District Administration - October 2012 - (Page 70)

Not Your Grandparents’ Putting Green to Work vocaTional School In Worcester, Mass., meanwhile, the development of Worcester Tech’s Environmental Technology program coincided with the move six years ago of the 104-year-old vocational school to a state-of-the-art, 440,000-square-foot facility, with 1,400 students distributed among 24 different vocational programs. Kyle Brenner, director of career and vocational-technical education at Worcester Tech, says that the new building and its green components became part of the Environmental Technology curriculum. “The concept of green energy came into play in terms of its design, construction materials, energy-efficient insulation and a photovoltaic array on the roof, all of which have made a 20 percent savings on energy usage,” Brenner says. With their surroundings as a point of reference, even students in the more traditional trades have ramped up their understanding of energy conservation, notes Edwin Coughlin, chairman of the school’s General Advisory Board, which consists of representatives from labor unions, business, industry and colleges. “Those in carpentry learn about insulation. In plumbing, they work on efficiencies in water flow. And in electrical, they focus on energy conservation,” Coughlin says, adding that students in the automotive shop work on hybrid vehicles and now use less-toxic water-based products in applying automotive finishes. “These students are given a good exposure [to green practices].” A Greengineering student in Newton schools’ Innovation Lab shows off his custom-built swerve drive for his robot. The drive enables a robot to move in 360 degrees. “There’s a sense of ownership and giving back to their communities.” —Michael Fitzpatrick, superintendent, Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, Upton, Mass. Students also have been exposed to projects in the surrounding community, the most impressive of which was the design and construction from the ground up of a duplex for an organization that creates housing for low-income families. The new house meets the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, an internationally recognized green-building certification system) standards. It also features high-efficiency burners for heat, powered by photovoltaic panels outside the building, and superinsulation. As part of their continuing education, students had to meet with representatives from gas, water and electric utilities. “They had to communicate their needs and questions to those utilities,” Coughlin says. “For example, how do you design windows, 70 October 2012 egresses and even inner doors so if kids leave the back door open, you won’t lose heat.” The 35-student Environmental Technology program also seeks out real-world applications and affiliations. Students tag birds for monitoring by the Massachusetts Wildlife Federation, maintain several trails in conservation lands nearby for the state’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to locate the invasive Asian longhorn beetle. In a similar way, neighboring Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton, Mass., sets a premium on students putting their knowledge to work. They have analyzed the contents of former industrial canals on state lands. They also have conducted energy audits of community and city buildings, research that helped secure grant money for energyefficient renovations. Some students have been paid during the summer for installing solar panels for a local company that manufactures them. “There’s a sense of ownership and giving back to their communities,” says Blackstone Valley’s superintendent, Michael Fitzpatrick, who notes that these endeavors also help students build their electronic portfolios with an eye toward college admissions and scholarships. The Turn to Greengineering Stefano Chinosi, director of the Newton (Mass.) Public Schools’ Innovation Lab, has seen the four-year-old “Greengineering” program he founded grow to more than 400 students this fall. District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - October 2012

District Administration - October 2012
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Facilities
The Democrats and Republicans’ National Education Platforms
District Profile
Administrator Profile
The Challenge of Assessing Project-Based Learning
Why Teaching Civic Engagement Is Essential
Superintendents’ Frustration Grows, but Intangible Rewards Remain High
Not Your Grandparents’ Vocational School
CIO News
Keeping Pace with Technology Innovation
Managing BYOD Effectively
New Products
Noteworthy Books
Professional Opinion
Professional Opinion
Problem Solution
Going Mobile

District Administration - October 2012