized for their contributions to programming. Projects should increase organizational and technical capacity of underserved communities to lead and/or support MWEE programming. Organizations will be most effective in this capacity by addressing disparities of diversity, equity, and inclusion within that organization’s own structure.

In addition, applicants are encouraged to apply NAAEE’s Community Engagement Guidelines for Excellence (https://eepro.naaee.org/sites/default/files/eepro-post-files/community_engagement_guidelines_pdf.pdf) in developing their project plans for engagement of audiences. The Community Engagement Guidelines for Excellence include five key characteristics: 1. Community Centered, 2. Based on Sound EE Principles, 3.

Collaborative and Inclusive, 4. Oriented Toward Capacity Building and Civic Action, and 5.

Long-Term Investment in Change. A series of recordings featuring current and former B- WET grantees that describe how they have operationalized the Community Engagement Guidelines is available on the Chesapeake Bay Program’s YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRa28NrZJAF5R8ap_HTQkZpNQZhUyCVVP).

Definition of underserved communities: This term refers to populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life. Underserved communities are defined in Executive Order 13985

Definition of meaningful engagement: This term refers to communities having an opportunity to be an integral part of the visioning, decision-making, or leadership for activities that may affect their environment and/or health and wellbeing. Meaningful engagement relies on the involvement of those potentially affected in a manner that builds trust and addresses barriers to community participation to ensure that the scope of the activities is inclusive of the priorities and needs of communities and that the benefits of the activities flow back to the community.

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B. Program Priorities

B-WET projects funded under this announcement will support the integration of MWEEs into curricular programs and direct implementation during the grant period.

Chesapeake B-WET is interested in supporting school districts and their partners who are committed to a vision for equitable, sustainable, and curriculum-embedded MWEEs that reach every student (systemic MWEEs) regardless of where they are in their journey towards this vision.

NOAA is committed to the goals of advancing equity and support for underserved communities. NOAA encourages applicants to include and demonstrate principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and environmental justice through proactive, meaningful, and equitable community engagement in the identification, design, and implementation of proposed projects.

Based on these priorities, NOAA will give additional consideration to supporting districts that:

- Lack capacity to establish, support, or sustain environmental literacy programming,

- Impact underserved communities, including those with populations that are low-income and high-minority, and/or

- Do not have a systemic MWEE in place for the proposed grade band (elementary, middle, or high school).

For help in determining which districts to work with, you should consider:

- Chesapeake B-WET must serve audiences within the boundaries of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, therefore, only school districts with more than 25% of their land mass falling within the Chesapeake Bay watershed are eligible for funding. A map of school districts meeting this criteria can be found online at the Resources for Prospective Chesapeake Bay B-WET Grantees webpage: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/content/resources-prospective-chesapeake-bay-b-wet-grantees.

- The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Justice and Equity Dashboard, including the Environmental Literacy layer, (https://chesapeake-deij2-chesbay.hub.arcgis.com/) can help to identify underrepresented communities to work with.

- Additional information about the status of environmental literacy efforts in school districts may be available from the 2022 ELIT survey on the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Education

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Workgroup page (https://www.chesapeakebay.net/who/publications-archive/education_workgroup).

Applicants should consider the scale of the project when designing budgets. Awards for smaller districts are typically in the range of $50,000-$80,000 per year while larger school districts may require up to $100,000 per year. In school districts that have only one or two high schools, it may be appropriate to apply as Intermediate Units or clusters of school districts.

1. Proposals to this announcement must address one of the following Priority Areas which are listed here in no particular order of importance:

Priority 1 - Implementing MWEEs in School Districts

Proposals submitted under the Implementing MWEEs in School Districts priority seek to build towards systemic MWEE programming in local districts. Chesapeake B-WET welcomes proposals that will result in a systemic MWEE and proposals that will build towards a systemic MWEE with a clear and sustainable plan for scaling up.

Systemic MWEEs reach the entire student population in one or more grades within a school district and ensure that the teachers of these students receive high quality professional development to give them the content knowledge and pedagogical skills for implementing all aspects of the MWEE. They support student learning outcomes and are ideally formally embedded into the district curriculum either prior to or during the implementation of the project. Projects that are systemic encourage ownership from a broad range of constituents and promote long-term sustainability of the MWEE project in a school district. These programs require leadership and support from the school district, however, because of the broad reach of systemic projects, partnerships with multiple entities are often required to ensure all students receive all components of a MWEE and meaningful professional development for teachers is provided.

While Chesapeake B-WET strongly believes in systemic MWEE implementation, the program recognizes there are school districts across the watershed that face challenges in developing and implementing systemic projects in a single grant cycle. While every project faces some barrier to implementation, these districts have greater challenges due to lack of local resources or partners, policies that conflict with outdoor education, or limited internal capacity. Not being able to become fully systemic over the course of the 3-year grant cycle

Notice of Federal Funding Page 17 of 58 should not discourage school districts and their partners to apply under this funding announcement as long as they can implement the full MWEE model and make meaningful progress towards systemic implementation. Applicants should explain why systemic implementation is not feasible in the project timeline and how they will build towards it over the course of the grant period and into the future.

Proposals and supporting materials should include details about where the project fits within the scope and sequence of the school district’s curriculum and applicants should clearly understand and convey the primary learning objectives. Multi-disciplinary objectives are encouraged.

For school districts that have previously had systemic MWEEs in place for the intended grade but were not successful in becoming fully embedded into the curriculum or otherwise sustainable, applicants should consider whether the Supporting School District Capacity for Environmental Literacy priority may be a better fit for building a strategy for environmental literacy integration and a district culture that embraces such. Without substantial reasons to justify a change or addition, B-WET is not interested in funding MWEEs for grade bands that have previously had MWEEs.

Applications for projects can come from any applicant type listed as eligible in this opportunity, however, substantial coordination and support from the school district is required. To document the appropriate level of commitment and engagement from school districts, if they are not the primary applicant, official letters of commitment from superintendents, school boards, and/or school district curriculum supervisors are requested with proposals.

Priority 2 - Supporting School District Capacity for Environmental Literacy

Proposals submitted under the Supporting School District Capacity for Environmental Literacy priority seek to enhance support systems within one or more school districts (or one or more Intermediate Units in Pennsylvania) and their community partners with the ultimate goal of embedding systemic MWEEs into curriculum to establish a sustainable environmental literacy program. NOAA recognizes the importance of building strong partnerships, institutionalizing teacher professional development, promoting the value of environmental literacy programs at all levels, developing environmental literacy plans, and supporting coordinators of environmental literacy as key ingredients to ensuring long-term sustainability of systemic programming. Projects should also seek to connect to existing local and state education initiatives like advancing college and career readiness, building

Notice of Federal Funding Page 18 of 58 connections between science with reading and math, and teacher retention. Successful proposals under this priority will result in a documented plan or strategy that explicitly outlines how environmental literacy efforts, including MWEEs, will be advanced within the school district in a systemic, equitable, and sustainable way.

Examples of activities that may be funded under this priority include but are not limited to:

- Creating a school district environmental literacy plan or other documented strategy that includes policies, practices, and metrics for ensuring equitable access to environmental literacy programming for all students and training for all involved teachers. This plan must clearly identify in which grades MWEEs currently exist and/or will be built out by the district and should include a financial sustainability component with clear strategies for sustaining programs. More information about School District Environmental Literacy Plans can be found on the District Environmental Literacy Planning Toolkit -https://www.baybackpack.com/district-toolkit/district-environmental-literacy-planning-toolkit. Additionally, applicants may refer to School District Environmental Literacy Plan Templates that have been adopted and/or created within the state.

- Developing a local network that includes the school district and local partners focused on advancing environmental literacy through collective impact or other partnership/social impact models. This may include building capacity, relationships, and communication between school districts and/or local community organizations to implement systemic MWEEs and teacher professional development.

- Engaging decision-makers (e.g. superintendents, school boards, district administration, principals) to promote and support environmental literacy, including MWEEs and teacher professional development.

- Supporting an environmental literacy coordinator position at the school district that leads development and implementation of MWEEs and other environmental literacy elements.

- Developing outdoor classrooms on school grounds and creating support structures for their use to break down barriers for outdoor learning, including how to use the space to support MWEEs. Note: B-WET funds cannot be used for construction, but can be used for supplies often needed to resource outdoor classrooms (e.g. whiteboards, seating, shade, storage, and natural elements).

Proposals under this priority area should describe how capacity building efforts will be sustained for the long-term and describe how the project will ultimately contribute to

Notice of Federal Funding Page 19 of 58 systemic MWEE implementation. If the proposal includes teacher professional development to guide MWEE implementation, it should occur after the development of the environmental literacy plan or strategy and serve the function of carrying out the plan for systemic implementation. Additionally, we encourage applicants to review the Facilitator's Guide to MWEE Training and the State Initiatives on www.baybackpack.com and to explain in the proposal how you will incorporate or reference aspects of these resources. The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office is actively engaged in district level capacity building across the region and will support grantees in connecting and sharing practice between other districts engaged in such efforts.

NOAA SPECIAL INTEREST AREA

Any proposal to this announcement must meet one of the Priority Areas described in the previous section. NOAA also has an additional Special Interest Area that applicants may wish to address if they choose, which is Climate Change. More information on the special interest area is provided below. While applicants are not required to address a NOAA Special Interest Area, projects that do so are encouraged because they capitalize on a specific NOAA resource or issue area that is a priority to the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office.

Climate Change

The K-12 education system is a well-positioned venue for instilling comprehensive knowledge, skills, competencies, and resilience around the most pressing economic, social, and environmental issue of today: climate change. According to the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report and most recent National Climate Assessment (NCA, 2018), communities in the U.S. are experiencing changes in climate that are resulting in severe storms, flooding, hurricanes, extended drought, change in ocean chemistry and sea level rise, presenting growing challenges to human health and safety, quality of life, and the rate of economic growth. Currently, educational institutions, researchers and policy makers are calling for climate change education that goes beyond knowledge acquisition and formal classroom teaching to efforts that reach audiences of all demographics and incorporate the social, political, economic, and justice elements of climate change. Education has the power to help students develop meaningful personal connections to climate solutions, a sense of personal agency and empowerment, and ultimately impact their behaviors and decision-making in relation to climate change (Kwauk, 2021; K12 Climate Action Commission, 2021). The MWEE educational framework can directly foster climate knowledge, skills, and competencies to address climate change, climate impacts, and the opportunities to contribute to climate solutions in their own communities. Therefore, the B-WET program strongly

Notice of Federal Funding Page 20 of 58 encourages the purposeful incorporation of education about climate change into programming.

For Priority 1 (Implementing MWEEs in School Districts) proposals meeting this special interest area must result in the development of MWEEs and educational practices that are:

standards aligned (lessons must align with appropriate state standards of learning); student-centered (students have voice and choice throughout the learning process); support social emotional learning (learning opportunities that cultivate the SEL competencies: self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness. Developing these competencies will help learners to thoughtfully respond to the varied emotional impacts of climate change); provide opportunities for outdoor learning (students engage in meaningful and investigative learning outside the classroom); justice-oriented (students learn about how systems of power and privilege relate to climate change causes, consequences, and responses); action-oriented (students learn about climate change solutions and meaningfully engage in their implementation). Additionally, we encourage applicants to review an exemplary climate focused MWEE that incorporates each of these practices: (https://www.baybackpack.com/blog/education-for-climate-action).

For Priority 2 (Supporting School District Capacity for Environmental Literacy) proposals meeting this special interest area: proposals should build connections with existing regional and/or local climate action plans or other relevant initiatives (e.g. county resilience plans, community energy plans, etc). This might include the development of environmental literacy programming that is directly supportive of the goals and initiatives described in existing regional and/or local climate action plans and engages with partners also supporting this work.

C. Program Authority

Under 33 U.S.C. § 893a(a), the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is authorized to conduct, develop, support, promote, and coordinate formal and informal educational activities at all levels to enhance public awareness and understanding of ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, and atmospheric science and stewardship by the general public and other coastal stakeholders, including underrepresented groups in ocean and atmospheric science and policy careers. In conducting those activities, the Administrator shall build upon the educational programs and activities of the agency.

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Notice of Federal Funding Page 21 of 58

Under this announcement, NOAA anticipates that up to $900,000 may be available in FY 2024 to fund new applications, subject to appropriations. NOAA anticipates making 9-14 new awards. Projects should not exceed $100,000 annually in federal funds with a minimum request of $25,000. Performance periods may be up to three years, but funding beyond the first increment, usually one year, is subject to the incremental funding policy described in Section II.B of this Announcement.

B. Project/Award Period

The project start date should be between August 1, 2024 and January 1,…