Later this month, two lucky teachers will have the opportunity of a lifetime. The selected teachers, Kim Williams of Sacramento and Cate Arnold of Boston, will serve as representatives of the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, joining explorer Robert Swan, O.B.E. and 2041 on their next Antarctic Expedition, beginning Feb. 27.
Author: LEaD Blogger
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Students Gain Practical Lessons Through USGBC’s Research to Practice Program
There are three words that strike fear in college students everywhere: “the real world.” People look back fondly on their college years, remembering late nights partying or doing things they would never dream of doing now. Others look back and remember late nights of studying and rigorous coursework. For many, it’s a mix of the two. Whatever your memories of college, for most students the specter of the real world looms in the distance, a far off place that you enter the day after graduation.
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Director’s Corner: Bringing Green Schools to the Mainstream
At the end of last year, I shared with you that I thought the green schools movement had reached a tipping point. Even in these first weeks of 2012, the many players in this movement are redefining this conversation and our strategy for putting every student in a green school within this generation.
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Green Classroom Professional Certificate Program
There are many things that are important when it comes to educating students – the curriculum, student engagement and motivation and teacher effectiveness all play important roles in our nation’s classrooms. However, what is oftentimes lost in these conversations is the significant effects that the physical learning space has on student health and performance. We understand the huge impact a classroom can have on our students.
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Green Schools Regional Roundtables: Common Ground in Kentucky
On Nov. 29, 2011, state legislators and key decision makers from six states across the South and Midwest convened in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to discuss the political common ground around the topic of green schools.
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Chapter Spotlight: Minnesota Green Schools Coalition Unites the State to Achieve Green Schools
How can we facilitate major change in the way Minnesotans think about green schools? This was the question under discussion at USGBC Minnesota’s Green Schools Committee meeting a year ago. The committee had been struggling with how to get the message about the benefits of healthy, cost effective, high performance schools to the large and varied group of people who affect the school environment.
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Campuses in the Sustainability Spotlight
Over the last three and a half years, I’ve had the pleasure of watching colleges and universities across the country prove their ability to lead and innovate as sustainability doers. Green buildings are a starting point for institutional leadership, but by no means the end. From students and faculty, to staff and senior administrators, to boards and alumni, I’ve observed a groundswell of environmental stewardship, pedagogy and practice indicating that the changes these champions are putting into place are here to stay.
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Green Schools Community Gearing Up for History-Making Day of Service
“Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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UN Panel Names Cities as a Vehicle for Sustainable Development
Last week, the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability released a report of recommended outcomes for the Rio+20 conference in June. The report, Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing, outlines both long- and short-term goals for governments, civil society and the private sector. These recommendations address all facets of resiliency, including climatic, economic and social.
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Center Spotlight: Jenny Wiedower, K-12 Manager
As K-12 Manager, Jenny provides strategic direction and support for the Center’s programs and initiatives that help teachers, school administrators, elected officials and volunteers transform K-12 schools across the country. Her work includes growing partnerships with people and organizations where jointly, the Center can make a stronger and more widespread case for green schools.
Position: K-12 Manager
Current location: Washington, DC
Hometown: Little Rock, AR