Place-based education (PBE) immerses students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences, using these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum. PBE emphasizes learning through participation in service projects for the local school and/or community.

Place-based Education Goals
Place-based education can “feed three birds with the same seed” as it addresses the integrated goals of:

1. 1. Student Achievement– PBE boosts students’ engagement, academic achievement, and sense of personal efficacy as stewards of their local environment and community. It also can re-energize teachers.
   2. Community Social and Economic Vitality– PBE forges strong ties between local social and environmental organizations and their constituencies in the schools and community, which helps to improve quality of life and economic vitality.
   3. Ecological Integrity– Through project-based learning, students make tangible contributions to resolving local environmental issues and conserving local environmental quality PBE is experimental learning that engages students in their own environments. It begins with: Where am I? What is the natural & social history of this place? How does it fit into the larger world? Learning takes students out of the classroom and into the community and natural environment. Students want to learn and apply their knowledge to solving real problems.
   4. Place Based Education allows teachers to explore educational resources within their local area. For example, teachers in the state of Washington have experienced the Westport Maritime Museum, Seattle Underground, McCord Air Force Base, Bremerton Naval Ship Yards, and UW Space Learning Center—important applied teaching connections for classroom activities in multiple subject areas. In California, tours were set up at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Yosemite National Park, Barnes & Nobles, and Vandenberg Air Force Base etc., for the expressed purpose of aiding classroom comprehension.

Below are testimonials from strong leaders, who support a balanced approach to Relationships, Relevance and Rigor.

“Members of our staff and I are planning to attend the Summer Institutes again this year as we found it most informative. Thank you for providing us with a diverse array of educational topics and for affording us the opportunity to exercise more than our minds – we loved the morning walks. Thank you.”Tim H. Wood, Ph. D., Superintendent, Saugatuck Public Schools, Michigan

“In our culture of high academic performance, Summer Institute’s key focus on helping teachers embed Rigor and Relevance to their curriculum, as well as providing them with effective strategies to build exceptional student, parent, and staff relationships hits the mark perfectly! The quality of the SI keynotes and agenda provides a real breadth of strategies to reach all children in our schools. As the primary clock hour provider for the SI program in Washington State, we are proud to continue a long standing relationship with SI program in 2019.” Superintendent Rich McBride,
North Central Educational Service District, Washington