The US Department of Education honored 55 schools with 2024 Green Ribbon Schools recognition to highlight schools, districts, postsecondary institutions, and early learning centers’ cost-saving, health promoting, and performance-enhancing sustainability practices.

Three Pennsylvania schools were recognized--

-- Rowan Elementary School, Cranberry Township, Butler County

-- Green Woods Charter School, Philadelphia

-- Reading Senior High School, Reading, Berks County

Pennsylvania’s Pathways to Green Schools Initiative is part of the national Green Ribbon Schools Program to help put schools on a path towards a more green and sustainable future.

Rowan Elementary School

Rowan Elementary School [in Butler County] takes a holistic and immersive approach to education, environmental awareness, and sustainability.

Formed four years ago, the school’s Green Team has been proactive, organizing professional development opportunities in collaboration with the [Pittsburgh] Green Building Alliance, securing grants for garden box supplies, and enhancing the aesthetics of the school through biophilic efforts.

Environmental themes are incorporated into clubs, including the Robotics Club and STEM Club. Rowan Elementary provides enriching educational experiences that extend beyond traditional classrooms with project-based learning to encourage critical thinking in the context of environmental challenges.

Hydroponics and gardening boxes serve as practical laboratories.

The school utilizes outdoor spaces, such as the courtyard and amphitheater, as dynamic living laboratories for lessons on biodiversity and ecological balance.

Educators at Rowan have championed a composting initiative that serves as a powerful educational tool. The food scraps collected weekly are deposited in the compost bins by students and provide rich soil for garden boxes.

In 2023, a first grade classroom studying pollution observed vehicles idling outside the school, brainstormed solutions, and created “no idling” posters.

Students in grades 2-4 have assumed the role of student ambassadors, imparting the significance of composting to their peers through informative videos featured during the morning announcements.

Social emotional learning is embedded in daily routines, morning meetings, and LEAD (Learn, Explore, Act, Develop) lessons, fostering positive relationships.

The school offers various mental health support services, including tiered interventions, mindfulness practices, and a sensory room.

In addressing air quality, a comprehensive plan is in place, including the use of air purifiers in each classroom, fragrance-free policies, and continuous monitoring for mold. Sidewalks and bike routes are thoughtfully designed to enhance safety and encourage active, healthy lifestyles.

Green Woods Charter School

Green Woods Charter [in Philadelphia] is located on a former brownfield site with a large pond, stream, rain garden, and a dedicated wetland area as part of its stormwater management features.

Every day, students are immersed in hands-on experiences such as recycling, composting, water quality testing, and the development of a local museum. Green Woods’ commitment extends beyond the classroom by embracing renewable energy sources with on-campus solar panels, tree-planting initiatives, LED lights, and energy-efficient appliances.

The school emphasizes eco-friendly materials, and proper ventilation to ensure a healthy indoor environment.

Green Woods installed ultraviolet germicidal lamp technology on the campus rooftop HVAC units to reduce bacteria, mold, and pathogens.

Additionally, Green Woods encourages students, staff, and parents to explore and embrace locally available, energy-efficient transportation options, has enhanced alternative transportation infrastructure, and promotes walking and cycling to school.

Students participate in the Air Quality Flag Program to assess and display daily air quality with colorful flags corresponding to the air quality index and students offer education campaigns on the subject of sugar intake.

Green Woods has shifted its education model to align to the Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy, and Sustainability (STEELS) Standards and has systematically infused science into other disciplines.

The school focuses on hands-on learning, field studies in collaboration with a local arboretum and environmental center, and applying knowledge gained in the classroom to community-based service projects.

 In each grade, students tackle a variety of service projects, from recycling and composting to gardening and raising trout. These projects improve the school’s local community habitat and increase student engagement.

Reading Senior High School

Reading Senior High School [Berks County], a school serving 96% minority and 86% economically disadvantaged students, has reduced its GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions and increased its energy efficiency by replacing boilers, added new doors and windows with improved insulation, and updated its HVAC system to increase energy efficiency to 90%.

To date, RHS has replaced 397 incandescent fixtures with LEDs in the hallways, gym, cafe, and exterior of the school.

RHS has improved its water quality, efficiency, and conservation by testing annually for toxins, replacing older toilets with water efficient models, and installing water bottle refill stations.

They reduce waste by collecting food scraps and hazardous materials such as light bulbs, batteries, and metals.

 RHS teachers and students transformed an interior courtyard into an outdoor classroom with pollinator gardens, raised beds, compost bin, pond, and art murals.

RHS offers health and wellness support to students and families by having certified school nurses, social workers, and guidance counselors on staff, and by partnering with outside organizations for substance abuse, mental health, and reproductive health services.

Students learn about environmental issues and solutions through various subjects, such as English, history, biology and environmental science.

RHS uses the outdoor classroom and the 19-acre campus’ certified arboretum as learning spaces for students to explore nature and ecology.

Students engage in STEM activities such as water quality testing, explorations of invasive species, “Trout in the Classroom” (where they raise and release trout in a nearby stream), and they manage the school greenhouse from seed germination to plant sales.

Students designed outdoor furniture, which was then built by CTE students for the courtyard, and participate in clubs, field trips, and internships related to sustainability.

Click Here for complete list of Green Ribbon Schools.

For more information, visit the US Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools and PA Department of Education’s Pathways to Green Schools Initiative webpages.

(Photos: Rowan Elementary School, Cranberry Township, Butler County; Green Woods Charter School, Philadelphia; and Reading Senior High School, Reading, Berks County.)

NewsClip - Green Ribbon Schools:

-- Post-Gazette: Rowan Elementary School Designated As Green Ribbon School

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[Posted: April 27, 2024]

4/29/2024