The 2024 REcharge Academy will be held in Minneapolis, MN!

Details will be released on January 1st, 2024.

What is the REcharge Academy?

Now in its 16th year, the REcharge Academy is our flagship educator training program focused on clean energy. The intensive training blends lectures from experts and tours of energy facilities with replicable hands-on K-12 lessons to give educators content as well as context. The REcharge Academy combines materials from REcharge Labs, WindWise, KidWind, NEED, WhiteBox Learning and Vernier, as well as many other materials we find applicable and useful in the classroom. Read about the 2022 REcharge Academy

Over 550 educators of all types have attended our REcharge Academies from all over the world and have impacted thousands of students and educators. We've come a long way from our first class of 8 Wind Senators in 2008!

Once an educator attends a REcharge Academy, they are considered a REcharge Instructor for life and become part of our extended family! Instructors may just incorporate lessons and curriculum into their own classrooms, or they may go further and work with local schools and districts to share the resources they’ve explored or train other teachers in wind and solar.

REcharge Instructors are critical actors who can help educate the world about renewable energy. They also help our team develop and test new materials and help KidWind hold regional KidWind Challenges. We estimate that each year our network of Instructors train at least 1,000 educators and impact 30,000 students through workshops and outreach events.

Here's what past attendees have to say:

• "I loved the way the workshop was organized. We learned through participation in the activities. Way too often workshops are all lecture and no play!"
• "Great model that I am working to get more comfortable with - less instruction and more rolling up the sleeves and getting to work. I am now more comfortable with adding maker activities to my courses."
• "There was so much great information and opportunities to learn and experience. This training will prepare you to integrate renewable energy into your program and you will have a great time doing it!"
• "I really loved the active mix. The staff was terrific as were the other attendees. The mix of people and backgrounds really added some depth to the learning which was a happy surprise. I was thrilled to get some real content and concrete hands on materials."
• “Absolutely tons of fun, information, and once in a lifetime opportunity!”
• “Amazing and most applicable workshop I have been to in a long time!”

Fees

The cost for teachers to attend the REcharge Academy are broken down according to accommodation type. We are working to make sure all attendees have single rooms, unless they are bringing someone with them they trust to be in a confined space.

• Room and Board: $1500 - Fees include the following: lodging in dorms from Sunday - Thursday of the training, $200 in gear, breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Commuter: $1000 - Fees include the following: $200 in gear, lunch, and snacks

Tuition does not cover travel to and from the training location.

Attendees are able to find their own lodging in local hotels if they are not interested in staying in dorms that are provided. These participants would pay commuter fees.

Scholarships

We typically have many different kinds of scholarships and they are usually limited to a geographic region. Most times scholarships cover tuition only and not travel, but there are few exceptions.

We usually offer the following support:

• Partial Tuition Scholarship (common)
• Full Tuition Scholarship (less common)
• Full Tuition Scholarship + Travel (rare)
• Full Tuition Scholarship + Travel + Stipend (very rare)

You do not need to apply for a scholarship. We collect the necessary information when you fill out your application and will reach out to you if we think you are in are eligible for any funding. Check back in January to see available regional scholarships.

Tuition Payment

Attendees can pay their REcharge Academy tuition in many ways.

Purchase Orders from Schools Check Credit Card Scholarship

Applicants should wait to pay their tuition until they have heard from KidWind about any awards they may receive. Once your award is made we will send you an invoice for any remaining charges.

If you have the funds to cover your tuition and/or you are not applying for or expecting a scholarship, let us know and we can get you an invoice to start processing right away.

Do you want to sponsor an educator?

Support renewable energy education in areas important to your company by sponsoring local educators to attend. By sponsoring a REcharge Academy Instructor, you are helping to increase local understanding of renewable energy on an individual and community-wide scale. These trained experts can be one of your biggest assets in challenging development environments.

What does it cost?

At a minimum companies must cover the cost of tuition. While costs vary depending on the location, in 2023, the cost to attend the academy was $1500, which included all food, lodging and $200 in materials. We recommend that companies set aside $3,000 per educator that they wish to scholarship. These funds will cover tuition, travel and a participation stipend.

How do you find motivated educators?

Companies can work with local districts to select teachers to attend. REcharge Labs can be part of this process and offer advice if needed. If sponsors do not have the time or knowledge to find educators to sponsor, REcharge Labs can manage the entire process as long as we know the areas you want us to target. We can even set up a competitive process in regions through an application process.

What kind of educators should attend an REcharge Academy?

We seek all kinds of educators to attend our program. They can be classroom teachers, after school educators, educators who work in informal environments like museums and makerspaces. We seek teachers with the following characteristics, although none are requirements:

• At least 5 years of teaching experience
• Some basic knowledge of renewable energy
• Network of local partners interested in similar projects in your area
• Previous experience with teacher training outreach
• Attendance and participation at previous KidWind/REcharge events

When should we get started?

Early is better than later. It can take some time to find the high quality, motivated teachers that really have impact. These teachers usually spend their summers improving their skills and plan their summers early. We recommend having scholarship programs in place by January so that we have enough time to find teachers and their schedules are still open.

What happens after an educator is trained?

These newly trained REcharge Instructors are tremendous assets in communities. They can hold wind energy trainings, help with local outreach events, or they can even help to organize KidWind Challenges. They are basically your local ‘boots on the ground’ when it comes to K-12 outreach.

Interested? Contact us today to set up a program. All it takes is a few minutes. Things we need to know include: What area(s) do you want to target? How many scholarships do you want to offer?