Lessons Learned

SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS

By Drew Gieseke | Photos courtesy of Missouri Green Schools

Each year, the U.S. Department of Education recognizes schools, school districts and institutions of higher education for promoting sustainability practices on campus and in lesson plans. Honorees receive the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools recognition award, District Sustainability Award and Postsecondary Sustainability Award in their respective categories.

Two metro area institutions were so recognized in 2022: Town and Country’s Principia School, which was named a 2022 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School, and the University City School District, which was named a 2022 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School District Sustainability Awardee.

“These schools that make the Green Ribbon really catalyze and inspire other schools,” says Lesli Moylan, executive director at the Missouri Environmental Education Association. “Schools at that level are able to mentor other schools just joining the program.”

That association connects and supports educators in the state and oversees the Missouri Green Schools program, which provides schools and school districts with the tools and resources necessary to set and track environmental, health and sustainability education goals. Moylan and her team comanage this program with the U.S. Green Building Council – Missouri Gateway Chapter.

This mission also includes working with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to review Green Ribbon Schools’ nomination packages. Principia and U City’s school district were clear standouts in 2022.

“Principia has done a ton for energy efficiency,” says Moylan of the independent college prep school. “They’ve also created student-led affinity groups to really support kids’ belonging and safety. You can’t achieve academically if you don’t feel safe.”

In addition, Principia’s students and faculty recently restored 42 acres of forest and 6 acres of savanna, creating a biodiverse “island” accessible to students. Teachers use this outdoor space during lessons on science, social studies, language arts and math.

Twenty minutes away, U City’s school district transformed its own facilities and approach to education in recent years. Led by its superintendent, Dr. Sharonica Hardin-Bartley, the district constructed multiple elementary schools certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) guidelines, 25 solar panels and 49,000 square feet of rain gardens for water conservation.

Every school campus includes outdoor labs devoted to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) for multidisciplinary use, and the district also adopted the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model, which monitors and promotes environmental, medical and mental health, as well as racial equity.

“She’s just an awesome, unflinching advocate for racial equity in her schools,” Moylan says of Hardin-Bartley. “The work that they’re doing that led to this award has really flowed from this commitment to students’ joy and well-being.”

From coast to coast, 27 schools, five school districts and four postsecondary institutions were honored for their efforts. Selected schools, school districts and institutions of higher education will be celebrated in Washington, D.C., during a ceremony this fall. ln