Program areas at NEED
Workshops and conferences: throughout the school year, need offers teacher professional Development on Energy and Energy issues including the science of Energy, Energy sources, electricity, transportation, and residential and school Energy efficiency and conservation. The workshops are one hour to five days in length and need provides participating educators with substitute reimbursement, classroom curriculum materials, and professional Development credits. In any given year, need hosts approximately 300-600 workshops in diverse geographic areas. There are some special topic workshops that include content specific to certain Energy issues - i.e. Solar, wind, hydrogen, hydropower, oil and natural gas, efficiency and conservation. All curriculum taught and provided at the workshops is aligned to the next generation science standards, common core standards and state Education standards. Additional teacher professional Development opportunities (weeklong conferences) are held during the summer. In addition to teacher professional Development, need hosts numerous student Energy workshops and workforce Development programs across the united states. These programs range from 3 hours to six days and include Energy exploration and content knowledge as well as career and workforce Development opportunities, mentorship and internships.
Scholarships: need has developed expertise in scholarship management for students and provides turn-key support for several scholarship programs ranging from a semester scholarship to a full ride scholarship. Students receive mentorship and internship opportunities and workforce, life, and career skills opportunities and wrap-around support.
Program administration: need's mission is to design and deliver comprehensive Energy Education curriculum and training. As part of this effort, need establishes and administers many signature programs for agencies, companies and organizations who provide funding for Energy Education outreach, classroom support, and curriculum design. These programs include curriculum, training workshops, and kits are mentioned throughout need's federal form 990, but these programs also include turn-key staff support of local schools - providing classroom visits, local community support for programming, in-class teaching opportunities, teacher support and classroom trouble-shooting, design and delivery of websites to support programmatic goals, and overall administration of the Energy Education programs need has underway each year. In addition, need has developed a strong grant-making capability and administers a number of grant programs thanks to the support of several donors. All of these grant programs have a rubric and independent reviewers. Need both administers the recruitment/marketing phase of the grants and the online application, selection, and actual payment of the grant to the individual school.
Kits and materials: need's kits and materials are delivered to teachers with sponsorship support via need teacher workshops and conferences.
Youth awards program: need's youth awards for Energy achievement recognizes schools and students who make a commitment to Energy Education outreach in their communities. Projects reviewed as exceptional are invited to attend the need youth Energy conference and awards each year.
Training conference: need hosts the need Energy conference for educators each year. Designed as an intensive Energy course for teachers, the week-long program provides participating educators with a depth of Energy knowledge, classroom plans, and networking opportunities. Need also hosted facilitator training for need facilitators.
Curriculum Development: need maintains, expands and develops new curriculum within its 150 module curriculum portfolio on a regular basis. This curriculum is available online and via need's teacher and student workshops.
Program Development