PHOTO COURTESY OF ISEA
The Inland Seas Education Association’s new five-year strategic plan will bring year-round programming and educational opportunities to students through its Schoolship and Beyond program, which builds upon the Schoolship program that serves 4,000 youth each year with hands-on learning about the Great Lakes ecosystem.
“It’s important that people understand we are not abandoning the Schoolship program,” explains Fred Sitkins, ISEA executive director. “Over the years, we have continued to seek and meet the needs of K-12 teachers by adapting our Schoolship programs. These year-round programs are another way to meet their needs.”
The new year-round programs will serve the overall ISEA audiences, with a focus on K-12 schools. The expansion of the program from six to 12 months will broaden the scope of ISEA’s mission by expanding Great Lakes stewardship education and also focusing on increasing the number of historically underrepresented students working in this field.
The new year-round program is supported in part by grants from the Gerstacker Foundation and Great Lakes Fisheries Trust, which aim to further ISEA’s goals of increasing diverse programming aboard the schooner Inland Seas and delivering year-round STEM-based educational programs to students shoreside.
“Throughout the next five years, we will be seeking ways to connect with new volunteers for the roles created by the new programming, training our volunteers so they can deliver the new programs, and building community through activities and events,” says Juliana Lisuk, ISEA volunteer coordinator.
To learn more, volunteer or support the program, visit schoolship.org.
