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Cool Named
Champion of Education for DNR Curriculum Provided
Free to 4th Grade Teachers Who Request It
MIRS, October 23, 2003
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Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director K.L.
COOL today received the Champion of Education award from the
Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association.
Cool is the second recipient of the award in the organization's
78-year history and the only non-educator to receive the award.
Cool was presented the award in recognition of the DNR's 4th
grade supplemental conservation curriculum. The "Learn from the
past, Appreciate our natural resources, and Preserve our outdoor
heritage" (LAPs) program uses the state's parks as a setting to
integrate natural resources messages into lesson plans teaching
language arts, science, math and social studies.
Now in its fifth year, more than 120,000 students over 4,000
classrooms (65 percent) statewide participate in the LAPs
program which is funded by the DNR and free to all 4th grade
teachers who request it.
In presenting the award, MEMSPA Executive Director Joanne
WELIHAN said, "Mr. Cool's vision allowed him to cross over
departments, protecting the future of Michigan's resources by
helping to educate our children," noting that initially the
concept was opposed by some outdoor groups, universities, and
some in the DNR who felt education wasn't the department's
business.
In accepting the award, Cool stressed the importance of the LAPs
program "that connects youth with our outdoor heritage so that
future generations would be able to make informed decisions
about natural resource issues."
Earlier this year, the Natural Resources Commission, at the
request of the Granholm administration, voted unanimously not to
extend Cool's contract that expires next May.
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