You will need a general session room, a registration and refreshment area, four classrooms, a lunch area, and a parking area.

Four of the seven sessions will meet in a general session room. This room must be large enough for 80 and small enough to give the programs a more intimate feeling. A large auditorium would (not recommended) work if seating is restricted to a certain area.

You will also need a registration/ refreshment area, having it near the general session room will be a plus.

Four classrooms will be needed in the mid morning (approximately 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM - time can be adjusted to meet school schedule) for two class periods of energy enriched lessons. Following lunch, (approximately 12:15 PM - 1:00 PM) is time for Meet the Energy Experts sessions, and you will once again need four classrooms. The classrooms may need to change from period to period if regular classes are occupying them. Other rooms such as a library or cafeteria will work, too.

Finally, you will need a lunch area; the type of room will be dependent on your menu and availability.

Last of all; do not overlook parking as a majority of attendees will arrive in cars.

It is the responsibility of TGAED staff and the host school to inform area schools about the workshop via emails, newsletters, direct mail, and other communication mechanisms and to invite their participation.

NFEE, or state association, will email the science chair, student council advisor, science/environmental club advisor, and social studies chair about the workshop and program. While schools can conduct a local program without attending the workshop, the workshop provides them with a much better examination of the program and serves as a motivator as well.

Request that your principal, superintendent, science chair, student council adviser, and all those other teacher and youth group categories send a personal email to colleagues from neighboring schools. This may require some research as your principal or science chair may not know all his/her colleagues in the area.

Brainstorm other ideas like making presentations at meetings, calling people directly, getting your congressional representative to mail a letter to superintendents. Be creative. If your school is doing all this work for a fantastic program, then do it to a full house.

TGAED prefers to handle and coordinate registration thereby allowing time for student leaders to focus on making the sessions, programs of quality. TGAED staff will work closely with the host school in performing this task. Once a school registers with TGAED and receives confirmation, they will receive an informational email detailing workshop location, parking instructions, and other workshop specific to the workshop. Host school leaders will be able to access registration information by visiting the TGAED website and using a code.

Each confirmed school will be asked to register for the National Student Energy Survey prior to the workshop. Announcing at the workshop the total number of students registered for the survey will add to the story for the media. NFEE will provide the statistical information from an anticipated 20 schools each with a student population of between two and ten thousand.

Coordinating a successful workshop requires approximately 8-14 responsible students, all working together for weeks prior to the workshop. Students may choose to double up on tasks to reduce the number of leaders needed. Another suggestion is for several of the attending school delegations to share program responsibilities, especially for individual workshop sessions. For example, a local SkillsUSA chapter could conduct the Energy Car Talk session and a FCCLA chapter could conduct the Hardware Store Energy Aisles session. Still other schools can conduct lessons or Let’s Talk Energy Show sessions.

Leading the student staff is the responsibility of the student director. This student or students, along with a teacher adviser, are responsible for assuring that all tasks are completed and according to the time line schedules. The student director is also responsible for welcoming the group during the opening sessions and is the spokesperson throughout the day.

Reporting program successes and shortfalls to TGAED staff at the conclusion of the day is a final but important last step. TGAED will provide written instructions to guide leaders through all of the workshop tasks. If the job feels too enormous, these tasks can be further delegated and become the responsibility of several smaller groups of students and teachers

Refreshments and Lunch - Developing a menu and then shopping, arranging food, and providing clean up are the tasks for this group of 3-4 students. A morning snack and lunch (30 minutes) are the major two tasks of the group. TGAED will provide funds for food and supplies according to an approved budget.

Registration Table - Each school will receive one registration packet containing materials, and nametags for everyone in the delegation. It is simple registration to administer so one or two students could handle this table

Four student session guides will be needed to direct each the four student/teacher groups to sessions. It will be the responsibility of this group’s leader to make and place signs directing school delegations to the correct sections of the building.

GOAPE – Five Steps of Project Planning - This session is conducted by a TGAED national staffer. Some workshops may decide to omit the GOAPE session thereby shortening the program by 45 minutes.

Let’s Talk Energy Show The producer/director of the two shows (morning and afternoon) will be a student. This student using the Let’s Debate Energy Show Production Guide will oversee all aspects of the show.

Two students (one can double up and do both shows) will be needed to be the show hosts. The best candidates are students with experience speaking before groups. Since the show is scripted, a drama student or a student interested in broadcasting may also be the perfect pick.

Some workshops may decide to omit the afternoon Let’s Talk Energy show and shorten the program by 45 minutes.

Finally yet importantly, one or two student technicians will be needed to start and stop the DVD player, coordinate the microphone, and administer the pre and post show surveys.

Teaching Staff - These four students will have the most challenging task of the workshop. They are responsible for teaching a 35-40 minute energy enriched English, math, science or social studies lesson. TGAED recommends that each student seek the support and advice of an adult teacher/mentor. TGAED will provide lesson plans, supporting materials, and media coverage. Co-hosting school(s) may choose to be responsible for one or all four of the lessons allowing the host school to concentrate on other details.

Meet The Energy Expert - Most workshop programs will have four Meet the Energy Expert sessions running concurrently. Each session is a quick 40 minutes with 5 minutes in between to allow the class to travel back to the general session area. The script is easy to follow; the host will ask 2-3 sentence questions with 3-8 minutes between questions. This will allow the host plenty of time to prepare for the next question. A co-hosting school(s) might consider assuming the host for one or two of the four sessions allowing the host school to concentrate on other details.

TGAED will secure the experts, but Workshop Session Leaders must follow up with an email of confirmation and thanking the expert for his or her participation.

Media Relations staff - The region’s media must be notified in advance of the workshop. TGAED will provide host schools with sample news releases and media advisories. Student leaders will receive Talking points for follow-up calls to the media, along with information on how to work with the media on the day of the program. Each of the estimated 20 participating schools will be encouraged to write their own story after the workshop and sent it along with their group photo to their community and school newspaper.

There needs to be a photo/newsletter staff; this could be the school newspaper’s staff or a group of knowledgeable students.

Government Relations Committee - Contacting the state’s governor, state and federal legislators is the responsibility of the government relations committee. TGAED will assist students through this process. Having government leaders, either in person or via letter or video message, welcoming students and teachers and applauding their energy education efforts and will be the objective of committee members. NFEE also recommends working with the government leaders’ media people.

Workshop funds will be provided to host schools, as well as, funds for food and related meeting expenses such as copying. An additional $400 stipend will be provided to cover local travel, substitute pay, miscellaneous expenses, as well as, a $200 honorarium for an adult adviser to the student director. TGAED will also provide printed materials for distribution to participants and a The Great American Energy Debate Kit to each school delegation.

Evaluation

School leaders should keep a journal during the entire process. Jotting down some quick statements and thoughts about what worked well or what could be improved, what should be added or eliminated will be a valuable tool to be shared with the next group of student leaders conducting an energy education workshop.

A NFEE staff member will call a week or two after the workshop to chat about the program and to seek feedback for improving the process and program activities.