Centre Middle School Receives Grant

BY JAMIE MITCHELL

Centre Middle School has been a member of the Alabama PALS Clean Campus Program for a few years, and this summer the school was awarded a three-year grant from the 21st Century Community Learning Center’s afterschool grant program. We are thrilled for CMS to have an extra funding source this year to continue with their commitment to environmental education and programming.

A meeting was recently held by the CMS student leadership council to map out a plan for the 20202021 school year. The group is planning to sponsor campus litter cleanups every other month, in addition to working to increase the amount of waste that is recycled across the campus weekly. Also, the students attending CMS’s 21st Century Community Learning Center program will have the opportunity to participate in a service-learning project and will have an in-person visit and presentation from me later in the school year. As a part of the CCLC program, students will study civic responsibility for the environment and present small group programs to peers about the importance of maintaining a clean campus. They also plan to create small “Clean Teams” to monitor campus cleanups and the effectiveness of their goal to become a litter-free campus.

Congratulations to Centre Middle School on their successful grant application and commitment to a clean campus! Education is a key component to keeping your community clean. If a school near you would like to learn more about the Clean Campus Program, please give me a call or email at 334-263-7737 or jamie@alpals.org, or schools may also find more information at www.alpals.org. As always, the Clean Campus Program is available at no cost to schools thanks to our wonderful corporate sponsors.