Press Release 2006.06.07

Port Townsend Educator Robbie Roberts Receives $5000 Award from IslandWood for Excellence in Education, Environment and Community

(Bainbridge Island, WA) IslandWood is pleased to announce that James “Robbie” Roberts will be the first recipient of the outdoor learning center’s Excellence Award in Education, Environment and Community. The award will be conferred at the graduation ceremony for IslandWood graduate students on Friday, June 16, 2006.

The award recognizes transformational teachers who have inspired others to pursue lives of environmental and community stewardship. It includes $2500 in cash for the recipient plus a $2500 contribution to a 501(c)(3) organization of the recipient’s choice.

“Graduate students who come to work and learn at IslandWood have a passion for education, for protecting the environment, and for building community,”: said IslandWood Head of Graduate and Professional Studies and chair of the award committee, Kristin Poppo. “We want to recognize the transformational teachers who have inspired us - teachers who sparked our interest then encouraged a larger sense of responsibility to care for the world around us.”:

“We’re fortunate to have an IslandWood donor sponsor this award,”: said Ben Klasky, Executive Director of IslandWood, “and we’re impressed with Robbie Roberts’ achievements.”:

Roberts was nominated by Marie Wright, an IslandWood graduate student from Port Townsend. “Robbie’s teaching challenged and inspired me to connect what I was learning in the classroom to the world around me,”: says Wright, who was one of Roberts’ students at Port Townsend High School.

Roberts has over 25 years of teaching experience in Port Townsend at the Junior High School, High School, and Peninsula College.

In 2005, he founded Jefferson Community School, the first private school for grades 6-12 in Port Townsend. Roberts unique Expedition Curriculum at Jefferson Community School has already taken students to Mexico to study Marine Biology: Sea Islands, South Carolina to study African American Culture; and Thailand to experience the culture of a developing nation in Asia.

Earlier, Roberts founded the YMCA Expedition Club that exposes Jefferson County youth to the outside world through “Urban Plunge”: - groups of students spend three days with the homeless on the streets and in the homeless shelters of Seattle. He also initiated the Pha Pang, Thailand Global Community Program that has taken 80 students in the last four years to teach English and exchange culture with villagers in Northern Thailand. Roberts has designated the YMCA Expedition Club to receive the donated portion of his award from IslandWood.

“Mr. Roberts is providing opportunities for kids that they might never have otherwise,”: says Poppo, “expanding their view of the world and understanding of themselves as global citizens.”:

In characterizing his teaching style, Roberts writes that his approach emphasizes people, not curriculum, and that he strives “to develop students who not only have the skills to become active contributors to our society and the world, but also possess the will and the desire to do so. Indeed, as a teacher, I believe I have an obligation to foster such habits that will assist people in renewing their society.“

About IslandWood
Located on Bainbridge Island, WA, IslandWood is a unique 255-acre outdoor learning center designed to provide exceptional learning experiences and inspire lifelong environmental and community stewardship. Through its flagship School Overnight Program, IslandWood’s educators combine scientific inquiry, technology and the arts to help Puget Sound-area students understand cultural and biological diversity. IslandWood also offers community programs for adults, children and families; volunteer opportunities; and other community events open to the public. For more information, visit www.islandwood.org.