The Long Island Sound Mentor Teacher Program engages certified educators to share their successful strategies for implementing Long Island Sound into existing curricula with their peers in professional development workshops. All workshop lessons and activities designed for use in the classroom or field are aligned to the content standards of the Connecticut/New York Science Frameworks and/or the National Science Education Standards, in a format that can be easily implemented into existing curricula. The Long Island Sound Mentor Teachers plan interdisciplinary sessions that include a participant field component within the Long Island Sound watershed.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 LISMT programs have been canceled. Applicants from the 2020 round will be allowed revisions to their current submissions on the next active year and will be evaluated for the 2022 LISMT program.
In lieu of the 2020 and 2021 LISMT workshops, the Long Island Sound Study will be sharing other online resources and hosting teacher webinars around different Long Island Sound topics. If you are interested in leading a webinar or want to be included in our educator mailing list to find out about upcoming opportunities, reach out to Jimena at [email protected].
From Your Yard To The River: Teacher Workshop for Upper Elementary and Middle School TeachersSaturday, October 5, 2019 from 9:00am-1:30pm, with optional seining until 2pm. Marine Environmental Stewardship Center, Cedar Beach, 231 Harbor Beach Road, Mount Sinai NY 11766.
Plot Studies Of Coastal Ecosystems on Long Island’s North ShoreSaturday, October 12, 2019 from 9:00am-3:00pm. Sands Point Preserve Conservancy, Sands Point, NY.
Unlocking the Mysteries of the Mighty NissequogueSaturday, August 11th from 8:30am-2:30pm. Paul Givens County Park Smithtown, NY. Followed by a trip to Sunken Meadow State Park.
Be in the K.N.O.W.Saturday, September 22, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Northport High School 154 Laurel Hill Rd. Northport, NY 11768. Followed by a site visit to Twin Ponds in Northport.
Geo-science Outdoor Research ProgramSaturday, October 17, 2015 from 9am-3pm Stony Brook University’s Calverton Business Incubator in Calverton, NY followed by a site visit to Wildwood State Park in Wading River, NY
Long Island Sound: Past, Present, and FutureSaturday, October 3, 2015 from 9am-3pm Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary in Rye, NY followed by a site visit to The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk in Norwalk, CT
Long Island Sound WorkshopSaturday, September 19, 2015 from 8am-3pm Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, CT
Geo-science Outdoor Research ProgramSaturday, September 27, 2014 from 9am-3pmStony Brook University’s Calverton Business Incubator in Calverton, NY followed by a site visit to Wildwood State Park in Wading River, NY
Seine the SoundFriday, September 26, 2014 from 8:45am-3:15pm Meigs Point, Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, CT
Marine Debris Saturday, September 20, 2014 from 9:00am-3:00pmPelham Bay Park in Bronx, NY
Learning’s a BeachSaturday, September 28, 2013 from 9am-3pm (rain date: September 29th)West Meadow Beach in Stony Brook, NY
Seine the SoundMonday, September 23, 2013 from 9am-3pm Meigs Point, Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, CT
Awesome EstuariesSaturday, September 21, 2013 from 9am-3pm (rain date: September 22nd)Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park, NY
Seine the SoundFriday, September 21, 2012 Meigs Point, Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, CT
Marsh MadnessSaturday, June 16, 2012 Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park, NY
Teach at the BeachSaturday, May 12, 2012 from 8am-3pm (rain date: May 19th)Wading River Beach Club, Creek Road in Wading River, NY
Watershed Connection WorkshopSaturday, May 7, 2011 from 8am–2pm (rain date: Sunday May 15)Caleb Smith State Park in Smithtown, NY
Seine the SoundFriday, May 6, 2011 from 8:30am–3pm Meigs Point, Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, CT
Wonders of the Wetlands WorkshopSaturday, April 30, 2011 from 9am–3pm (rain date: Sunday, May 1)Cedar Beach in Mt. Sinai, NY
Integrate Long Island Sound Into Your Curriculum Saturday, April 23, 2011 from 8am–3pmHammonasset State Park in Madison, CT
Teach at the Beach, Sail on the Sound!Saturday, May 21, 2010 from 8am–3pm Lighthouse Point Park/On-Board the Quinnipiack
Connecticut Sea Grant developed the Long Island Sound Mentor Teacher (LISMT) program in 2002. Since then, high quality, creative, and respected teachers have been recruited to assist their peers in incorporating Long Island Sound content into curricula within the scope of the current education standards, which are now the Next Generation Science Standards. In 2010, the LISMT program was expanded to New York through New York Sea Grant. Since 2002, the 53 LISMT workshops in CT and NY have utilized 59 Mentor Teachers to reach 684 formal and informal K-12 educators, and through them, more than 54,860 students in over 101 Connecticut and 27 New York cities, towns, and regional school districts.
New York and Connecticut Sea Grant periodically seek pairs of teachers to serve as Mentor Teachers. With oversight from Sea Grant, each pair works together to plan a professional development session for their peers. There is funding for each pair to provide an outdoor component (shore or boat excursion) as part of the session. Each Long Island Sound Mentor Teacher receives a stipend and Long Island Sound resources for their classrooms. Please contact Diana Payne at [email protected] (CT) or Jimena Perez-Viscasillas at [email protected] (NY) for more details on how to apply to be a Long Island Sound Mentor Teacher.
UCONN researcher Dr. Beth Lawrence and Smithtown High School master teacher Kimberly “Ly” Williams developed a multimedia teaching module aimed at teaching the effects of sea-level rise on ecosystem services provided by LIS coastal marshes. They demoed the module in a webinar hosted by the LISS in August 2020. Check out the webinar and module here!