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    • Environmental Literacy Indicator Tool (ELIT) Survey Invitation – Nov 26

    Posted by Chesapeake Bay Program on September 1, 2026

    The Environmental Literacy Indicator Tool (ELIT) is a federally-directed effort to collect information from all public school districts in the Mid-Atlantic region every two years to monitor the status of environmental literacy efforts at a district level. The results from these data help the Chesapeake Bay Program Education Workgroup (that supports the entire state of PA under the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, and was most recently updated and signed in 2025) to most effectively support local efforts to implement strategies that support students’ environmental literacy.

    Who should complete the ELIT for your district? Only one person per district should complete the ELIT. The best respondent is someone who works at the district-level and is most familiar with environmental education activities across the district. If your district does not have a position similar to an environmental education coordinator, consider a science curriculum coordinator or similar role. Teachers, principals, or staff from just one school or grade-range would have difficulty completing these questions.

    We request that the appropriate district staff-person complete the ELIT by November 20, 2026. This will provide critical information about district-wide environmental literacy curriculum and planning activities in your state. Results help the Chesapeake Bay Program Education Workgroup most effectively support local efforts to implement strategies that support students’ environmental literacy.

    The ELIT takes an average of about 60 minutes to complete, which includes the time to obtain needed information about district-wide activities. To review the questions ahead of time to help you find the information or identify the right staff person to complete the survey, click here: PDF of ELIT Questions.

    If your district has previously completed the ELIT, you can look up and view past answers here – search for documents labeled “Response Summaries”:

    Thank you for taking the time to help us get this information to the person best suited to complete this questionnaire. If you have any concerns, please contact either of the contacts below:

    • Michelle Niedermeier, Pennsylvania Environmental Literacy (PA ELit) Network Co-chair at mxn14@psu.edu
    • Elise Trelegan, Coordinator, Chesapeake Bay Program Education Workgroup, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office at elise.trelegan@noaa.gov or 204.628.4507

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