Arne Duncan announces 78 Green Ribbon School winners
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was joined today by White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to announce the first-ever U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools, a list including 78 schools that span 29 states and the District of Columbia.
“Science, environmental and outdoor education plays a central role in providing children with a well-rounded education, helping prepare them for the jobs of the future,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools demonstrate compelling examples of the ways schools can help children build real-world skillsets, cut school costs, and provide healthy learning environments.”
The announcement was made during a visit to Stoddert Elementary School, one of D.C.’s two honorees.
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) is a federal recognition program that opened in September 2011. Honored schools exercise a comprehensive approach to creating “green” environments through reducing environmental impact, promoting health, and ensuring a high-quality environmental and outdoor education to prepare students with the 21st century skills and sustainability concepts needed in the growing global economy.
The 78 awarded schools were named winners from among nearly 100 nominees submitted by 30 state education agencies, the District of Columbia and the Bureau of Indian Education. More than 350 schools completed applications to their state education agencies. Among the list of winners are 66 public schools including 8 charters, and 12 private schools composed of 43 elementary, 31 middle and 26 high schools with around 50 percent representing high poverty schools. All 4 of the nominated California schools won.
The winning schools demonstrate incredible diversity and creativity in how they boost achievement through hands-on learning and save energy and resources whether in new or retrofitted buildings. The STAR School in Arizona is the first completely off-the-grid school, teaching in Navajo traditions, while the urban Desmoines Central Campus High School in Iowa is in a retrofitted 1918 Ford factory and uses aviation, welding with recycled scrap metal, and culinary arts with food from its garden as teaching tools. The complete applications of all the winners will eventually be posted on DOE's website so other schools can learn from their examples, and a video series is planned.
The U.S. Department of Education’s “Green Ribbons” are one-year recognition awards. Next year’s competition will open in summer 2012. State agencies are encouraged to send their intents to submit nominees by June 15, 2012 via email to green.ribbon.schools@ed.gov.
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools resources.
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools blogs.
List of the 2012 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools:
Alabama
Munford Elementary School, Munford, Alabama
Winterboro High School, Talladega, Alabama
Arizona
The STAR School, Flagstaff, Arizona
Roadrunner Elementary School, Phoenix, Arizona
Arkansas
Acorn High School, Mena, Arkansas
California
Longfellow Elementary School, Long Beach, California
Environmental Charter High School, Lawndale, California
Grand View Elementary School, Manhattan Beach, California
The Athenian School, Danville, California
Colorado
Flagstone Elementary School, Castle Rock, Colorado
Denver Green School, Denver, Colorado
Wellington Middle School, Wellington, Colorado
District of Columbia
Stoddert Elementary School, Washington, DC
Sidwell Friends Middle School, Washington, DC
Florida
Learning Gate Community School, Lutz, Florida
Pine Jog Elementary School, West Palm Beach, Florida
TERRA Environmental Research Institute, Miami, Florida
Georgia
Springdale Park Elementary School, Atlanta, Georgia
Arabia Mountain High School, Lithonia, Georgia
Savannah Country Day School, Savannah, Georgia
Hawaii
Ewa Makai Middle School, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Hawaii Preparatory Academy, Kamuela, Hawaii
Illinois
Academy for Global Citizenship, Chicago, Illinois
Thomas J. Waters Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois
Prairie Crossing Charter School, Grayslake, Illinois
Iowa
Des Moines Central Campus High School, Des Moines, Iowa
Kansas
Eisenhower High School, Goddard, Kansas
Erie High School, Erie, Kansas
Brookwood Elementary, Leawood, Kansas
Kentucky
Rosa Parks Elementary School, Lexington, Kentucky
Georgetown Middle School, Georgetown, Kentucky
Richardsville Elementary School, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Maryland
Dunloggin Middle School, Ellicott City, Maryland
Francis Scott Key Middle School, Silver Spring, Maryland
Folger McKinsey Elementary School, Severna Park, Maryland
Lucy School, Middletown, Maryland
Michigan
Clarkston High School, Clarkston, Michigan
Detroit Edison Public School Academy, Detroit, Michigan
Minnesota
North Shore Community School, Duluth, Minnesota
Garlough Environmental Magnet School, West St. Paul, Minnesota
Kennedy Community School, Saint Joseph, Minnesota
Missouri
Crossroads College Preparatory School, St. Louis, Missouri
The College School, St. Louis, Missouri
Nebraska
Lothrop Science & Technology Magnet Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Miller Park Elementary, Omaha, Nebraska
New Jersey
Bernards High School, Bernardsville, New Jersey
Midtown Community Elementary School, Neptune, New Jersey
Adler Avenue Middle School, Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey
The Willow School, Gladstone, New Jersey
New York
Hampton Bays Middle School, Hampton Bays, New York
Sleepy Hollow Middle School, Sleepy Hollow, New York
Bethlehem Central Middle School, Delmar, New York
North Carolina
Evergreen Community Charter School, Asheville, North Carolina
American Hebrew Academy, Greensboro, North Carolina
North Dakota (Bureau of Indian Education)
Circle of Nations, Wahpeton, North Dakota
Ohio
Loveland High School, Loveland, Ohio
North Adams Elementary School, Seaman, Ohio
Oregon
Sunnyside Environmental School, Portland, Oregon
Willamina Elementary School, Willamina, Oregon
Gladstone High School, Gladstone, Oregon
Catlin Gable School, Portland, Oregon
Pennsylvania
Radnor Middle School, Wayne, Pennsylvania
Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
A.W. Beattie Career Center, Allison Park, Pennsylvania
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Classical High School, Providence, Rhode Island
Nathan Bishop Middle School, Providence, Rhode Island
Virginia
Fishburn Park Elementary School, Roanoke, Virginia
The Gereau Center for Applied Technology & Career Exploration, Rocky Mount, Virginia
Washington
Tahoma Junior High School, Ravensdale, Washington
Camelot Elementary School, Auburn, Washington
Secondary Academy for Success, Bothell, Washington
The Overlake School, Redmond, Washington
West Virginia
Hilltop Elementary School, Wheeling, West Virginia
Wyoming County Career & Technical Center, Pineville, West Virginia
Wisconsin
Dimensions of Learning Academy, Kenosha, Wisconsin
Middleton High School, Middleton, Wisconsin
Purdy Elementary School, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin