1. Green Schools for America Integrating Sustainability Education into Public Schools Thomas Hartmann, Beau Brandt, Kathryn Harmon, Anthony Onwuasoanya

2.  How do we measure modern success?  Why is man at odds with nature?  We are using unsustainable fuel systems and products and in years to come they will run out, what are we doing to our children?  Current school systems do not teach sustainability or green education on a regular basis.  We’d like to change that. Introduction

3.  Create an accessible curriculum to teach sustainability to students  Curriculum should:  Engage students and make them excited to learn  Be easy for teachers to integrate into their teaching  Be low cost and require little overhead  Grow a generation of sustainability minded adults Aims

4.  Infinite growth and development is impossible  A truly global problem  Many projects must be implemented around the world  Risks:  2 nd Great Depression  6 th Mass Extinction (5 th was the dinosaurs)  High potential for success  Children are more receptive when they are young  Enhances education Rationale

5.  To execute the project, initially, we would only need to convince one to a few schools/districts to agree to the plan, so we would not yet need a large organization. Past this commencement phase though, we would create a non-profit consulting organization, named Green Schools for America, which would need members with skills in economics and politics, including at least one person with impressive credentials (doctoral degrees, government jobs, etc.) to add credibility to the initiative.  The organization would need to outline an initial curriculum plan, convince a school/district to adopt the plan, and continually optimize the plan while convincing further schools to adopt, securing funds where needed. The organization would also try to propose initiatives to congress for legislative support. Proposal

6.  We propose the creation of a non-profit organization to oversee:  The development of a curriculum to teach sustainability to students grades K-8  Maintaining, updating and advertising the curriculum  Hosting the material online for interested teachers to download  Offering of small grants to schools in need of funding for curriculum projects Green Schools for America

7.  Meet with education and sustainability experts to create a curriculum that offers a rewarding experience to teachers and students  Host the curriculum online  Implement the curriculum at Carroll Hill School in Troy  Monitor students at the school and make changes based on feedback from observations and feedback  Design a tracking metric to determine success of the project Implementation

8.  Key Phases:  Phase I – Preparation  Establish Green Schools for America Organization  Obtain experts in education and sustainability  Phase II – Curriculum Creation  Curriculum Modules  Hands-on Activities  Plan for implementation Implementation

9.  Phase III – Implementation  Execute the curriculum at the school  Carry out the planned activities for the students  Phase IV – Curriculum Improvement  Use results from first year  Compile good aspects, fix bad aspects  Repeat Phases III, IV indefinitely Implementation

10.  We could press local school systems for funds, or perhaps a large corporation looking to improve its public image (e.g. BP). Donations from other non-profit environmental groups and individuals, and/or fundraisers could also help, if we are able to convince people of the importance of our undertaking.  Potential candidates for donations include Donors Choose, a nonprofit dedicated to helping students with limited resources, and television giant Nickelodeon’s Big Help Grant Program, which provides $2,500- $5,000 to schools for projects promoting care of the environment, healthy lifestyles, community service and an improved educational experience, which could all apply to our project. Ideally we would eventually obtain government funding to complete the project, but state/federal policies would still be useful, to coerce schools into funding their own curricula. $ Funding $

11.  Carroll Hill School in Troy, New York  Chosen because:  The school already has a grant from RPI to implement math and technology into daily curriculum  Works closely with other colleges  School in low-income area  More likely to accept any opportunities given  Could become a “success story” if student performance improves after implementation of our curriculum  Small school with a diverse population Location

12.  Children and their parents  Public Schools  Teachers, Administration  Environmentalists  Tax Payers  U.S. Government  Farmers Stakeholders

13.  Contractors  “Green” Organizations  General Electric  Government organizations that manage public education  Parents  Schools Social Alliances

14.  Increasing popularity of environmental concerns would aid the project. The desirability of the sustainable image would help, making people more willing to make sacrifices for our cause. Politicians looking to be certified ‘green’ would be similarly helpful, by proposing laws or policies supporting green education. Continued bizarre weather patterns, or yet more convincing scientific evidence for humanity’s impact on the ecosystem, could reinforce climate change concerns, scaring people into concurrence. Rising oil prices would also add visceral appeal to the plan.  Financial shortcomings would work against the project. Program cuts and shrinking budgets in schools/districts would deter it; a cash- strapped school is generally not looking to incorporate a program with no immediate economic or academic benefit. On a statewide or national scale, pressure to erase debt could make the proposal unpopular. Social, Political, Economic, and Cultural Trends

15.  Funding  Poor economy, education funding cuts  Project could provide economic benefits to schools  Short term – energy bill, school supplies  Long term – increased global economic stability  Opposition by Parents  Avoid controversial issues such as global warming  Focus on sustainable resource use Potential Barriers

16.  Implement project at more schools across America  Use colleges to expand further  Give students and faculty the knowledge for implementation  Spread this project to public schools around the college  Modify and improve curriculum from pilot project  Easier than starting from scratch Scaling Potential

17.  Difficult to measure for a project like this  Keep in contact with schools implementing our curriculum  Compare student performance before and after introduction of sustainability education  Quizzes given to teachers to assess student knowledge  Feedback from teachers  A generation of sustainability conscious adults Measuring Success

18.  GreenHeart Education - http://www.greenhearted.org/http://www.greenhearted.org/  Online resource for teachers to “green” their classroom and teaching  The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education - http://www.cloudinstitute.org/ http://www.cloudinstitute.org/  Goal: Prepare young people for a sustainable future  The Green Schools Initiative - http://www.greenschools.net/http://www.greenschools.net/  Make schools green  Four Pillars - toxics-free, sustainable resource use, healthy environment, sustainability education  CELF – The Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation - http://celfeducation.org/ http://celfeducation.org/  Completely integrate sustainability into schools  Train teachers, consult with administration Related Projects

19.  Imagine a time where landfills are a long lost artifact.  Expansion and success are measured not by cold facades but by facades that encourage and live in harmony with nature.  By greening schools and teaching them sustainability we can make this a reality. Conclusion