Congratulations to Instructional Coach Pam Krebs, recipient of the SEMIS Coalition Dedication to Powerful Place-Based Stewardship Education Award! This award is given for long-term commitment to the development of youth in Southeast Michigan as citizen-stewards of their place and community.
From the SEMIS website: “The Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition (SEMIS) is made up of educators, visionaries, resisters of injustice, public intellectuals and advocates, people with a lot of love for this world. SEMIS brings the art and craft of Place-based Education into core practices in schools, and advocates for transformational changes to K-12 institutions, colleges and universities, so that all living systems may thrive in sustainable, healthy and just communities.
Dexter Community Schools has partnered with SEMIS for several years on place-based education projects including the Wylie #4CommuniTREE project, the Frederick Pelham Bridge recognition plaque, stocking Mill Creek with brown trout, studying beaver activity in Mill Creek, Wylie Water Walkers, and many more.
In addition to this individual award, Krebs’s collaborative project with Calisa Tucker, a 4th grade teacher at Rudolf Steiner School in Ann Arbor, has received the SEMIS Coalition Powerful Place-Based Partnership Award this year. This award is given for visionary commitment to building, growing, and sustaining collaborations to support place-based education.
“It is no easy task to partner and learn together across schools,” says Dr. Ethan Lowenstein, Professor of Teacher Education at Eastern Michigan University, and SEMIS Director, “and your efforts this first year inspire us and provide many lessons to others who engage in similar collaborations. Such lessons, as you know, will be shared state-wide via the MiSTEM network.”
SEMIS initially connected Krebs and Tucker and helped them apply for a grant that would connect both schools through fresh-water literacy and place-based education. The grant was awarded from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and MiSTEM 3-P Program (place-, project-, and problem-based learning). “Our collaborative work involves developing a submission to a proposed 3-P playbook for the State of Michigan,” says Krebs. “Like many of the teachers at Wylie, Calisa Tucker does a lot of place-based education with her students. Because both schools are located near the Huron River, our partnership focused on the part of the river between our schools.”
Tucker and a team of teachers from Wylie (Susan Karsch, Betsy Schmidt, Roxanne Kohler, and Deb Eber) met throughout the year to consider teacher moves that foster place-based education work within the classroom. Additionally, the Grant Team participated in a Traveling Dialogue with the SEMIS staff that took place along the river. Historian Matt Sigfried shared the history of several places (Metroparks, landmarks, and cemeteries) as we traveled along the Huron River.
“This event was so impactful for teachers, that we invited the SEMIS staff to recreate the event for students,” shares Krebs. “This also provided an opportunity for students from both schools to meet and share their learning.”
“Our hope is that this work continues through next year where we can increase the collaboration between the schools and think about the implications of being up-stream or down-stream on the river,” Krebs continues. “I am extremely lucky to be able to foster the relationship with SEMIS and support place-based education in Dexter. This work engages students and encourages them to be good stewards of our community.”
Krebs will be recognized at the SEMIS Coalition Annual Community Forum on Tuesday, May 25, 2023 at the Eastern Michigan University Student Center.
“You have made such incredible contributions to SEMIS in so many ways,” says Dr. Lowenstein in a congratulatory email to Krebs. “This year we want to honor your efforts to build out, coordinate, and support the transformative work being done by Dexter Community Schools and in building community, transforming education, and changing lives. Thank you for everything you have done to not only sustain but grow place-based efforts in our region during the pandemic years!”
“Pam Krebs has helped to coordinate much of the SEMIS work that is happening at Wylie,”says Wylie Principal Katie See. “She helped to organize field trips for students and staff to learn about the history of Dexter and how we can connect this knowledge to our students’ learning.”
“Currently, Pam is helping to organize and facilitate our second annual Wylie Walkers event,” See continues. “Pam helps our teachers to make learning come alive for our students. She is an outstanding teacher, coach and colleague!”
As a member of the Dexter Community Schools IST (Instructional coaching) team, Pam Krebs’s work is focused on Project-Based and Place-Based learning through the lens of science and social studies, as well as supporting SPARK opportunities at the elementary level. Pam is a lifelong learner. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Additionally, she earned a second Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Eastern Michigan University and completed her Master’s degree in Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction in 2014. Pam has had the opportunity to teach in a variety of settings. Starting off her career as a corporate trainer, she later led classrooms of 3-5 year olds. Upon completion of her degree in elementary education, she found her passion working with elementary students. She has been a literacy interventionist, as well as a 1st, 3rd, and 4th grade teacher. Pam has been teaching at Dexter since 2018.
