Scholarships available for educators

REcharge Labs invites all fourth through 12th grade educators interested in renewable energy education to attend the Recharge Academy, a weeklong renewable energy training academy this summer in Pittsburgh. And to help educators attend the training academy, the company is offering 30 scholarships generously donated by energy companies in select states and areas.

Enel Green Power is offering scholarships for educators from Pawhuska, Okla., Public Schools.

To apply for one of the 2016 REcharge Academy scholarships, www.rechargelabs.org. All applications are due by May 15. The REcharge Academy teacher training is being held at Carlow University in Pittsburgh on June 13-16. The academy will provide teachers with the information and skills they need to incorporate renewable energy concepts and activities into their classrooms.

“We are recruiting educators with a passion to learn and help others learn about renewable energy,” said Asia Ward, co-director of REcharge Labs. “In past academies, we have had museum staff, after school programmers, teachers, professors, and other educators attend. Our main goal is to take the intimidation out of renewable energy concepts by acting as the bridge between ‘being interested’ in renewable energy and actually teaching it to students.”

This year’s REcharge Academy scholarships are sponsored by Pattern Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Enel Green Power. Pattern Energy is offering scholarships for educators in Blanket, Texas; Burney, Calif.; Clovis, N.M.; Comanche, Texas; El Centro, Calif.; Ellsworth, Kan.; Ely, Nev.; Grady, N.M.; Panhandle, Texas; Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia (Canada); Union Star, Missouri; and White Deer, Texas. NREL is offering scholarships for educators in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Virginia.

The intensive training blends lectures from energy industry experts and Maker tools with replicable hands-on K-12 lessons in order to give educators both context and content for teaching about renewable energy. After successfully completing an Academy, all attendees become REcharge Instructors and are certified to teach REcharge programming in their own areas. To date, REcharge Instructors have trained more than 20,000 teachers across the United States.