District Administration - June 2009 - (Page 42)

SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS SPECIAL SECTION Business Brings Sustainable Lessons to School By AngeLA pAscopeLLA Students learn about energy efficiency with companion curricula that include hands-on projects. P itsco’s green projects and products, Lexmark’s paper program, and Lutron electronics’ greenovation program are just a few curricular ideas that K12 classrooms are using to help districts save energy and teach students to help save the environment. pitsco designs thousands of products, including kits, teacher guides and tools for the classroom to engage learners, and offers a standards-based K12 curriculum that promotes student success; Lexmark develops, manufactures and supplies printing and imaging solutions; and Lutron designs and manufactures lighting control products. Lutron officials state that the greenovation project, which combines state-ofthe-art classroom lighting with state-correlated energy lessons, can teach a powerful message. The project came about when Lutron installed an energy efficient lighting system in the south Middle school in Arlington Heights, ill., and then tracked the energy usage, according to Ann Feigljohnston, Lutron’s communications project manager. Kim Dyer, a teacher at the school, wanted to know the energy usage so she could discuss sustainable behavior with her students. greenovation grew from there. pitsco developed its green products to foster excitement for steM (science, technology, engineering and math) and sustainable energy. And Lexmark’s sustainability curriculum allows the company to partner with administrators, teachers and students in part to build skills and use science and math to help solve environmental challenges in the real world. “it’s a lot of fun for kids, and it gets 42 June/July 2009 Students of James Novotny’s science and engineering class at Livingston High School present reports and charts on lighting and bulb use (above) and read a light meter (left) as part of Lutron’s Greenovation program. them to think about things they never would have thought about otherwise,” says jessi Monroe, a science teacher at Monte cassino school in tulsa, okla., about pitsco’s Der Wiener roaster, which she uses in her lessons. “it allows them to do hands-on work, which allows them to make more connections as opposed to just reading out of a textbook.” While there is no hard data on the extent of green curricula in K12 schools nationwide, there are signs that environmental programs are gaining ground, according to james elder, director of the campaign for environmental Literacy, which helps advocate for increased federal funding for the environment. congress has a bill, “no child Left inside,” on the table that creates new funding for teacher training in environmental education. For states to access the funds, they must have in place a statewide environmental literacy plan, which only about 10 states have, elder says. some District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - June 2009

District Administration - June 2009
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Stimulus Monitor
District Profile
Admin Profile
Crisis Response
Tech Disruptions
A Deeper Shade of Green
The New School Lunch
Business Brings Sustainable Lessons to School
A Netbook for Every Student
Vision Videos Empower Students
New Books
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Problem Solution
Online Edge

District Administration - June 2009