Once a candidate's portfolio is accepted they will be notified by mail and a certificate of completion will be mailed to them.

PPDP Portfolio Requirements Explained

A. Attend one Summer or Fall Institute.

The Bioregional Facilitator/Educator must attend all, and fully participate in, one institute offered by the Four Corners School/BOEP.

B. Implement the BOEP lessons into your classroom.

The Bioregional Facilitator/Educator will integrate place-based, outdoor learning into their classrooms, averaging two lessons per week. (Maintain the provided "Lesson Log", or similar record keeping system, to be approved by your RC.)

C. Mentor other teachers in your school for an average of one hour per week.  (This could be one-on-one, small or large group mentorings.)

You and the other Bioregional Facilitator/Educator need to split the staff at your school and are responsible for mentoring them.  If you are the only teacher at a small school then you are responsible for mentoring all the teachers at your school. (Fill out the Teacher Mentoring Form for each session.) Mentoring can consist of 5-10 minute conversations you have about teaching, the in-services you lead, or any time you are helping other teachers in your school with the BOEP related activities.

D. Arrange, support and participate in 2 in-services for teachers and staff at your school

The Bioregional Facilitator/educator must plan, implement, and participate in two in-services (or co-lead with the other Bioregional Facilitator/Educator) that is provided for your school each year. The Bioregional Facilitator/educator must take the lead in one of the in-services. (Complete In-service Training Form, and collect in-service staff evaluation forms from the participating teachers.)

E. Have RC observe at least 5 place-based lessons you teach to your students, to another class, or to the teachers in your school during the school year.

The Bioregional Facilitator/Educator must schedule 5 observations with his/her RC.(Make sure the observer reviews the observation with you and includes the Observation Form in your portfolio).

F. Submit one article during the year for the BOEP newsletter

The Bioregional Facilitator/Educator must submit one article during the year to the BOEP Newsletter entitled Lessons From the Bioregion.  This could be an update article, a lesson plan, a review of a resource (book, website, workshop, etc) that you found helpful, or something that your students did in class.  Requirements are outlined in "Newsletter Guidelines" page.

G. Submit resource order to Regional Coordinator

The Bioregional Facilitator/Educator must compile a list of materials desired in order to implement bioregional, place-base and/or outdoor education lessons. Materials must be non-consumables and will be available to the entire school staff. Your Regional Coordinator will collect your orders

H.Attend the BOEP Annual Conference in March

The Bioregional Facilitator/Educator must attend the entire BOEP Annual Conference held in March each year.  If unable to attend, the Bioregional Facilitator/Educator is responsible for finding and attending a comparable workshop/conference approved by his/her RC.

I. Complete BOEP Conference follow-up assignment.

The Bioregional Facilitator/Educator must submit a 2 page follow up assignment by APRIL 1. Requirements are outlined in "Conference Follow-Up Guidelines".

J. Choose one of the following:

1. Present at least one 1.5 hr presentation at the Annual BOEP Conference on a place-based subject.  (Submit a copy of your presentation title and the outline of your presentation along with a short biography to your RC by December 11)
2. Write and submit to your RC a 10-page paper pertaining to bioregional,  place-based, or outdoor education. (This could be a unit plan, curriculum integration, or a research paper on some BOEP subject.)
3. Write a 3-5 page feature article for the BOEP newsletter and submit 5 original place-based lesson plans.  The feature article should be 3-5 pages in length and include photos or charts.  (Complete Lesson Plan Cover Page and submit to your RC with the 5 lesson plans.  Submit the feature article to your RC by newsletter deadline)

K. Bi-monthly meetings with your Regional Coordinator for mentoring and planning. A year-long series of at least bi-monthly visits to your school for the RC to mentor Bioregional Facilitator/Educator, conduct workshops, and conduct in-services in your school for all novice outdoor education teachers.

The Bioregional Facilitator/Educator must meet with and facilitate the visits to their school for the RC--at least two times per month.

L. Ensure that all BOEP evaluation forms are turned in, by the deadlines provided, and the needs of the project evaluator are met at your school.