Green Ribbon Schools 2013: 78 inspiring schools and districts lead the way to a sustainable future
April 22nd, 2013Chair of White House Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley and Acting Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Bob Persiacepe joined U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today to announce the second annual U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools award honorees. Sixty-four schools were honored for their exemplary efforts to reduce environmental impact and utility costs, promote better health, and ensure effective environmental education, including civics and green career pathways. In addition, 14 districts were honored for the first-ever District Sustainability Award. Duncan, Persiacepe, and Sutley made the announcement at Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School, in Washington, DC, one of the 2013 honored schools.
“Today’s honorees are modeling a comprehensive approach to being green,”
said Secretary Duncan. “They are demonstrating ways schools can
simultaneously cut costs; improve health, performance and equity; and
provide an education geared toward the jobs of the future. In fact, the
selected districts are saving millions of dollars as a result of their
greening efforts. And the great thing is that the resources these
honorees are using are available for free to all schools."
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson applauded four California schools and a school district for receiving “Green Ribbon” recognition. “I am proud of these schools and districts for earning their green ribbons by reducing environmental impacts while increasing awareness of the fragile world we live in,” Torlakson said. “Students who have had the chance to improve the air, or grow a vegetable, or capture the rain will never look at the world the same way again. I hope all California students get this chance to learn how to protect the Earth and all those who live here.” (Read a summary of the 4 winners here.)
The schools were confirmed from a pool of candidates voluntarily nominated by 32 state education agencies. The list of selectees includes 54 public schools and 10 private schools. The public schools include seven charter, five magnet and four career and technical schools. The schools serve various grade levels, including 40 elementary, 23 middle and 19 high schools are among them, with several schools having various K-12 configurations, from 29 states and the District of Columbia. Over half of the 2013 honorees serve a student body more than 40 percent of which is eligible for free and reduced price lunch. The list of all selected schools and districts, as well as their nomination packages, can be found here. A report with highlights on the 78 honorees can be found and downloaded here. These schools are leading the way on everything from solar to green cleaning, bioswales to rainwater harvesting, and students inventing new technologies, building solar boats and covered bridges, and growing their own food and eradicating weeds with goats!
Green Schools Initiative is an active stakeholder in the Green Ribbon Schools process and we are thrilled this year that one of our early participating schools - Prospect Sierra School in El Cerrito, CA - is a Green Ribbon honoree! Deborah Moore, GSI's Executive Director, congratulates the winners, noting "These Green Ribbon Schools are showing that a better future is already possible today! Green schools are engaging and inspiring their students in ways that bring learning to life, where they can apply their academic skills in innovative ways to make real change in their communities. ALL schools can do this - urban, rural, regardless of income level." And Green Schools Initiative is here to help schools get started.
The Department is looking forward to a third year of award, and will be publishing updated competition criteria this summer, once again working closely with participating states, collaborating organizations and partner agencies. State education agencies are encouraged to indicate intent to nominate schools in 2014 by August 1, 2013.
More information on the federal recognition award can be found here. Resources for all schools to move toward the three Pillars in which the 2013 honorees are exemplary can be found here.
Alabama
• Harriette W. Gwin Elementary School, Hoover, AL
• Munford Middle School and Munford High School, Munford, AL
• Fayetteville High School, Sylacauga, AL
• Talladega County
Arkansas
• Fayetteville District
California
• Charles Evans Hughes Middle School, Long Beach, CA
• Journey School, Aliso Viejo, CA
• Redding School of the Arts II, Redding, CA
• Prospect Sierra School, El Cerrito, CA
• Oak Park Unified School District
Colorado
• Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School, Ft. Collins, CO
• Douglas County School District
Connecticut
• Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School, New Haven, CT
• Environmental Sciences Magnet School at Mary Hooker, Hartford, CT
• Common Ground High School, New Haven, CT
Delaware
• St. Andrew’s School, Middletown, DE
District of Columbia
• Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School, Washington, DC
• Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School, Washington, DC
• Woodrow Wilson High School, Washington, DC
Florida
• Driftwood Middle School, Hollywood, FL
• St. Paul Lutheran School, Lakeland, FL
• School District of Palm Beach County
Georgia
• Ford Elementary School, Acworth, GA
• Gwinnett County Public Schools
Indiana
• Guion Creek Middle School, Indianapolis, IN
Iowa
• Starmont Community School, Arlington IA
• Des Moines Independent Community School District
Kansas
• Bluejacket-Flint Elementary School, Shawnee, KS
Kentucky
• Cane Run Elementary School, Louisville, KY
• Northern Elementary School, Georgetown, KY
• Locust Trace AgriScience Farm, Lexington, KY
Maryland
• Cedar Grove Elementary School, Germantown, MD
• Summit Hall Elementary School, Gaithersburg, MD
• Montgomery County Public Schools
Massachusetts
• Manchester Essex Regional Middle High School, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA
• Quincy High School, Quincy, MA
• Berkshire School, Sheffield, MA
• Acton Public Schools and Acton-Boxborough Regional School District
Minnesota
• Jeffers Pond Elementary School, Prior Lake, MN
• Heritage E-STEM Middle School, West St. Paul, MN
• School of Environmental Studies, Apple Valley, MN
• Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools
Mississippi
• Watkins Elementary School, Jackson, MS
Nebraska
• King Science and Technology Magnet Center, Omaha, NE
New Hampshire
• Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH
New Jersey
• Bedwell Elementary School, Bernardsville, NJ
• Summerfield Elementary School, Neptune, NJ
New York
• Crompond School, Yorktown Heights, NY
• PS 057 Hubert H. Humphrey, Staten Island, NY
• Rye Country Day School, Rye, NY
Ohio
• Kenston High School, Chagrin Falls, OH
Pennsylvania
• Albert M. Greenfield Elementary School, Philadelphia, PA
• Broughal Community Middle School, Bethlehem, PA
• Nazareth Area Middle School, Nazareth, PA
• Westtown School, West Chester, PA
• Lower Merion School District
Rhode Island
• The Compass School, Kingston, RI
• Providence Career and Technical Academy, Providence, RI
Tennessee
• Ivy Academy, Soddy-Daisy, TN
• Lipscomb Academy Elementary School, Nashville, TN
Vermont
• Reading Elementary School, Reading, VT
• St. Albans City School, St. Albans, VT
• Shelburne Community School, Shelburne, VT
Virginia
• Stony Point Elementary School, Keswick, VA
• Magna Vista High School, Ridgeway, VA
Washington
• Glacier Park Elementary School, Maple Valley, WA
• Sacajawea Elementary School, Vancouver, WA
• Tahoma Senior High School, Covington, WA
• The Evergreen School, Shoreline, WA
• Kent School District
West Virginia
• Hometown Elementary School, Red House, WV
• Petersburg Elementary School, Petersburg, WV
• Marshall County Schools
Wisconsin
• Summit Environmental School, La Crosse, WI
• Westlawn Elementary School, Cedarburg, WI
• Jefferson Elementary-Fox River Academy, Appleton, WI
• Racine Montessori School, Racine, WI
• School District of Fort Atkinson