RI’s Greene School Receives U.S. Department of Education Award
Thursday, May 01, 2014
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Acting Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality Mike Boots announced that The Greene School, in West Greenwich, RI is among the 2014 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools award honorees.
The Greene School delivers curriculum through sustainability and environmental subjects. Essential skills and state standards are met through thematic interdisciplinary units called learning expeditions which include projects and final products for authentic audiences. Expedition examples are: Energy of a Revolution, Nature and Society, Food: Local versus Industrial Farming, Water: The Flood of 2010 and its Impact on Families in Rhode Island, Talking Trash: Why is it Waste in the First Place, Sustainable Development in Narragansett Bay. Some student product highlights include Energy Audits and Action Plans and Place Based Geographic Information Systems Development Analyses.
This year seniors are participating in a curriculum on RI and Southern New England coastal history and future, highlighting whales and whaling. The curriculum introduces students to GIS/GPS science and mapping. The final product will be model of the Atlantic coast, with overlays of historical whaling and fishing communities, and of the migration routes of marine mammals and other animals of Southern New England waters. This model will be available to loan to educational institutions in Rhode Island. It will provide a working model of the complex natural history of southern New England’s coastal environment and encourage high quality work by students.
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The U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbons Schools are selected based on three pillars: Pillar I – Reduce environmental impact and costs, Pillar II: Improve the health and wellness of students and staff, Pillar III – Provide effective environmental and sustainability education, incorporating STEM, civic skills and green career pathways. The Greene School has worked diligently to create strong practices in each of these three areas.
Ms. Duncan, the Head of The Greene School said, “We are honored as a learning community to be selected as a 2014 US Department of Education Green Ribbons School. Our school’s mission is to explore the interdependence of human and natural systems. We believe strongly in the work we do to develop citizens and leaders engaged in finding peaceful and sustainable solutions to local and global challenges.”
Forty-eight schools were honored for their exemplary efforts to reduce environmental impact and utility costs, promote better health, and ensure effective environmental education, including civics and green career
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