Reef Response University of the Virgin Islands
Outreach & education

Outreach

Sharing coral reef science with the next generation of Virgin Islanders, in classrooms, at public events, and out on the reef.

Launched spring 2026

Corals in the Classroom

We partner with local high school biology teachers to bring coral reef ecology straight into USVI classrooms.

Corals in the Classroom is a four-lesson curriculum designed for high school students. The lessons introduce students to coral ecosystems, coral restoration, and scientific jargon — and to how they can become involved, both as high school students and in their future careers.

Launched in spring 2026, the curriculum is currently taught at Charlotte Amalie High School, and we hope to expand it to more local schools in the future.

Two Reef Response staff members beside a classroom screen showing the Corals in the Classroom title slide for Lesson 1, Coral Basics and ID
Setting up the first lesson, Coral Basics and ID, at Charlotte Amalie High School.
In the classroom

What the lessons cover

Four lessons, designed for high school students, that take them from how a reef works to how they could one day work on one.

Lesson 1

Coral Basics and ID

What corals are, how they live and grow, and how to tell the different species apart.

Lesson 2

Ecosystem Services of Coral Reefs

The benefits reefs provide, from fisheries and tourism to protecting coastlines and storing carbon.

Lesson 3

Understanding Coral Reef Health

How to recognize healthy and stressed coral, and the bleaching, disease, and other threats reefs face.

Lesson 4

Conservation and Restoration of Coral Reefs

How reefs are protected and restored, including Reef Response’s own nursery work, and how students can get involved.

High school students working through printed coral reef activity sheets during a Corals in the Classroom lesson
Working through a coral ID activity.
Students gathered around a desk filling in a coral reef worksheet together
Working through a lesson worksheet together.
Students at their desks studying printed underwater reef photographs
Studying reef photographs from our field work.
For teachers

Bring Corals in the Classroom to your students

Teach high school biology in the U.S. Virgin Islands? We’d love to hear from you.

Email us with your school, your grade levels, and roughly when in the year a visit would fit your curriculum, and we’ll be in touch.

Email us about a classroom visit

Our field guides are free to use in class — find them under Guides & downloads.

A Reef Response staff member teaching a Corals in the Classroom lesson on the ecosystem services coral reefs provide
Teaching the ecosystem services lesson: what reefs do for the islands, and for the people on them.
In the community

Beyond the classroom

Talks & public events

We raise awareness of coral restoration through presentations and public events around the territory. Follow us on social media to hear about the next one.

All our links

Signage on the reef

Educational signage on Lovango Cay explains our Rescue to Reef restoration site to the divers and snorkelers who visit it.

About Rescue to Reef

Report what you see

Anyone on the water can help monitor our reefs by reporting bleaching, disease, or damage through our Coral Health Reporting Form.

How to report

Our outreach is led by Chloé Camacho, Education and Outreach Coordinator. Meet the team →

Invest in the next generation

Classroom visits, materials, and outreach events are funded by people who care about the future of our reefs.

Donate Contact us