The evaluation is part of a three year effort supported by the GE Fund to deepen the impact of ISC's community-based education project model and broaden its scope from environmental education to education for sustainability. ISC gained an important new perspective on the common strengths and weaknesses of its education projects and also an insight into what degree its demonstration projects have been sustained and used as models in other communities. This paper summarizes the results of the evaluation and the possible implications for ISC's education program. In all cases, ISC's projects inspired the development of high quality, locally relevant resource materials that help teachers use active or interactive methodology.
Enthusiastic teachers form the key stakeholder group.
Projects in Hungary and Poland impacted both the national and regional levels. The project in Russia , a country with a highly centralized and top-down approach to education, had notable achievements in engaging community members in the education project. The evaluation suggests that leadership is integral to successful and effective replication. The leadership qualities of individuals at ISC partner organizations and local educational leaders at the community level greatly contribute to the extent and depth of replication of ISC's environmental education model. This approach encourages citizen involvement in both the development and teaching of a locally-based curriculum.