What does Excellence Look Like?
Francis Parker Charter School Teacher, Judy Gibson was recognized at the Massachusetts State House this week for Excellence in Environmental Education.
Judy Gibson is not the kind of person who draws attention to herself in the usual ways. She comes off as quiet and reserved. She may appear to be sitting back, as she lets others take center stage. Throughout it all, she is carefully observing, listening and researching. She then takes the information and opportunities she has gathered up, and works step by step at crafting meaningful experiences for her students. Judy’s students are given the foundation from which they can become citizens who care about our earth and water; Citizens who know about our earth and water from direct experiences in their Middle School years, thanks to one teacher’s thoughtful approach to education. This is the kind of experience I hope all students can receive in order to best prepare them to make wise choices about our natural resources as they mature into responsible citizens.
Judy has dedicated many years to providing Middle School students opportunities to delve deeply in exploring, researching and touching aquatic and terrestrial natural systems within reach of their school. Judy is a key part of the middle school science team at Parker. She is one of three teachers, who do a great deal of collaboration in designing the natural science units. Judy has engaged students in field research projects in their local environment, beginning with vernal pools in walking distance from their school, for well over 7 years. In 2009, Judy added to the work she set up for her students to include a scientific protocol looking at hydrology of vernal pools in cooperation with Harvard Forest Ecologist, Betsy Colburn. Judy not only succeeded in getting students to collect pool diameters, and depths, etc. at her own school, but she became a mentor for teachers at a network of other schools involved in this work as well. Judy regularly presented the innovative curriculum and learning methods she developed at the Parker Charter School with teachers from a wide range of schools at teacher workshops, so that more students could benefit from this work.
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In 2013, Judy led a group of teachers from the Parker Charter School in taking on an investigation of forest dynamics as a team. She and her 2 colleagues teamed up with more ecologists at Harvard Forest. They led their students in setting up and monitoring a series of forested study plots in their schoolyards. Their students have collected tree species and diameter data, observed sign of wildlife, invasive species and pests, and many other field site characteristics as part of this study in the past 3 years. In contributing to this study Judy and her colleagues provide data that can be compared region wide to tell a story of land use change over time. With this combined information, we can begin to get a better picture of how forests are changing throughout New England.
Judy’s efforts have led to 20-150 students each year participating in authentic environmental field studies, as well as the broader reach of presenting and sharing materials and data with a network of over 100 teachers. These students are getting the opportunity to be real scientists and to connect and learn about the water and earth around them. Judy takes the extra time and effort needed to organize and manage working outdoors both during the school day and in after school group. It is this kind of in depth dedicated work over the long term that makes Judy’s work stand out. I am thrilled that she has been honored by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and the Environment for her outstanding work.
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