Allan Baer, President - SolarQuest, Chelsea, VT

MA- Environmental Education, Goddard College
MA - Photography - Wesleyan University
BA - Literature -Wesleyan University

"Learning to live sustainably is about learning to think sustainably," accoring to SolarQuest co-founder Allan Baer. Baer has worked tirelessly to promote climate change education and renewable energy resource development for nearly two decades around the globe. In 1996 he joined President Clinton's challenge to the United Nations to "to use the sun's energy to reduce our reliance on fosil fuels by installing 1 million solar panels on roofs around our nation by 2010." He collaborated with the Clinton Admininistration to install solar energy systems in America's public schools; co-sponsored the President's Council on Sustainable Developmment's National Town Meeting for a Sustainable America and the National Youth Roundtable, representing the voice of American youth for the 21st Century. Baer also co-sponsored Village Power 2000, a White House Milenium Council project to install solar energy systems in public facilities in Uganda and Tanzania.

SolarQuest established the first "deep-rural" solar-powered education tele-center under the G-8 Mandate for universal service in the Amazon Rainforest in collaboration with the White House Milenium Council and American Electric Power. They participated in solar powered rural Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela, Bhutan, Ecuador, and Peru. SolarQuest has worked in the Galapagos Islands in collaboration with the E8 Network for Expertise on the Global Environment, the United Nations Foundation, and the Government of the republic of Ecuador. SolarQuest began the ACTS and Green Earth Program in 2004.

Baer is currently working under a $1.5 million National Science Foundation grant to develop a middle school ITEST Project called Middle Schoolers Out to Save the World (MSOTSTW), in collaboration with Texas A & M University, which focuses on teaching children to use energy monitoring equipment in diverse home and community settings. The methodology is being developed as a template for energy conservation education. By participating in a SolarQuest, students around the world are taking the lead in powering the 21st Century with clean, renewable energy resources, which reduce greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. SolarQuest schools and distance learning programs are currently operating in Australia, Butan, Bolivia, Canada, Egypt, Equador, India, Mali, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, Uganda, and the United States. Baer is also working to start a private alternative energy technology college in Massachusetts. To learn more go to: http://www.solarquest.com/

Toril Booker-Fisher, Director - Farming for Our Future - Harbor Springs, MI

Farming Four Our Future founder Toril Booker-Fisher is helping people improve their lives by supporting educational programs, community gardens, and local food movements to improve health, self-sufficiency and sustainable practice. Farming For Our Future's environmental programs stress the unique habitats and ecosystems found in Northern Michigan. Their mission is "To foster people's connection to what they eat, where it is grown and how their choices affect their personal health, and the health of their community and planet."

According to Booker-Fisher, "The next few years are kind of a final exam for the human species." She asks whether the same brainpower that gave us coal-powered plants and SUVs can help us to build a world that isn’t bent on destruction, asking, "Can we think, and feel, our way out of this, or are we simply doomed to keep acting out the same set of desires for MORE that got us into this fix? At some level the answer depends on our imaginations.We can and will dream up new technologies—we already have the windmill and the solar panel and the bicycle, all of which would help immensely. But, we need a picture in our minds of the world to come – a picture that shows a world more balanced, less careening. A world of farmers markets and trains, a world where 10 percent don’t live high and 90 percent live low. A world almost, but not quite, beyond imagining.”

Farming For Our Future has launched the Farm Tokens for Education program to help area schools raise money, while supporting healthy eating and our local economy. Petoskey and Harbor Springs, Michigan schools are piloting the program. Each time a family visits a participating business and purchases a local food item, they receive a wooden token, which can redeemed for 5 cents by the participating school. "This program was created to generate awareness of the food choices we make every day," explains Booker-Fisher, "Most people understand how important it is to support our local businesses. We are taking that notion a couple of steps further by focusing on businesses who sell healthy, locally produced products. In addition, we are encouraging an investment in the health of our children." In 2009, Booker-Fisher shared the Farming For Education program as a guest speaker at the Jane Goodall Institute in Chicago. To learn more go to: http://www.farmingforourfuture.org/

Jackie Cornelius, Principal - Douglas Anderson School for the Arts - Jacksonville, FL

MEd - Ed Leadership, University of North Florida

BA - University of Florida

"Creatvive people learn differently and require special education," according to Jackie Cornelius, Principal of the award winning Douglas Anderson School for the Arts (DA) in Jacksonville, Florida. Under her leadership, DA has been recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence; a National Model School; a National Leader School; a National Leadership School; a Best Academic High Schools by Newsweek Magazine, US News and World Reports, and the College Board; a National GRAMMY Gold Signature School, an A+ School and one of Florida's Top 50 High Performing High Schools; and an Exemplary Arts High School. DA student recogntion includes Florida's First Lady's Arts Recognition Scholars, National Merit Scholars, ACT-SO Award in the Arts, US Congressional Districts Arts Awards, National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Awards in Writing, youngARTS Scholars, and the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Award. DA graduates scores are 50+ points above national medium scores on the SAT and ACT. "Needless to say, we are proud of our students. But, success is reflected in much more than awards won or school recognition. We work to spark our students' passion, risk-taking, and natural curiosity, and applaud their success in creating their own unique tapestries of learning. We realize too many times that the qualities that are the very essence of adolencence - passion, defiance, curiosity, and risk-taking - are squelched."

Cornelius views the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts as a treasure, "a unique institution that serves not only its students, but the community as a whole. The faculty and staff have never lost sight of the fact that the school's strength lies in its foundation of support, and the fact that DA provides a unique intensive arts curriculum in eight areas for students who posess both a passion and talent for the study of art." For Cornelius, "Teaching is not a job, it's a calling." To learn more go to: http://www.da-arts.org/.

Fred Crawford, Principal - Greenville Technical Charter High School - Greenville, SC

"We innovate to help students adjust to high school, to transition to college, and to build a bridge to their futures," explains Fred Crawford, Early/College principal for the Greenville Technical Charter High School located on the campus of the Greenville Technical College. As a Coalition of Essential Schools member, Greenville Tech offers Mastery Learning, Common Planning, Senior Projects, Critical Friends Groups, and Family Advisories. Greenville Tech enjoys a list of successes that includes a waitlist of over 200 students, an 'Excellent' rating from the state of South Carolina, a 98.9% graduation rate, a 97.2% proficiency rating in South Carolina's High School Assessment Program (HSAP), 70% Early/College participation, and a 100% college acceptance rate.

Tech began with a core curriculum framed around project-based, mastery learning, which evolved into the Early/College model. This rigorous program serves 400 students in grades 9-12. Students need to achieve success in all parts of the COMPASS examination in order to be eligible for college course offerings. “Everything available to college students is available to our students," explains Crawford, "They can try electives we otherwise couldn’t offer." Tech students are also eligible to receive free college tuition when attending GTC for a 13th year.

"College readiness is about maturity, knowledge and the responsibility to learn," Crawford explains. Greenville Tech high school teachers work closely with Greenville Tech college professors to integrate co-curricular courses to meet the students’ needs. When eight of 109 seniors failed to pass the COMPAS math exam, Tech's faculty developed a co-taught Transition-to-College math course, which allowed all eight students to ultimately enroll in college Algebra. Of the 93 graduates last year, 100% are taking college classes. Of the 46 Tech students who continued their studies at GTC, 43 qualified for scholarships.

Crawford believes that parents must be involved in creating and maintaining a culture of high expectations. One way the school accomplishes this is through student-led conferences with the purpose of bringing parents and students together as partners in the educational process. All students have Individual Learning Plans that allow students to evaluate their strengths, weaknesses and interests with the help of Advisors who stay with them for their four-year high school career. The student-led conferences have a 99% parent attendance rate. To learn more go to: http://www.gtchs.org/

Dr. Eileen de los Reyes, Superintendent ELL - Boston Public Schools - Boston, MA

PhD MIT -Political Science
MA Wellsley College -Political Science

BA Political Science & Latin American Literature

“As a Puerto Rican woman, I have come to understand that, if we do not know our own history, we are doomed to live it as if it were our private fate,”explains Boston Public Schools Superintendent for English Language Learners, Eileen de los Reyes. In the book, Pockets of Hope: How Students and Teachers Change the World, de los Reyes and Patricia Gozemba create a portrait of how democratic projects are implemented in schools and communities. In collaboration with others, de los Reyes has designed English Languge Learners (ELL) and Peer Tutoring programs for the Boston Public Schools; English as a Second Language (ESL) programs at Salem State University; and has served on the Diversity Committee at Harvard University. All of de los Reyes programs are designed to function as communities of learning, where parents, students, graduate students, faculty and administrators contribute to create an environment conducive to dialogue, reflection and action. Critical in de los Reyes processes is the assumption that students are capable of becoming democratic leaders and making a contribution in their field of choice. "The value of inclusin is core to all of the projects I have undertaken," explains de los Reyes, "Differences across race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and ability are seen as essential to the well-being of the community and not as an obstacle to be overcome.”

Dr. Susan Flemming, Chair - Goddard College of Education - Plainfield, VT

EdD Harvard University - Curriculum & Pedagogy

MA Santa Clara University - Counseling Psychology

MA San Jose State College - Educational Administration

BA Bucknell University - Mathematics

"My life's work and passion have been to create places of belonging in public schools where students can experience learning that invites intellectual engagement and a sense of community," explains Goddard Education Department Chair, Dr. Susan Flemming, " Whether as a teacher, guidance counselor, principal, superintendent, or a university instructor, I have been committed to progressive education and have always remained close to the heart of schools: its teachers, its students and the learning process." Flemming's journey has yielded important lessons, which direct her philosophy, vision and practice regarding teacher education. Flemming summarizes a lifetime of experience in education in a deceptively short list of educational principles. She believes:

-We learn by doing.

-The context of one’s experience affects intellectual, emotional and social dimensions of meaning making.

-Individuals interface with the world through different modalities.

-Making meaning happens in the interplay among experience, reflection and conceptual understanding.

-Education is a vehicle for social political change; there is no neutral place when it comes to anti-bias education.

-There is great significance in self-directed, personalized learning.

-A community of learners benefits greatly from relationships grounded in mutuality and respect.
-There is great power in focusing one’s learning around questions.

Dr. Roy Flurher, Director - Fine Arts Center- Greenville, SC

To understand why there is a Fine Arts Center in the Greenville, South Carolina's public school system, one need only step through the front doors when studio classes are in session. The museum quality building reflects not only professional standards, but professional dreams. Watching these young men and women leaping and turning with elegance and grace; or singing with exuberance; or collaborating on a jazz combo; or editing their written craft, photos, videos, musical recordings, or works of art; and observing the intensity of their efforts and the excellence of their successes, makes it difficult to remember that this is a school day, and that these are high school students.

The Fine Arts Center creates an aura of professionalism through hands-on study with professional artists to enhance their training, raise their expectations, and expand their opportunities. Students learn quickly that in the highly competitive professional art world, inspiration plays a smaller role than perspiration as they work to develop the self-discipline required to succeed. Director, Dr. Roy Flurher, knows more than twenty years of labor and love are their own reward as his students greet him in the halls to report, "I got the scholarship!" or "I got in to Eastman...Julliad...The New School...The University of Chicago..." the list goes on. Each year 800 students from 15 area high schools audition for 400 openings to study art with the pros, while attending academic classes at their home school. The Fine Arts Center offers studio courses in music, art, cinematography, theater, dance, and creative writing.

Flurher ponders his mission as leader of this exemplary school, asking, "How often are we asked to extend ourselves beyond what is comfortable? The arts demand us to take risks. Unless we have the courage to fail – we remain in the comfortable zone of mediocrity." Each student at The Fine Arts Center is asked to step our of that comfort zone, to dig deeper, to look again, to start over, to seek the pattern, or to create a new one. They are asked to constantly turn over the possibilities, test the edges, see something for the first time, try, fail, and try again. These are the principles of creative imagination. "Answer aren’t in the back of the book," explains Flurher, "they're inside the student." Flurer cites the humanist psychologist, Carl Rogers, saying, "The willingness to risk failure is a crucial part of what it means to be creative. You can’t risk, unless there is an atmosphere that permits failure, encourages it, and doesn’t punish students when their ideas fall short. That’s what we do. We create an atmosphere that pushes students to new discoveries and rewards them for reaching and growing. Without failure there can’t be excellence, and excellence is what we expect." According to Flurher, "A man who makes no mistakes, makes nothing." To learn more go to: http://www.fineartscenter.net/

Kim Overton, Principal/Curriculum Director - International School Ouagadougou - Burkina, Faso - Africa

MA Marygrove College - The Art of Teaching BA Hillsdale College - English/Math Suma Cum Laude

Whether serving as the Principal and Curriculum Director at the Ouagadougou in Burkina, Faso Africa, or as founding Co-Director of Concord Academy, one of the first charter schools in the nation, the Kim Overton models honesty, kindness and respect to her entire community. She incorporates the best practices of contemporary educational reserch to educate whole children; academically, culturally, and socially. When Overton encourages students to become leaders and to expand their creative thinking, she is leading by example. In 2008, Overton started a Micro-Bank to help women in Africa start small business enterprises. Overton believes in the power of 'bring forth', rather than a 'pouring in. Part of the magic that happens at Overton's schools is being surrounded by dynamic action. Overton explains, "Whether it's a musical performance, a theatrical production, an art exhibition, or a dance recital, students create!"

Concord Academy was among the first charter schools in the nation. The school provides an arts-integrated, thematic curriculum, which develops multiple intelligences through project-based learning. Concord blends a traditional core curriculum of language arts, social studies, mathematics and science with arts programming that includes visual art, vocal music, instrumental music, dance and drama. School-wide coursework is unified around a revolving theme. As an example, a study of the Civil War includes the history, literature, arts, dances, and music of the era. A student's progress is based upon their ability rather than grade level. Some students progress rapidly in some subjects and more slowly in others. Classrooms that have a blend of grades in multi-age classrooms. Additionally, Concord functions as a K-12 community, allowing for multi-age interactions and learning partnerships.

At the high school level, Concord offers AP course work in English literature, English language, biology, physics, calculus, U.S. history, European history, world history, studio art, art history and music theory. A critical aspect of the curriculum is the opportunity to perform. Since all students take a full arts schedule in addition to a rigorous academic schedule, their performance preparation happens during the school day. Concord also features after school performing groups including Keramos, the high school dance company, and the Model United Nations.

Overton served on the Middle States Accredidation team at Rosslyn Academy in Kenya, participated in an Administrator's Conference in Ghana, served as a judge for the School of Excellence Award and Fine Arts Camp planning committee for Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA). She was awarded the Pioneer Award from MAPSA, an Art Serve Award from the Michigan Youth Arts Festival, and the Summit Award from the MAPSA. Her model for Concord Academy has been replicated in two other locations.