Environmental Literacy Indicator Tool (ELIT)

The Environmental Literacy Indicator Tool (ELIT) is a federally directed effort to collect information from all public school districts in the Mid-Atlantic region every two years to monitor the status of environmental literacy efforts at a district level. The results from these data help the Chesapeake Bay Program Education Workgroup most effectively support local efforts to implement strategies that support students’ environmental literacy. 

We request that you – or the appropriate district staff person – complete the ELIT by November 30, 2024. This will provide critical information about district-wide environmental literacy curriculum and planning activities in Pennsylvania. Results help the Chesapeake Bay Program Education Workgroup most effectively support local efforts to implement strategies that support students’ environmental literacy. 

Follow this link to the ELIT questionnaire: ELIT 2024

The ELIT takes an average of about 60 minutes to complete, which includes the time to obtain needed information about district-wide activities. To review the questions ahead of time to help you find the information or identify the right staff person to complete the survey, click here: PDF of ELIT Questions

If your district has previously completed the ELIT, you can look up and view past answers here – search for documents labeled Response Summaries.

These past responses can allow you to simply update any information changes since previous ELIT surveys (2022, 2019, or 2017).

Who should complete the ELIT for your district?

Only one person per district should complete the ELIT. The best respondent is someone who works at the district level and is most familiar with environmental education activities across the district. If your district does not have a position similar to an environmental education coordinator, consider a science curriculum coordinator or similar role. Teachers, principals, or staff from just one school or grade range would have difficulty completing these questions. 

An editable Workbook of the ELIT questions (to complete before submitting the data) is also available here: Workbook of ELIT Questions (Word format) 

Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire. If you have any concerns, please contact either of the contacts below: 

Tamara Peffer | Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Advisor | Bureau of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction

Pennsylvania Department of Education

tpeffer@pa.gov

717.772.0842

Elise Trelegan, Coordinator

Chesapeake Bay Program Education Workgroup 

NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office

elise.trelegan@noaa.gov

204.628.4507

OMB Control Number: 0648-0753