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The Teacher to Ranger to Teacher program began in Colorado in 2003. In 2007, it became a nationwide program. Through the use of an Intergovernmental Personnel Act Agreement (IPA) between a public school district and the National Park Service, teachers are detailed to parks to work as park rangers for the summer.
The emphasis of this program is to link National Park units and K-12 teachers from schools with Title I student populations in urban and rural school districts. Teachers spend the summer working in the park in which they are assigned. They will be given an official park ranger uniform and badge to work in the park. They perform various duties depending on their interests and the needs of the park, including developing and presenting interpretive programs for the general public, staffing the visitor center desk, developing curriculum‐based materials, and taking on special projects.
When Teacher-Rangers return to their classrooms they share their experiences and the information they have gleaned working for the National Park Service with school staff and students. During National Park Week, they wear their National Park Service uniform to help celebrate American heritage and teach about the parks.
Teachers become interpretive rangers, providing opportunities for others to connect with a place by teaching specific lessons that support the park, creating activities that involve the public, and by sharing experiences that allow others a chance to understand on their own terms the wealth and resources of public lands.
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