News Release

Educator Concludes 2020 Teacher-Ranger-Teacher Experience

Teacher-Ranger-Teacher Charles Elmore

NPS

News Release Date: August 19, 2020

Contact: Christopher Derman, 423-569-9778

Charles Elmore has concluded his Teacher-Ranger-Teacher (TRT) experience at Obed Wild and Scenic River. Charles is currently the Librarian at Central High School, in Wartburg, Tennessee. He worked as Obed’s TRT, where his main focus was to create new educational resources to give students the experience of learning about the park through reading. He created two new literacy back packs that school aged visitors can use while exploring the park. These backpacks will contain both fiction and non-fiction books that children can read to learn about the National Park Service, the Obed, as well as the flora and fauna of the area. 

“We were very lucky to have Charles Elmore be our Teacher Ranger Teacher this summer. His background as a librarian allowed him to create for us a brand-new educational resource that is unique and will be a great addition to the park. His hard work and great personality really made the summer a wonderful experience for all he worked with,” said Education Specialist Daniel Banks. 

The TRT program is a professional development opportunity for K-12 teachers to spend the summer acquiring new skills in experiential learning through a program provided by a partnership between the National Park Service (NPS) and the University of Colorado at Denver (CUD). The participants spend between four and six weeks in a NPS unit developing a major educational project and participating in an online graduate course from CUD. The goal of the program is to train teachers in the resources and themes of the NPS so that they can return to their schools in the fall and incorporate their new skills into their classrooms.