The GENIP Steering Committee Members for 2006-2007 are:

Association of American Geographers (AAG)
Michael Solem Educational Affairs Director AAG 1710 Sixteenth Street, NW Washington D.C. 20009-3198 Phone: 202.234.1450; Fax 202.234.2744 msolem@aag.org	Roger Downs Professor of Geography Department of Geography The Pennsylvania State University 302 Walker Building, University Park, PA 16802-5011 Phone: 814.865.1915; Fax 814.863.7943 rd7@psu.edu
M. Duane Nellis Provost and Chief Academic Officer 106 Anderson Hall Kansas State University Manhattan, KS 66506 provost.nellis@ksu.edu
American Geographical Society (AGS)
Rickie Sanders Department of Geography 317 Gladfelter Hall Temple University Philadelphia, PA 19122 Phone: 215.204.5650; FAX 215.204.7833 rsanders@temple.edu
National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) Richard Anderson Professor of Geography Department of Geography Salem State College 22 Fox Run Road, Danvers, MA 01923 abbanderson@comcast.net Joseph P. Stoltman Professor of Geography Department of Geography Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI 49008 Phone: 269.387-3429; Fax: 269.387.3442 stoltman@wmich.edu Kim Crews Executive Director National Council for Geographic Education 1710 16th Street, N.W. Washington D.C. 20009-3198 Phone:202.391.0115; FAX 202.652.2912 kcrews@ncge.org   National Geographic Society (NGS)
Bob Dulli & Mary Lee Elden (interim) Education and Children'sPrograms National Geographic Society 1145 Seventeenth Street, NW Washington D.C. 20036-4688 Phone: 202.828.6674; Fax 202.429.5701	Chris Shearer Director of Grant Making National Geographic Society Education Foundation 1145 Seventeenth Street, NW Washington D.C. 20036-4688 Phone: 202.828.6674; Fax 202.429.5701 cshearer@ngs.org
Project Coordinator
Sarah Witham Bednarz Department of Geography Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-3147 Phone: 979.845.1579; Fax 979.862.4487 s-bednarz@tamu.edu

In 1984 a joint committee of the National Council for Geographic Education and the Association of American Geographers published Guidelines for Geographic Education: Elementary and Secondary Schools. This 28 page booklet informed educational decision makers about the need to enrich geography programs in the schools of the United States through the introduction of five organizing themes. The Guidelines provided a blueprint that improved the teaching and learning of geography and also complemented the National Geography Standards when they were published a decade later.

Acting upon the favorable public response to the Guidelines, the NCGE and AAG agreed to combine efforts to implement the recommendations of the Guidelines nationwide. On July 1, 1985, the American Geographical Society and the National Geographic Society joined with the NCGE and the AAG to form the Geographic Education National Implementation Project (GENIP). Since the publication of Geography for Life: National Geography Standards, GENIP's primary focus has been the promotion of standards-based geography instruction as an integral part of every student's educational experience.

GENIP's ten-member steering committee meets twice yearly to discuss policies, identify projects and strategies to achieve its mission, structure and review a budget, and share information about the educational plans and programs each of the four organizations.

The day-to-day operations of GENIP are managed by a project coordinator, Sarah Witham Bednarz. Support services are provided by the office staff of the AAG and NCGE. A chair is chosen each year from the steering committee membership.

A glimpse of GENIP at work is provided by this array of pictures.

GENIP is currently focused in five key areas:

• the dissemination and implementation of the content, skills, and perspectives of the National Geography Standards in both formal and informal education settings;
• the use of geographic tools and technology (computer-based geographic information systems, remote sensing, spatial data available on CD-ROMs and the Internet) in education;
• the development of effective materials and programs in preservice and inservice education;
• the development of partnerships with other stakeholder organizations; and
• public advocacy for geography education.

Materials Development

GENIP has worked effectively to promote and distribute over one hundred thousand copies of the Guidelines for Geographic Education. It has initiated and supported the development of key documents to implement the Guidelines including K-6 Geography: Themes, Key Ideas, and Learning Opportunities (1987), 7-12 Geography: Themes, Key Ideas, and Learning Opportunities (1989) and the so-called "five themes map" printed and distributed by the National Geographic Society. In 1995 it published Spaces and Places: A Geography Manual for Teachers with assistance from Rand McNally. A secondary school geography text assessment was released in summer 1996. NASA is collaborating with GENIP to develop Mission Geography, curriculum support materials that link the National Geography Standards with NASA's missions and results. Descriptions of current projects are available at GENIP: Projects and Activities.

Outreach

GENIP participates in national and regional meetings to provide information on programs, projects, and activities in geography education. GENIP has conducted awareness sessions and workshops at the annual meetings of the associated geography organizations as well as Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), National Science Teachers Associations (NSTA), National Council for Social Studies (NCSS), regional NCSS affiliates, National Earth Science Teachers Association, the National Middle Schools Association, and the National Catholic Educators Association

Consulting

GENIP provides informational and consultative services to publishers of geography materials and others interested in geography education.

Policy Development

GENIP encouraged the College Board to include geography as a discrete subject area in its programs. The first Advanced Placement test in Human Geography was administered in 2001. In 2006 over 21,000 high school students took the exam. GENIP is a member of the Association for Curriculum Reform, and meets on a regular basis with key policy makers. GENIP is a partner in the My Wonderful World campaign and is supporting legislation Teaching Geography is Fundamental currently under consideration in the House of Representatives and US Senate.

Implementation

GENIP coordinates efforts to monitor the implementation of the National Geography Standards. It seeks strategies, partnerships, and venues to actively promote good geography as embodied in Geography for Life.

Travelocity Award for Excellence in Geography Education

GENIP was pleased to partner with Travelocity, the most popular travel site on the Web, to present an award to recognize those whose work has positively affected the field of teaching people about the world we live in.

The $5,000 award was offered three times: to Neil Lineback, Reach the World, and to Joseph Kerski, USGS. administered by GENIP.This award program was discontinued in 2006.