Three Lakes Association and Inland Seas Education Association collaborate annually to provide one excursion aboard the ISEA schoolship for one class in each of TLA’s four SEOP school districts; Bellaire, Central Lake, Kalkaska and Mancelona. Each trip costs $825. See ISEA’s website, schoolship.org for details.
Trips aboard the schoolships are held in the fall and spring of the school year. Eligible classes are in either middle grades or high school and are those in which water science is part of the MI science benchmarks for the year’s curriculum. The onboard curriculum is grade level appropriate.
To apply for this ISEA/TLA grant, follow these steps:
- The teacher taking her class calls ISEA to arrange a date for the excursion. The contact person at ISEA is Courtney Bierschbach at 231.271.3077. Spring is the more popular time so it books up quickly.
- After a date has been arranged with ISEA, the teacher sends TLA an email request for $412.50 to Patricia Roush, pandproush@gmail.com. The email must include the teacher’s name, grade level or science course name, building, district and the date of the trip. Finally, write a 1-2 sentence formal request for the funds. Once I receive the email request, I will send a letter and check to the district’s superintendent.
- The remaining $412.50 will be granted from ISEA. There is an application form on their website: schoolship.org/schoolship-registration/
The teacher needs to fill out the application and return it to ISEA.
**If the district sends more than one class on the school ship excursion and funding help is needed, the teacher should ask ISEA for access to ISEA scholarship funds beyond the portion of one trip that they have pledged.