Frequently Asked Questions?

This program welcomes in-service K-12 STEM teachers from districts in San Diego county, with a special emphasis on those from Catholic schools at the middle school level. The program also welcomes pre-service teachers currently enrolled in a teacher preparation program. Pre-service teacher applicants should be pursuing credentials to teach a STEM subject at the middle or high-school levels, preferably in San Diego County.

The program hopes to include strong participation from Catholic school teachers in the county, while also creating opportunities for teachers to learn with and exchange ideas across different school systems. Toward the goal of creating a district-diverse cohort, interested teachers from non-Catholic schools and districts are also strongly encouraged to apply.

Yes. The program continues to place strong emphasis on engaging middle school educators. At the same time, past cohorts have shown the value of including interested teachers from other K-12 levels, and we remain open to that again. Teachers who see a meaningful connection between the program and their teaching context are encouraged to apply.

To apply for the 2026-2027 cohort, eligible participants must fill out an online form. The form requests background information on education and teaching experience, an indication of availability to engage in the program, a statement detailing one's interest in the program, and interest in advancing sustainability education during and beyond completion of the program. Additionally, for in-service teacher applicants, a letter of support from their principal will also need to be submitted, and  for pre-service teacher applicants, a letter of support from their academic advisor will need to be submitted. 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning April 20, and applicants will be notified as decisions are made until all spots are filled. For the 2026-2027 cohort, we aim to engage 10 teachers consisting of a diverse group of educators made up primarily of in-service STEM teachers, with strong participation from those working at the middle school level. We also welcome participants from different school systems and teaching contexts, including Catholic and non-Catholic schools, educators working across grade levels beyond middle school, and a small number of pre-service teachers preparing to teach STEM subjects. This mix is intended to support meaningful exchange, shared learning, and collaboration across educational settings.

The online form can be accessed here: https://bit.ly/USD_CCRET_APP

Selection criteria include availability to fully engage in the program, interest in advancing as a sustainability educator and leader in the district, and support from principal or advisor, to facilitate and encourage full participation.

Once accepted into the program, teacher applicants are referred to as teacher-scholars. The engagement period for teacher-scholars will formally be 1-year. This includes an orientation session in May, followed by 6 weeks from mid June to late July, where the teacher-scholars will engage in a mentored research experience to address a defined challenge in one of the focus areas (i.e., sustainable energy, water justice or waste-upcycling) and start piloting potential lesson(s) for their class(es) based on their research experience. From September to April the teacher-scholars will pilot the developed lesson(s) in their classroom(s), and refine the lesson(s) during 2 additional days and five 2-hr. virtual sessions of training/workshopping. The teacher-scholars will conclude the year in late April with a presentation and celebration session.

Orientation Session: Wednesday May 20, 2026 |10:00am - 3:00pm (Tentative)

6-Week Mentored Research Experience (Tentative): 

• June 22-June 25

• June 29-July 2 

• July 6-July 9

• July 13-July 16

• July 20-July 23

• July 27-July 30

July 18th is the Annual STEAM Youth and Community Conference which is held at USD. Teacher-Scholars will be encouraged and supported to facilitate a workshop for students or other practitioners on climate-change education, based on their research experience.

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The 2026 NSF Virtual RET Site Participant Poster Session will take place virtually on July 29 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and July 30 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Teacher-scholars will be encouraged and supported to submit and present a poster based on their summer research. This annual event brings together participants from NSF-funded RET programs across engineering, computer and information science, and biological sciences to share their research and program experiences with a national RET community.

Community of Praxis Kick-Off: September 9, 2026 |10:00am - 3:00pm

Curriculum Dissemination Workshop: December 2, 2026  |10:00am - 3:00pm

Culmination Celebration: April 28, 2027  |10:00am - 3:00pm

Virtual Zoom Sessions: 

October 14, 2026 from 3:30pm-5:30pm

November 18, 2026 from 3:30pm-5:30pm

January 13, 2027 from 3:30pm-5:30pm

February 17, 2027 from 3:30pm-5:30pm

March 17, 2027 from 3:30pm-5:30pm

During the summer, the expectation is for teacher-scholars to engage in research to address a roughly pre-defined challenge that will be further refined with input from the teacher-scholars at the beginning of the summer. The challenge will be related to one of the three focus areas (i.e., sustainable energy, water justice or waste-upcycling). The expectation is that approximately 25 hours of time will be needed each week to adequately address the research project and to support the translation of research experience into middle-school STEM lessons. During the week, teacher-scholars will work closely with their research advisor on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday for about 20 - 21 hrs. The specific schedule will be set between the advisor and the teacher-scholar(s). There is room for flexibility, and it may be possible for some of the tasks to be done remotely, however we strongly encourage teacher-scholars to take full advantage of the campus environment, engage with the research community and participate in research seminars that will also be available during the summer. On Wednesdays, teacher-scholars will meet with Odesma Dalrymple and Bobbi Hansen from 10am - 3pm, for focused professional development, curriculum translation, and reflective practice sessions. Some of the sessions include Reflective Journaling (Weeks 1-6), Neuroscience in STEM Learning (Week 2), Curriculum Development and Peer-to-Peer Curriculum Workshopping (Weeks 2-6), Data Analysis Workshop (Week 3), and Curriculum Dissemination Workshopping (Week 4). There will be no official research meetings on Fridays.

Most of the Summer Research Experience will occur on the USD campus. There may be a few trips to community- or industry-sites during the summer to support the research project and overall knowledge development in the climate-change focus areas. All the in-person workshops (i.e., the orientation and the post-summer in-person workshops) will occur on the USD campus.

The Eco Catalyzers RET leadership team, i.e., Bobbie Hansen, Marissa Forbes, and Odesma Dalrymple, will work directly with teacher-scholars to support them in translating their summer research experience into classroom-ready STEM learning materials. The first iteration of development will occur during the 6-week summer research experience and will continue to be refined and piloted throughout the rest of the academic year during the follow-up workshop sessions. Teacher-scholars will have autonomy in determining the scope of the lesson(s) developed and how they will be implemented in their own teaching context. The goal is for the developed lesson(s) to fit within the existing STEM curriculum at the school and align with relevant standards.

In cases where a team of teachers from the same school is applying, which is preferred, at least one must be a STEM teacher. The other applicants may be from any non-STEM discipline. All participating teachers must be committed to ensuring that sustainability concepts are taught within STEM classes and when possible, that it also extends to other subject areas, particularly in the social sciences. This model is particularly desirable because it reinforces the idea that sustainability is a socio-technical issue requiring both socio-technical understanding and interdisciplinary solutions.

The ideal model involves teacher-scholars participating as a team from the same school. We encourage all interested teachers to apply. Successful models have included teams of two and three teachers from the same school, and we are open to replicating these approaches.

We encourage teacher applicants to still apply. In these circumstances the RET leadership team will work with the district to identify a potential partner from a neighboring school.