Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.20
Liaison Josh Lasky
Submission Date May 14, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

George Washington University
IN-3: Innovation 3

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Meghan Chapple
Director of Sustainability, Senior Advisor on University Sustainability Initiatives
Office of Sustainability
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A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:

Faculty in the George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development’s (GSEHD) Secondary Education Program have launched a unique program focused on preparing secondary teachers to become community-engaged educators whose teaching prepares students for reflective and engaged citizenship. It is called the Community Engaged Teaching (CET) program. The focal point of the curriculum is sustainability in partnership with the community organization Groundwork Anacostia River DC.
CET takes a different, innovative approach to service learning in teacher education by providing the opportunity to engage in service learning as a fundamental and integrated dimension of the university-based teacher preparation experience. In addition to participating in a service project for fifty to sixty hours working with Groundwork Anacostia River DC during their first summer in the CET program, the program’s teaching interns translate this service learning experience into a curriculum development project, and the themes of field-based community experience run throughout multiple core courses. CET’s unique approach helps the teaching interns to learn from the community they are serving by working as part of that community.


A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise:
The website URL where information about the innovation is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Faculty in The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development’s (GSEHD) Secondary Education Program have launched a unique program focused on preparing secondary teachers to become community-engaged educators whose teaching prepares students for reflective and engaged citizenship. It is called the Community Engaged Teaching (CET) program. The focal point of the curriculum is sustainability in partnership with the community organization Groundwork Anacostia River DC.

While pursuing licensure and the master’s degree in secondary education, CET students learn the craft of teaching by participating in school and community-based field experiences. CET takes a different, innovative approach to service learning in teacher education by providing the opportunity to engage in service learning as a fundamental and integrated dimension of the university-based teacher preparation experience. In addition to participating in a service project for fifty to sixty hours working with Groundwork Anacostia River DC during their first summer in the CET program, the program’s teaching interns translate this service learning experience into a curriculum development project, and the themes of field-based community experience run throughout multiple core courses. CET’s unique approach helps the teaching interns to learn from the community they are serving by working as part of that community.

Project content relates to healthy rivers (including the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers, watersheds, the built environment, and ecology), healthy people (including food, health, equity), healthy economy (such as clean energy, green technologies, landscape design and tourism), and healthy planet (focused on climate change and conservation). The teachers work with GWARDC on a summer service learning project, alongside DC area youth to meet community-identified needs. Subsequently, the program’s teaching interns translate this service learning experience into a curriculum development project, and the themes of field-based community experience run throughout multiple core courses.


Faculty in The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development’s (GSEHD) Secondary Education Program have launched a unique program focused on preparing secondary teachers to become community-engaged educators whose teaching prepares students for reflective and engaged citizenship. It is called the Community Engaged Teaching (CET) program. The focal point of the curriculum is sustainability in partnership with the community organization Groundwork Anacostia River DC.

While pursuing licensure and the master’s degree in secondary education, CET students learn the craft of teaching by participating in school and community-based field experiences. CET takes a different, innovative approach to service learning in teacher education by providing the opportunity to engage in service learning as a fundamental and integrated dimension of the university-based teacher preparation experience. In addition to participating in a service project for fifty to sixty hours working with Groundwork Anacostia River DC during their first summer in the CET program, the program’s teaching interns translate this service learning experience into a curriculum development project, and the themes of field-based community experience run throughout multiple core courses. CET’s unique approach helps the teaching interns to learn from the community they are serving by working as part of that community.

Project content relates to healthy rivers (including the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers, watersheds, the built environment, and ecology), healthy people (including food, health, equity), healthy economy (such as clean energy, green technologies, landscape design and tourism), and healthy planet (focused on climate change and conservation). The teachers work with GWARDC on a summer service learning project, alongside DC area youth to meet community-identified needs. Subsequently, the program’s teaching interns translate this service learning experience into a curriculum development project, and the themes of field-based community experience run throughout multiple core courses.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.