Alabama Geographic Alliance

The Alabama Geographic Alliance (AGA) is affiliated with the geographic alliance network that is sponsored by the National Geographic Society.  The Alabama Geographic Alliance is a non-profit organization which conducts meetings and programs, publishes information relating to geographic curricula improvement, effective teaching and presentation methods, and promotes other professional enrichment activities that enhance the teaching and status of geography primarily in the State of Alabama.

The purpose of the Alabama Geographic Alliance is to foster collaboration among college and university geographers, educators in kindergarten through twelfth grades, State Department of Education personnel, educational administrators, faculty in colleges of education and other interested parties to improve the quality of school curricula and instruction in geography.

The Alabama Geographic Alliance began in 1987 under the leadership of Dr. Howard Johnson, of Jacksonville State University, Dr. William Strong, of the University of North Alabama, and Dr. David Weaver, of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.

The AGA has conducted 14 summer geography institutes, an advanced summer institute, two geography technology institutes, and numerous short-term workshops ranging from two hours to three days. Participants in these programs received instruction in geography content, teaching strategies, grant-writing, and use of multimedia in the classroom. Institute graduates have conducted more than a thousand in-service presentations to some 20,000 fellow teachers.

The alliance newsletter, GEOLINK, reaches more than 5,000 educators throughout Alabama on a quarterly basis.

The Alabama Geography Alliance sponsors the annual GEOFEST conference for K-12 teachers and pre-service students. GEOFEST has served as a model for other states such as South Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska and Nevada.

The Alliance is organized into regional divisions within the state of Alabama, each focusing on a major university with regional directors representing each of the regions.

Created by Kimberly Mccutchen March 15, 2000.