Living Classrooms of the National Capital Regions (LCF-NCR)

Elementary Environmental Educator

About the Kingman and Heritage Islands Conservation Area and Camp Fraser

Kingman and Heritage Islands is a 50-acre State Conservation Area in the Anacostia River near RFK Stadium. Living Classrooms has managed the area on behalf of the DC government since 2007. Camp Fraser is located about four miles from the town of Great Falls, Virginia, a 45-minute ride from downtown DC. Living Classrooms leases Camp Fraser from DC’s Calvary Baptist Church.

About Living Classrooms Foundation

Living Classrooms of the National Capital Region is the DC-based affiliate of the Living Classrooms Foundation, established in 2001. Living Classrooms works to strengthen communities and inspire people to achieve their highest potential through hands-on learning opportunities in education, workforce development, and health and wellness, often leveraging environmental assets and maritime resources to serve as “living classrooms.” For more information, visit livingclassrooms.org.

The Living Classrooms Foundation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

The Environmental Educators are valued members of the Living Classrooms of the National Capital Region team, with responsibility for providing environmental education for DC-area elementary school students and other educational and community program services.

Core Responsibilities for Environmental Educators:

• Provide comprehensive environmental education and field trip instruction primarily for elementary school students at Kingman Island, Camp Fraser, or on school grounds of DCPS elementary schools. Instruction may also take place at the James C. Dent House or with other grades as assigned. Deliver engaging, hands-on science-based lessons and programs as field trips, in-school visits, virtual, or any combination of those as restrictions and safety guidelines change. Ensure curriculum is implemented in a consistent manner across programs, while meeting the needs of different school communities.

• Work with Elementary School Environmental Education Manager to develop curricula based on the Meaningful Watershed Education Experience (MWEE) model and create engaging educational lessons and activities and coordinate as needed with school staff to support their learning objectives.

• Communicate with teachers before, during, and after programs for scheduling and feedback and to ensure programs are effective, safe, and efficient. This includes any grant mandated evaluation - written, informal, or other.

• Facilitate student feedback before, during, and after programs for comprehension and impact and to ensure programs are effective, safe, and efficient. This includes any grant mandated evaluation – written, informal, action project based, or other.

• Assist Education Manager, as requested, to provide teacher professional development to elementary or middle school teachers.

• Maintain and build ongoing partnerships with schools and other organizations that support environmental student action projects.

• Assemble and maintain educational supplies necessary for school programs, field programs, and community group participation.

• Following appropriate safety guidelines and guidance, plan and lead informal community events, volunteer activities, and field trips as needed.

• Prepare, break down, and clean up facilities for students and visitors to Kingman Island.

• Occasionally help to maintain trails and other landscape and perform other outdoor maintenance duties on Kingman Island as needed to maintain a safe learning environment.

• Assist in other communication and fundraising efforts for LCF-NCR as requested.

• Such other duties as are necessary for the operations of the program, the Foundation, or as assigned by the Managing Director or Education Manager.

Required Skills, Experience, and Other

• BA or BS degree from an accredited college or university, preferably in environmental science or education.

• A passion for nature and working with youth in formal and informal settings.

• Experience working with elementary or middle school youth in and out of the classroom, with an emphasis on youth from urban communities.

• Demonstrated leadership and writing skills.

• Familiarity with Next Generation Science Standards and outdoor education.

• Facility with the Microsoft suite of tools.

• Friendly and engaging personality; excellent public speaking skills; ability to work collaboratively as part of the education and LC-NCR teams; outdoor classroom management skills.

• Reliable access to a computer and the Internet for virtual teaching, if necessary, and virtual office, as needed.

• Willingness to work outdoors as needed in all weather conditions.

• Ability to pass federal and state background checks, drug, and TB tests; fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

• Bilingual preferred (Spanish/English).

Additional Information

The Environmental Educators report to the Elementary Environmental Education Manager and will regularly receive both informal and formal feedback on job performance. Salary starts at $45,000 annually, plus a full benefits package. LCF-NCR’s principal office is located at 515 M Street SE, Suite 223. The Kingman and Heritage Islands Conservation Area can be accessed from RFK Stadium Lot 6, off Oklahoma Avenue in Northeast DC. The James C. Dent House is in Southwest DC. Camp Fraser is located near the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, about four miles from the village of Great Falls.

Much of the school year work is expected to take place on school grounds of DCPS elementary schools with field trips to Kingman Island and some programs at Camp Fraser, with the possibility of overnight programming. Much of the summer work is expected to take place on Kingman Island, providing programming with GZEP, or camp programming. The Environmental Educators must be able to get to and work from any of these locations in a reliable manner.

LCF-NCR’s principal environmental education format is the “Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE)” as developed by the NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training program. MWEEs are learner-centered experiences that focus on investigations into local environmental issues that lead to informed action and civic engagement.