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Teaching Green
By Naomi Dillon
While students and teachers are scanning the globe for projects that offer relevant, multi-disciplinary experiences, they may be overlooking opportunities right in their own buildings. Whether driven by a desire to save money or be environmentally conscious, many districts have introduced technology innovations that do both, offering plenty of practical ways for their students to explore future career options or pursue their passion for conservation. .
Some call it green technology, others call it clean technology, and still others refer to it as sustainability. Infrastructure decisions like using solar panels to setting goals of going “ paperless” lay the groundwork for real-world data analysis and the blending of science, technology, engineering , and math.
Last spring, the U.S. Department of Education launched the Green Ribbon Schools program, a version of its Blue Ribbon Schools program. Schools deemed green not only exemplify academic excellence, especially when it comes to teaching environmental literacy, but operational excellence through sustainability measures and reducing their carbon footprint.
Environmental learning provides a great platform for schools to teach core subjects in a real-world context, says Anisa Metzger, who leads the school district sustainability program for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that promotes the use of environmentally friendly building practices and design.
“It’s a really effective way to tie all these subjects together in an engaging and holistic fashion,” says Metzger, pointing to a school she visited recently that taught math, science, writing, and reading comprehension through its study of the water system and fish migration patterns.
“We’ve seen this really pick up a lot, especially around STEM and project-based learning,” Metzger says. “With the launch of the Green Ribbon Schools and our own Green Apple Day of Service, there’s so much going on that it’s getting a lot of traction.”
But while being green may be all the rage right now, not all school districts are giving it the green light, unsure of how to proceed, where to find the money to pay for the projects, and even, whether it’s all worth it.
Enter the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA), which recently launched a three-year study called the New Jersey Sustainable Schools Project.
Conducted by the nonprofit Educational Information and Resource Center and funded by the Alliance for Competitive Energy Services -- a state energy-buying cooperative managed by NJSBA -- the study will work with 14 selected school districts to examine whether incorporating energy efficiency and conservation measures on existing school buildings have an impact on district finances and student achievement.
“From a board perspective, they need to learn what school-based sustainability is, so they can make valid decisions about facility changes and curriculum,” says John Henry, STEM and sustainability consultant for NJSBA. “If they don’t understand it, they won’t know there is a connection between the two.”
As part of the project, each participating school will participate in the new Green Schools Leadership Institute where teams of faculty and board members develop a “strategic green plan” that includes action steps, lesson plans, and resources.
In addition, one of the study’s main endeavors will be to produce a sustainability guidebook that gathers best practices and lessons learned from school boards, administrators, and students that incorporated sustainability into their systems.
“The one thing I found that people don’t do a very good job of is data collection,” says Henry, a former classroom teacher and Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow. “This is where curriculum comes in. So all the kids powered down on Friday -- well, what does that mean?”
It goes beyond tracking energy savings and benchmarking, he says, and has more to do with detailing the process, telling the story of how students made T-shirts, engaged in project-based learning, or became ambassadors of sustainability in their schools.
“It becomes a student-centered thing; the students really drove the project. And that’s important because that generates a sense of pride,” Henry says.
In Livermore, the 150 or so students enrolled in the Green Engineering Academy get lots of opportunity to take ownership of their learning -- and their future.
In addition to building partnerships with businesses that serves as mentors, field trip venues, and internship experiences, the grant program requires half of the academy to consist of struggling students while high-performing students make up the other half.
“The cooperative learning component is huge,” says Sue Johnston, who teaches physics at the academy. “The at-risk students can help some of these book-smart kids and they gain confidence by doing that. At the same time, they see a reason for the first time to learn Algebra and physics.”
In California, , a three-year state initiative to reform high schools helped launch about 60 green academies -- small, school-within-a-school models that have a career and environmental focus. That pairing isn’t so odd, says Mike Waltz, a career and technical education teacher at the Green Engineering Academy at Livermore High School.
“We realized that all of the problems with respect to energy and the environment were all engineering problems,” says Waltz, a mechanical engineer who spent half his career implementing energy conservation measures like lighting and control systems before a company downsizing brought him back to his alma mater as a teacher.
Indeed, much of the academy’s purpose is to help forge a path for students toward the so-called “green-collar” job market, which encompass anything from renewable energy jobs in the solar and wind power sectors to environmental protection jobs that manage and reuse waste.
A 2008 report commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Mayors estimated the still-nascent industry would add 5.6 million green jobs to the labor market by 2038.
“I tell them, this might be the kind of career path that has real staying power because energy efficiency makes economic sense,” Waltz says of the recruiting pitch he makes to students who think might be a good fit for the program.
Naomi Dillon (ndillon@nsba.org) is a senior editor of American School Board Journal.
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