In my continuing journey to document success stories for Greening America’s Schools 2.0, here are four schools that represent the may varieties of schools seeking to become more sustainable: Overlake School, WA; Savannah Country Day School, CA; Montessori de Terra Linda, CA; and New Highland Academy, CA.

Overlake: A Green Ribbon School

In April 2012 The Overlake School, an independent school with 530 students in grades 5-12 in Redmond, Washington near Seattle, was named one of the country’s first Green Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education, just one of 78 nationwide and one of eleven NAIS member schools.  How does one become recognized as a high-performance, environmentally sustainable school?  In the case of Overlake, inspired leadership, consistent hard work, and a systems focus on green facilities, operations and curriculum explain how the school rose to the top of the list.

In two recent talks at the NAIS Green Town Hall in February and at the California Independent Schools Business Officers Association meeting in May, I made the case that greening schools makes sense/cents.  It is increasingly clear that environmentally sustainable, high efficiency, high performance green schools offer a compelling “triple bottom line” that promises to save money, strengthen achievement, and improve health.   Many of NAIS member schools and public schools across the country are demonstrating tangible results from the green efforts.  This article tells some of their stories of success saving significant dollars and highlights these schools: Punahou School; Hawaii Preparatory Academy; Athenian School; Castilleja School; Cate School; Midland School; St. Gregory College Prep; Berkshire School; North Country School; Hotchkiss School; Riverdale School; Lawrenceville School.  See the PowerPoint on Triple Bottom Line on the Experience section of the website.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan yesterday announced the selection of 11 NAIS schools, among a group of 78 nation wide, to receive the first Green Ribbon Schools Award, a very impressive showing. 

The recipients demonstrate best practices to reduce environmental impact, promote health, and ensure a high-quality environmental and outdoor education program.  They were selected from an initial group of over 350 schools that submitted applications to their state education departments.  The NAIS schools named include: The Athenian School,
 Danville, California; Sidwell Friends Middle School,
 Washington, DC;  Savannah Country Day School,
 Savannah, Georgia;  Hawaii Preparatory Academy,
 Kamuela, Hawaii; The College School, St. Louis, Missouri; Crossroads College Preparatory School,
 St. Louis, Missouri;  The Willow School
, Gladstone, New Jersey; American Hebrew Academy,
 Greensboro, North Carolina;  Catlin Gable School,
 Portland, Oregon; Springside Chestnut Hill Academy,
 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and The Overlake School,
 Redmond, Washington. 

Emerald Islands, Ocean Blue:

Hawaii’s Environmental Sustainability Movement

Flying into Hawaii in January for a week of school visits, I was quickly reminded of why this state is in the vanguard of our nation’s environmental sustainability movement.  From the air, Hawaii’s islands appear as emeralds surrounded by fringe collars of white, dotting the vast blue ocean of the Mid-Pacific.  Hawaii is further from the continental landmass than anywhere on earth, and this distance and sense of isolation shapes a consciousness among Hawaiians that their fragile ecosystem is at risk, and that they must take urgent action to protect it.  The islands were first populated over 1500 years ago by wayfaring Polynesians who navigated thousands of miles in long, double-hulled ships, guided only by the sun, the moon, the stars and the currents, a heroic story that is being retold today by Nainoa Thompson, a graduate of the Punahou School.  As the ancient Hawaiian proverb says, “The island is the canoe, the canoe is the island.”