The Green School

The Green School - Foundation of Education 2 -
A green school is a school that creates a healthy environment conducive to learning, while saving energy, environmental resources, and money.

1. THE GREEN SCHOOL

2. What is Green School? A green school is a school that creates a healthy environment conducive to learning, while saving energy, environmental resources, and money . A green school 1. reduces environmental impacts and costs, 2. improves occupants’ health and performance, and 3. increases environmental and sustainability literacy to be green schools.

3. The terms Green School and Green Education are often used interchangeably. Scholars and laymen alike continuously adopt Green Education and similar terms to describe both formal and informal environmental studies. A simple activity such as introducing children to recycling can also be perceived as Green Education, since it instills awareness in people about the effects of their actions on the Earth and on other people.

4. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREEN SCHOOL Green, healthy, and high-performance schools provide many benefits for students, teachers, parents and the community, including: Protect Health Asthma is the primary cause of poor school attendance, and schools with poor indoor air quality usually have numerous asthma precursors. Schools built with more daylighting, better ventilation, and healthy green building materials, like non-VOC carpets and paints, are healthier for students and staff, and result in fewer sick days. Increase Student Performance A lack of fresh air can reduce student attentiveness. Studies have shown that student test scores can improve up to 20% when kids learn in green classrooms that have more daylighting, improved classroom acoustics, and healthier paints and carpets that don’t release toxic chemicals into the air.

5. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREEN SCHOOL Save Energy, Save Money Operating costs for energy and water in a green school can be reduced by 20% to 40%, directing more funding towards teacher salaries, textbooks, and computers.   Reduce Carbon Emissions Green schools significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Building 34 new green schools in Los Angeles alone would reduce 94,000 tons of CO2 — the equivalent of eliminating more than 15,000 cars from the road every year, or planting more than 280,000 trees.

6. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREEN SCHOOL Reduce Water Usage On average, a green school reduces water usage by 32%. This reduction has direct savings for the building, as well as substantial societal benefits, such as reducing stormwater runoff, and transporting and treating wastewater.   Improve Teacher Retention A green school can reduce teacher turnover by as much as 5%, which improves student learning and school community, and can result in financial savings for the school.  

7. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREEN SCHOOL Improve Daily Attendance Students in green schools are absent less frequently. By reducing absenteeism just 15%, a typical elementary school would save $40,000 to $60,000.   Provide A Unique Educational Opportunity Buildings can become teaching tools and important features of science, math, and environmental curriculum when green features and advanced technology and design in schools are used to excite kids about learning real world applications of green technologies. BPS is committed to using schools and schoolyards as living laboratories

8. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREEN SCHOOL Create Green Jobs Investing in building green schools is an investment in green jobs, including green construction, building product manufacturing, and green architecture . Improve Equity Greening public schools creates an opportunity to improve the health and educational settings for all students, while taking into account students’ diverse identities and needs.

9. A green school is about more than curriculum, more than programming and more than bricks and mortar. It’s a school that supports global sustainability in every way. A green school begins with the future in mind, designing a learning experience for students that will prepare them to lead the world toward a healthier, cleaner, more sustainable future. It’s three pillars are: (1) reduced environmental impact, (2) increased health and well-being, (3) increased environmental and sustainability literacy for all graduates

10. Environmental impact Reducing environmental impact includes reducing energy and water use, cutting back on fossil fuel used in transportation, reducing waste headed to landfill and protecting natural habitats.

11. Health and well-being Protecting student and teacher health includes ensuring a clean and healthy indoor environment in the school, as well as providing programs and services for good nutrition and physical activity. Paying attention to health in schools has an impact on well-being and learning.

12. Environmental and sustainability literacy Teaching students about sustainability and the environment gives them the tools they need to solve the global challenges we face now and in the future. Education that supports this type of literacy includes both curriculum and instructional practices that are interdisciplinary, place-based and rooted in the context that uniquely surrounds each student. This education impacts student understanding and action.

13. REFERENCE: https://bostongreenschools.org/what-is-a-green-school/ Need more help regarding the topic? Email me at [email protected]