{"id":126111,"date":"2026-02-28T15:25:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T15:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/126111\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T15:25:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T15:25:07","slug":"k-12-impact-fellows-in-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/126111\/","title":{"rendered":"K-12 Impact Fellows in Sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"

The K-12 Impact Fellows in Sustainability program was launched through Penn State Outreach\u2019s K-12 Sustainability Summit to support educators in bringing high-impact, classroom-ready sustainability learning to Pennsylvania high schools.<\/p>\n

This fellowship empowers educators to design and implement sustainability and climate-resilience projects aligned with Pennsylvania\u2019s new PA STEELS Standards, adapting elements of the Pennsylvania Local Climate Action Project (LCAP) into meaningful, student-centered learning experiences.<\/p>\n

Educators will develop classroom activities that help students:<\/p>\n

Calculate greenhouse gas emissions in their school, district, or community
\nEngage peers, families, and local leaders in climate planning efforts
\nBuild civic, scientific, and systems-thinking skills rooted in real-world challenges<\/p>\n

In its inaugural year, the program focuses on educators teaching grades 9\u201312 during the 2026\u201327 academic year.<\/p>\n

Funding for the pilot is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and PepsiCo. The program also connects fellows to the mission of the Prepare PA Network (formerly the PA Climate Network).<\/p>\n

Program Structure<\/p>\n

The fellowship includes multiple phases designed to support ideation, refinement, implementation, and sharing:<\/p>\n

One-Day Retreat at Penn State University Park (January)
\nClimate Solutions Symposium (May): Fellows will present draft pilot project ideas and receive feedback from sustainability experts and peers.
\nImplementation Phase (2026\u201327 Academic Year): Fellows will implement pilot classroom activities, gather feedback, refine their projects, and share lessons learned with other schools by the end of 2027.<\/p>\n

Fellowship Benefits<\/p>\n

$2,000 professional stipend (distributed summer 2026)
\nLodging and most meals provided during the retreat and symposium
\nAccess to Penn State sustainability experts and Local Climate Action Project resources
\nMentorship and networking with K-12 educators across Pennsylvania
\nUp to $1,000 in funding to support pilot project implementation<\/p>\n

Meet the 2026 K-12 Impact Fellows<\/p>\n

We are proud to announce the four educators selected for the inaugural cohort. Each fellow previously participated in the 2025 K-12 Sustainability Summit and brings experience, leadership, and a commitment to advancing sustainability education in their school communities.<\/p>\n

Carrie Lankford\"Carrie<\/p>\n

Hub Lead
Environmental Literacy Hub (Southcentral)<\/p>\n

Carrie currently serves as her district\u2019s K-12 STEELS implementation coach in Red Lion, Pennsylvania. In her 18 years in education, she was a seventh grade science teacher, fourth grade and second grade teacher. Her undergraduate degrees from Slippery Rock University in environmental education and elementary education serve her well as she integrates learning from, about, and within the outdoors. Additionally, Carrie graduated from Millersville University with a master\u2019s degree in educational leadership. She currently serves as the Pennsylvania South Central Environmental Literacy Hub lead and is a 2024\u201325 NOAA BWET grantee. Carrie\u2019s strong passion for (re)igniting students\u2019 love of the outdoors has been emanated throughout her career as she coached Envirothon; raised and released trout; designed, built, and maintained an elementary outdoor classroom; and helped to write the Pennsylvania STEELS standards with an emphasis on ELS. Her current work includes rewriting district science curriculum, supporting teachers with implementation, connecting with local partners, and helping students see their own potential when it comes to environmental stewardship.<\/p>\n

AJ Mannarino\"AJ<\/p>\n

Technology Education Teacher
South Fayette School District<\/p>\n

AJ Mannarino is a high school technology education teacher who integrates technology, computational thinking, and artificial intelligence into student-centered learning experiences. He has presented his work at national and regional conferences, including ISTE, TRETC, and FabLearn, and has led professional development through the South Fayette Summer Institute and Kentucky\u2019s\u202fTough as Nails, Nimble Fingers\u202fcoding pathway.<\/p>\n

AJ has collaborated on various research projects with Indiana University (Terracotta Platform), the University of Pittsburgh (Environmental Sustainability), and Pepperdine University (IC4 and ABLE), with a focus on sustainability, asset-based learning, and the thoughtful use of AI in education. He is actively engaged in professional learning communities, including the STARTedUp Foundation Fellowship and Penn State\u2019s K-12 sustainability community of practice, where he works alongside educators to advance innovative and equitable practices.<\/p>\n

Alex Oliver\"Alex<\/p>\n

Environmental Science Teacher
Lewisburg Area School District<\/p>\n

Alex Oliver is the environmental science teacher at Lewisburg Area High School in Central Pennsylvania. A native of the Keystone State, Alex has spent his professional career teaching and learning in urban and rural schools across the commonwealth. He earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in middle grades science education from Temple University and a master\u2019s in environmental education from Slippery Rock University. He lives in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, with his wife of eleven years, their two mutts, and three young boys, ages six, three, and eight months. He bikes most days to work, exclusively skis the east, and leads an annual backpacking trip with his AP environmental science students. He struggles to spend time indoors, but when he does, he can often be found reading a new book in his favorite chair by the wood stove or playing MarioKart with his boys.<\/p>\n

Erica Stefanovich\"Erica<\/p>\n

Social Studies \/ Agriculture Teacher
Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School (School District of Philadelphia)<\/p>\n

Erica Stefanovich is an agriculture and social studies teacher at Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia. Despite joining Lankenau as an English teacher, Erica has expanded her areas of instruction to include social studies, CTE (AG) and GIS. Erica is a collector of inane trivia and random interests who believes that a well-rounded education means never isolating yourself into a silo of knowledge. She began teaching geographic information systems through a research partnership with Lehigh University\u2019s College of Education. What began as developing lessons to increase students\u2019 geospatial awareness became a full-fledged dual-enrollment GIS class in 2023. In 2025, that class became an official part of Lankenau\u2019s AFNR CTE program, a dual enrollment AFNR-focused curriculum designed to teach essential geographic concepts and practical applications of GIS. Erica has a master\u2019s degree from Temple University in US history and a master of education from Lehigh University. She was a 2018 Keystone Technology Innovator STAR and helped train other educators in that program as a KTI lead learner from 2020 to 2022. Erica earned an ESRI certification in GIS fundamentals in 2024. She has been advocating for geography as a vital STEM subject since 2020. When not teaching students the importance of geography, she enjoys travel, crafting, and gaming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The K-12 Impact Fellows in Sustainability program was launched through Penn State Outreach\u2019s K-12 Sustainability Summit to support…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":{"0":"post-126111","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-pennsylvania","9":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","10":"tag-pennsylvania-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}