Today’s students will inherit the awesome task of competing in a global economy while dealing with resource and energy shortages and creating solutions for climate change.
It is the responsibility of the nation’s public schools to prepare our children well and give them the strong civic and academic foundation, as well as the occupational skills and environmental literacy, they will need. To succeed despite the current budgetary woes, we must invest, not disinvest, in a well-rounded, well-supported education and in school buildings that are healthy, high-performing, sustainable, well-lit, well-ventilated and safe.
Aside from providing a huge health benefit to students and staff, constructing, renovating and maintaining sustainable school buildings are key components to an overall plan to create “green collar” jobs that will put Americans to work and give our economy a sorely needed boost.
As we start a new school year, the BlueGreen Alliance today released its “Policy on Green Schools and Environmental Education” to provide a blueprint for Congress as it works to make education a priority through reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This set of policy principles focuses on the short- and long-term benefits that can be achieved by greening our school facilities and educating our kids about their environment.
The labor and environmental groups that make up the BlueGreen Alliance believe that building truly green schools involves more than renovating and updating school facilities. We must stop narrowing the curriculum to simply those subjects tested by standardized tests, and instead renovate it to ensure that students are taught an appreciation for the environment, along with the knowledge and skills they will need as part of the 21st-century workforce.
The green approach is working in places like award-winning West Philadelphia High School’s Automotive Academy, where students apply their math and science lessons to build solar-powered cars from the ground up, and the Rosa Parks School in Portland, Ore., a LEED Gold-certified green school, where the improved air quality has resulted in better attendance and fewer sick days for staff and students.
The policies that will help achieve this broad vision of green schools include:
Green and Healthy School Facilities.
Not only are green school buildings the best learning environments, they are a great long-term financial investment. On average, green school facilities save $100,000 a year in maintenance costs—enough to hire two new teachers, buy 200 more computers or purchase 5,000 textbooks.
- The administration and Congress should support the Green Ribbon Schools program proposed by the Department of Education to set a high benchmark for school greening.
- Congress should provide grants to state and local education agencies to renovate schools to enhance energy efficiency, remove toxic chemicals and improve indoor air quality.
- The administration and Congress should provide grants for modernization and construction of school facilities designated to receive Impact Aid funding—aid for school districts that include federal lands in their boundaries that aren’t part of the tax rolls—prioritizing projects that enhance efficiency, air quality and water conservation, and use sustainable building materials.
- The administration and Congress should provide financial support for school building construction or renovation to schools on or near American Indian reservations and Indian land trusts.
Environmental Education as Part of a Rich Curriculum.
Fiscal crises in the states and an emphasis on standardized test scores have led many schools and districts to jettison subjects such as music, art and outdoor education. To be globally competitive, our children must be exposed to a broad and rich curriculum that:
- Incorporates a strong STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program with a good environmental focus.
- Educates kids about the consequences of climate change, how we can adapt, and what action we can take to mitigate it.
- Encourages participation in outdoor learning programs. A study by the California Department of Education shows that participation in outdoor experiential learning leads to significant improvements in science test scores and classroom behavior.
- Teaches the concept of sustainability in terms of our environmental, economic and occupational health goals grounded in the principles of social justice.
Mutual Responsibility for Ensuring Our Students’ Success.
Accountability is a word often used today, but responsibility for what happens in our public schools must extend to parents, principals, administrators and communities—in addition, of course, to teachers and students. All of us have a role to play in ensuring that students and staff work and learn in a healthy environment; that staff are qualified and are provided a rich curriculum, adequate resources and time to teach; and that measuring the effectiveness of the delivery of education take into account all the factors that affect student achievement.
Further, the report suggests schools should provide more opportunities to explore the vocational and technical careers that will address the need for “green collar” workers in the 21st century.
Jobs21!, coordinated by the BlueGreen Alliance, is a national grass-roots campaign for good jobs in the 21st-century economy. By having our children attend green schools—preparing them with occupational skills and environmental education, in a safe and healthy school environment—we are preparing the next generation to be competitive in a cleaner, more efficient global economy.
Randi Weingarten is the president of the 1.5 million-member American Federation of Teachers, committed to improving schools, hospitals and public institutions for children, families and communities.