The Acadia Teacher Fellows Program is a unique professional development opportunity for K-12 educators to gain hands-on experience in Acadia National Park. Teacher Fellows work side-by-side with interpreters, researchers, patrol rangers, resource managers, trail crews, and other specialists.
Acadia Teacher Fellows spend six weeks in the summer living and working in Acadia connecting to the rich cultural, natural, and recreational heritage protected by the park. Most of their time involves engaging with park education projects, learning about park resources, and developing lesson plans to use in their classrooms later. The program also provides exposure to a variety of field work performed in the park (e.g., public interpretive programs, research studies, boat and road patrols, trail construction, community outreach, and volunteer projects).
Teacher Fellows develop lesson plans based on their park experience and, when they return to their schools in the fall, share their projects with students and colleagues.
Friends of Acadia helped expand the Acadia’s Teacher Fellows program in 2013 from two teachers to seven and continues to support this valuable learning experience for teachers, schools, and the park.
The Acadia Teacher Fellows program gives educators tools to cultivate outdoor classrooms.
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Here’s what some of our Acadia Teacher Fellows had to say
Spending the summer as an Acadia Teacher Fellow blew my mind. Dare I say it was life changing? I had no idea that a professional development experience could be so productive AND enjoyable. Acadia’s naturally and historically stunning landscape served as a first-class backdrop to the best summer I have ever had. Thank you SO much for the opportunity.
Participating in the teacher fellows program at Acadia National Park was a truly unique and special experience in so many ways, both personally and professionally. I took away a lot of different teaching strategies and activities from the rangers and the other teachers. One of the most special parts of the experience was the opportunity to take my middle school students to Schoodic Point for a day of tide pooling and exploring outdoors. Several students said they want to be park rangers when they grow up because they had such a great experience.
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