 2016 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School Prescott Elementary School of Lincoln, Nebraska accepts its award. The 2017 cohort will be honored during a similar ceremony in just a few weeks.
U.S.
Department of Education Assistant Secretary of Management Holly Ham, Acting
Chief of Staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration George
Kelly, Director of the Campaign for Environmental Literacy James L. Elder, Jr.,
and Director of the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council
Anisa Heming will honor the 2017 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon
Schools (ED-GRS), District Sustainability Awardees, and Postsecondary
Sustainability Awardees in a private ceremony at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July
19, in Washington, D.C. Forty-five
schools, nine districts, and nine colleges and universities will be recognized
for their commitment to reducing environmental impact and utility costs,
promoting better health, and providing environmental education. The festivities will also recognize a state
official for advancing sustainable schools in Georgia.
ED-GRS
has three distinct “pillars”
or general aims any school might work toward in the areas of school facilities,
health, and environmental learning.
These are used to engage more schools in existing federal, nonprofit,
and state tracking and certification programs that can help all schools save
money, improve health, and teach by the most hands-on, engaging means
possible. The complementary Green
Strides outreach initiative offers social media, this monthly newsletter, a resource
and webinar portal, and an annual tour to spotlight innovative practices. In this way, ED-GRS goes beyond providing
only a few promising examples or a single annual event by working to connect
all schools with the resources and practices that honorees successfully use.
Watch
a livestream of the ceremony on the U.S. Department of Education’s Facebook @ED.gov.
 Yosemite High School students install rooftop solar for low-income residents working with GRID Alternatives.
Yosemite High School
(YHS) is on the leading edge of the green schools movement in California’s
Central Valley. Students have daily
access to a registered nurse, a health aide, and a counselor. The school’s Urban Essentials program of
restorative justice builds community in response to student misconduct. Yosemite students are active outdoors in
physical education; coursework, including physical and agricultural science;
and during lunchtime activities. The
school placed first at a recent Energize Schools competition for its energy
conservation plan. Working with Tree
Partners USA, YHS selected regionally appropriate plantings and it has reduced
campus water use by 45 percent. Students
participate in field trips to the state capitol, where they meet with
legislators to discuss environmental topics.
The YHS campus features an outdoor classroom, a raised garden area, a
500-square-foot greenhouse, and a composting center. The green technology and energy conservation courses
offered at YHS provide students with access to California's energy and power
technology career pathways, and lead directly to industry certifications or
employment opportunities. This
curriculum is designed to fully integrate learning objectives that are
critically relevant to the renewable energy and green technology industries. A partnership with nonprofit organization
GRID Alternatives engages students in service learning work experience days
during which students have the opportunity to participate in residential solar
installations for low-income residents in and around the city of Merced. Other activities include a green technology
club, wilderness club, hiking club, and field trips featuring camping and
overnight backpacking experiences. >>>>
 Gilbert Elementary School forest kindergarten students explore basecamp after a flood.
Every
aspect of Gilbert Elementary School, including art and physical education, has
a focus on the outdoors. The school’s
Forest Kindergarten classes spend three hours per day outdoors, rain or shine,
in self-initiated playtime in the woods.
Because of the high level of curriculum integration, students are able
to spend more time exploring nature, problem solving, and developing innovative
solutions to real-world problems through practical application. Gilbert students hammer, dig, saw, and
measure. Each grade works with
professionals, such as arborists, farmers, biologists, engineers, foresters,
professors, and horticulturists, in a field related to projects they undertake. Gilbert offers a school-based health center, the
closest pediatric care center within 35 miles, and has been awarded $650,000
yearly in ongoing funding for the clinic, which offers medical, dental, mental
health, nutrition and wellness services, and assistance with social
services. One of the 1993-constructed
school’s successes is its energy reduction efforts through new policies and
procedures, a new control system, an updated boiler and cooling tower, and a gradual
update of all the lighting to LED. The
school also has gone paperless in grades three through five by using Google
Classroom and Seesaw. Half of the
school’s 21 acres are forested and the site includes a certified wildlife
habitat. The school also has access to
an additional 320 acres of forest surrounding the school-owned land. All of
these changes may seem small, but they have had a dramatic effect on resource
consumption. >>>>
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In The School District of Philadelphia environmental science units are sequenced to build concepts and skills towards taking high school level environmental science courses that cover topics including the basic chemistry of our planet, biogeochemical cycles, ecosystem dynamics, biodiversity, and human populations.
The School District of Philadelphia serves 143,387
students, 78 percent of whom qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, in over
300 buildings, and has 25 million square feet of building space in facilities
with an average age of 70 years. The
superintendent launched the district’s five-year sustainability plan in May
2016, aiming to reduce energy consumption, increase waste diversion, increase
school green spaces, and create healthy indoor environments. The district tracks its energy use through
EnergyCAP and ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, and has registered a 40 percent
reduction in energy use over five years.
The district has contracted an energy services company to offer
behavioral change recommendations, energy audits, and energy education. Philadelphia has implemented a comprehensive
recycling program at 42 schools. Over
the past five years, Philadelphia has constructed large green storm-water
infrastructure projects at 31 schools, for which the district receives
financial credits that reduce its utility costs. During the summer of 2016, new water bottle
filling stations were announced as a standard for all Philadelphia public
schools. In 2011, the district was
awarded the EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Great Start Award for establishing an
indoor environmental quality program.
The district uses certified Green Seal cleaning products. It serves 92,500 free lunches and 57,500 free
breakfasts daily, with a focus on healthy hydration, farm-to-table, and fruit-
and vegetable-of-the-month programs.
District curriculum specialists, environmental staff, and external
partners attend monthly education for sustainability meetings. Each of the sustainability professional
development opportunities provided for teachers may be used to maintain teaching
licenses in the state. Environmental
science concepts are woven throughout the science curriculum from kindergarten
through eighth grade. >>>>
Project
Learning Tree offers grants of up to $1,000 to schools and youth organizations
for environmental service-learning projects that link classroom learning to the
real world. Students implement an action project they help design to green
their school or to improve an aspect of their neighborhood’s environment. The projects partner students with their whole
school and local businesses and/or community organizations, and provide
opportunities for student leadership. >>>>
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The Green Strides Webinar Series promotes sessions that provide free
tools to
reduce schools' environmental impact and costs; improve health and wellness;
and teach effective environmental education. Consult the webinar calendar,
and submit suggestions of free webinars related to
school, district, and postsecondary sustainability to ed.green.ribbon.schools@ed.gov for listing.
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June
19, 6:30–7:30 p.m. Journey to Mars: Is There Water
on Mars? (NASA)
June
20, 6:30–7:30 p.m. Journey to Mars: Space Food (NASA)
June
21, 8–9 p.m. Using Math to Understand Our Solar
System (NASA)
June
22, 1–2:30 p.m. The Return on Investment of Green
Cleaning in Schools (EPA)
June
22, 6:30–7:30 p.m. Journey for Mars—Looking for Life (NASA)
June
26, 4–5 p.m. Journey to Mars: Survival on Mars (NASA)
June
27, 6:30–7:30 p.m. Journey to Mars: Rockets (NASA)
June
28, 1–2 p.m. Portfolio Manager 201 (EPA)
June
28, 12–12:30 p.m. Portfolio Manager—Ask the Expert (EPA)
June
28, 4–5 p.m. Bringing
Katherine Johnson’s Story Into Your Classroom (NASA)
June
29, 1–2 p.m. Portfolio Manager 301 (EPA)
June
29, 6–7 p.m. Journey to Mars: Super Models (NASA)
July
3, 6:30–7:30 p.m. Solar Eclipse: The Mechanics of Eclipses (NASA)
July
5, 6:30–7:30 p.m. Assessing Student Work During an
Engineering Design Challenge
(NASA)
July
5, 3–4 p.m. Teaching Climate Change by Creating an
“Earth Community”
(AASHE)
July
6, 1–2 p.m. Portfolio Manager 101 (EPA)
July
11, 1–2:30 p.m. Getting
Started With Energy Savings Plus Health (EPA)
July
13, 1–2:30 p.m. Engaging the Campus to Improve
Recycling Participation
(CURC)
July
19, 1–2 p.m. Portfolio Manager 301 (EPA)
This training will bring together leading university
and K–12 facility operators in an effort to grow the green cleaning
movement. It will include hands-on
leadership skill training and workshops; expert panels and discussions on how
to create a green cleaning program; and the opportunity to network with other
leaders in the field. >>>>
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The AASHE Conference and Expo brings together some
2,000 campus administrators, sustainability staff, students, faculty,
businesses, media, and others to explore more than 400 educational sessions,
workshops, tours, and keynote addresses that advance sustainability in higher
education. This year's theme, “Stronger
in Solidarity,” will focus on how the campus sustainability community can break
down walls, build bridges, and continue to make progress toward a healthy and
equitable future for all. >>>>
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For more
than four decades, the North American Association for Environmental Education
has convened one of the leading annual conferences for environmental education
professionals, from classroom teachers and teacher educators, to nature center
staff, to climate science researchers, and everyone in between. Averaging 1,000
participants each year, the event is designed to promote innovation,
networking, learning, and the dissemination of best practices. This year’s conference, with the theme “Imagine
a World,” is in San Juan, Puerto Rico. >>>>
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Association
for Learning Environment’s mission is to connect those whose passion is to
create the best possible learning spaces that encourage innovation, critical
thinking, collaborative teamwork, and other skills that will empower students
to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
Its conference includes educational sessions, keynotes, and a showcase
of state-of-the-art tools that move learning into the future. >>>>
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EDspaces is the gathering place for architects,
facility planners, designers, administrators, and dealers to learn about trends
and experience the latest products and services to enhance student
learning. >>>>
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Greenbuild
is the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. It
features three days of inspiring speakers, invaluable networking opportunities,
industry showcases, LEED workshops, and tours of the host city's green
buildings. >>>>
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Connect With Green Strides
Green Strides: Resources for School Facilities, Health, and
Environment
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools
Facebook: @EDGreenRibbonSchools
Twitter: @EDGreenRibbon
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