Kansas Green Ribbon Schools Application Workbook
More Information at: http://www.kansasgreenschools.org/kansas-green-ribbon-schools
Introduction
This workbook contains information about the Green Ribbon Schools nomination process, the questions your school will be asked to respond to in order to be considered for nomination and useful weblinks to help you complete your form. Use this workbook to develop your application for the Green Ribbon Schools award. When you have your nomination form completed, submit your nomination online at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2013KSGRS
For questions, please contact the Kansas State Department of Education Science Coordinator, Matt Krehbiel at: or the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education, Laura Downey at
General Information about the Green Ribbon Schools Nomination Form:
The U.S. Department of Education's Green Ribbon Schools award is intended to recognize those schools taking a comprehensive approach to greening their school. A comprehensive approach incorporates and integrates environmental learning with maximizing positive environmental and health impacts. The award criteria are intended to focus on measurable outcomes wherever possible.
This is a two-step process. The first step is to complete and submit this form to be selected as a state nominee. If your school is subsequently selected, you'll be asked to complete the second step of the process by providing additional information for the nominee package that will be forwarded to the US Department of Education.
Four items are important to keep in mind as you consider applying to become a nominee for a US Department of Education Green Ribbon award:
1) These are ambitious goals and few if any schools are expected to have achieved all three, or perhaps even 100% of any one of the pillars;
2) Schools demonstrating exemplary achievement in all three Pillars will receive the highest ranking;
3) It is important to demonstrate concrete achievement, using quantified measures wherever possible;
4) Be sure to also send supporting documents when they are available to and be sure to clearly identify the school name and supporting documentation you are attaching.
Again, please remember, it is unlikely that any school has achieved the ambitious goals outlined by the US Department of Education and we encourage all schools that are working on greening their schools while greening their curriculum to apply!
APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY CLOSE OF BUSINESS (5pm CST) ON:
JANUARY 10, 2014
School Information
Please tell us about your school:
1. Name of School:
2. School Type: (check all that apply)
Elementary K-5 or 6Elementary K-8
Middle
High
Public
Private
Charter
3. How would you describe your school?
UrbanSuburban
Rural
4.School Type
Pubic
Private/Independent
Charter
Magnet
5. School District Number:
6. School Address:
Address: /Address 2: /
City/Town: /
State:
ZIP: /
Country: /
Phone Number: /
7. Lead Applicant
Name: /Email Address: /
Phone Number: /
7. If the principal is not the contact person on this application please provide the following:
Principal's Name: /Phone Number: /
Email: /
8. Does your school serve 40% or more students from disadvantaged households?
YesNo
9. School Demographics--Approximately what percentage of your school's students qualify for:
School Demographics--Approximately what percentage of your school's students qualify for: Free Lunch: /Reduced Lunch: /
10. Approximately what percentage of students in your school are limited English proficient?
Approximately what percentage of students in your school are limited English proficient? Percentage: /11. Graduation Rate (if appropriate):
Graduation Rate (if appropriate):
12. Attendance Rate:
*
14.What is your total enrollment?
Total School Enrollment: /SUMMARY NARRATIVE: (YOU MAY WANT TO COMPLETE THIS AFTER YOU HAVE COMPLETED ALL OTHER SECTIONS)
Provide an 800 word maximum narrative describing your school’s efforts to reduce environmental impact and costs; improve student and staff health; and provide effective environmental and sustainability education. Focus on unique and innovative practices and partnerships.
2. Is your school participating in a local, state or national school program (Kansas Green Schools, EPA Energy Star Portfolio Manager, etc.) which asks you to benchmark progress in some fashion in any or all of the Pillars?
YesNo
Program(s) and level(s) achieved:
3. Has your school, staff or student body received any awards for facilities, health or environment?
YesNo
Award(s) and year(s):
Pillar 3
PILLAR THREE: III. Effective Environmental and Sustainability Education (35 points total)
• Interdisciplinary learning about the key relationships between dynamic environmental, energy and human systems (20 points);
• Use of the environment and sustainability to develop STEM content knowledge and thinking skills to prepare graduates for the 21st century technology-driven economy (5 points); and
• Development of civic engagement knowledge and skills, and students' application of these to address sustainability and environmental issues in their community (10 points).
There are many pathways to achieving a 100% environmental and sustainability literacy rate. Please answer all of the questions below, and you may supplement this information by also describing alternative benchmarks of progress (see final question).
1. Which practices does your school employ to help ensure effective environmental and sustainability education? Provide specific examples of actions taken for each checked practice, highlighting innovative or unique practices and partnerships.
Our school has an environmental or sustainability literacy requirement.Environmental and sustainability concepts are integrated throughout the curriculum.
Environmental and sustainability concepts are integrated into assessments.
Students evidence high levels of proficiency in these assessments
Professional development in environmental and sustainability education are provided to all teachers.
Specific examples, highlighting innovative or unique practices and partnerships.
RESOURCES: Kansas Environmental Education Standards
Advanced Placement Environmental Science
State Education & Environment Roundtable
Excellence in Environmental Education: Guidelines for Learning (K-12)
Environmental Education Workshops
Kansas Department of Education 21st Century Learning
Framework for K-12 Science Education
Kansas Volunteer Commission, Service Learning
2. For schools serving grades 9-12:
For schools serving grades 9-12: Percentage of last year's eligible graduates who completed the AP Environmental Science course during their high school career: /Percentage scoring a 3 or higher: /
3. How does your school use sustainability and the environment as a context for learning science, technology, engineering and mathematics thinking skills and content knowledge? (200 word max)
RESOURCES: Framework for K-12 Science Education
Kansas Environmental Education Standards
Advanced Placement Environmental Science
State Education & Environment Roundtable
Excellence in Environmental Education: Guidelines for Learning (K-12)
Kansas Department of Education 21st Century Learning
4. How does your school use sustainability and the environment as a context for learning green technologies and career pathways? (200 word max)
RESOURCES: Kansas Department of Education Career and Technical Education
5.Describe students’ civic/community engagement projects integrating environment and sustainability topics. (200 word max)
6. Describe students’ meaningful outdoor learning experiences at every grade level. (200 word max)
7. Describe how outdoor learning is used to teach an array of subjects in contexts, engage the broader community, and develop civic skills. (200 word max)
RESOURCES: Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Outdoor Wildlife Learning Sites
Sample Civics Engagement Assessment Tool
Kansas Green Schools Learning Community Investigation
Kansas Volunteer Commission, Service Learning
8. Describe your partnerships to help your school and other schools achieve in the 3 Pillars. Include both the scope and impact of these partnerships.
RESOURCES: Kansas Green Schools Partners
9. Describe any other ways that your school integrates core environment, sustainability, STEM, green technology and civics into curricula to provide effective environmental and sustainability education, highlighting on innovative or unique practices and partnerships. (Maximum 200 words)
RESOURCES: Kansas Green Schools Learning Community Investigation
10. We are submitting additional supporting photographs and/or video to
YesNo
Pillar Two: Net positive impact on student and staff health
Pillar 2: Improve the health and wellness of students and staff
• An integrated school environmental health program based on an operations and facility-wide environmental management system that considers student, visitor and staff health and safety in all practices related to design, construction, renovation, operations, and maintenance of schools and grounds; and
• High standards of nutrition, fitness, and quantity of quality outdoor time for both students and staff.
1. What is the volume of your annual pesticide use (gal/student/year)?
2. Describe efforts to reduce annual pesticide use, including your school’s Integrated Pest Management efforts, IPM/green certifications earned, routine inspections, pest identification, monitoring, record-keeping, etc.:
RESOURCES: EPA Integrated Pest Management for Schools
Model School Pest Management Policy (Beyond Pesticides)
3. Which of the following practices does your school employ to minimize exposure to hazardous contaminants? Provide specific examples of actions taken for each checked practice.
Our school prohibits smoking on campus and in public school buses.Our school has identified and properly removed sources of elemental mercury and prohibits its purchase and use in the school.
Our school uses fuel burning appliances and has taken steps to protect occupants from carbon monoxide (CO)
Our school does not have any fuel burning combustion appliances
Our school has tested all frequently occupied rooms at or below ground level for radon gas and has fixed and retested all rooms with levels that tested at or above 4 pCi/L OR our school was built with radon resistant construction features and tested to confirm levels below 4 pCi/L.
Our school has identified any wood playground or other structures that contain chromate copper arsenate and has taken steps to eliminate exposure.
Examples of actions taken for each item checked:
:
RESOURCE: EPA Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools
EPA Radon Information
EPA Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools
EPA Mercury and Schools
CDC Guidelines for Schools
4. Describe how your school controls and manages chemicals routinely used in the school to minimize student and staff exposure.
RESOURCES: EPA Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools
EPA School Chemical Clean Out Campaign, EPA Design for the Environment
5. Describe actions your school takes to prevent exposure to asthma triggers in and around the school.
RESOURCE: EPA Managing Asthma in Schools
CDC Tools for Making Your School Asthma-Friendly
6. Describe actions your school takes to control moisture from leaks, condensation, and excess humidity and promptly cleanup mold or removes moldy materials when it is found.
RESOURCE: EPA Mold Remediation for Schools
7. Our school has installed local exhaust systems for major airborne contaminant sources.
YesNo
Describe:
9. Describe actions your school takes to ensure that all classrooms and other spaces are adequately ventilated with outside air, consistent with state or local codes, or national ventilation standards.
RESOURCE: EPA Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools
10. Does your school take any other steps to protect indoor environmental quality such as implementing EPA IAQ Tools for Schools and/or conducting other periodic, comprehensive inspections of the school facility to identify environmental health and safety issues and take corrective action. NOTE: This might include the Kansas Green Schools Investigation: Healthy Schools.
YesNo
Describe:
RESOURCE: EPA Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools
Kansas Green Schools Healthy School Environment Investigation
Pillar Two: Improved Health and Wellness
Nutrition and Fitness
Which practices does your school employ to promote nutrition, physical activity and overall school health? Provide specific examples of actions taken for each checked practice, focusing on innovative or unique practices and partnerships.
1. Our school participates in the USDA's HeathierUS School Challenge.
YesNo
Level and Year:
RESOURCE: USDA HealthierUS Schools
2. Our school participates in a Farm to School program to use local, fresh food.
YesNo
Comments:
RESOURCES: Kansas School Gardens
USDA Farm to School Program
Kansas School Garden Coalition
Kansas Foundation for Ag in the Classroom
Farm to School in Kansas
3. Our school has an on-site food garden.
YesNo
Describe:
RESOURCES: Kansas School Gardens
USDA Farm to School Program
Kansas School Garden Coalition
Kansas Foundation for Ag in the Classroom
4. Our school garden supplies food for our students in the cafeteria, a cooking or garden class or to the community
YesNo
Describe:
RESOURCES: Kansas School Gardens
USDA Farm to School Program
Kansas School Garden Coalition
Kansas Foundation for Ag in the Classroom
5. Our students spent at least 120 minutes per week over the past year in school supervised physical education.
YesNo
Other (please specify)
RESOURCES: The President’s Challenge, The First Lady’s Lets Move Campaign
6. At least 50% of our students' annual physical education takes place outdoors.
YesNo
Other (please specify)/Comments:
7. Health measures are integrated into assessments.
YesNo
Comments:
RESOURCE: Healthy Kansas Schools
8. At least 50% of our students have participated in the EPA's Sunwise (or equivalent program).
YesNo
Comments:
RESOURCE: EPA Sunwise Program
9. Food purchased by our school is certified as "environmentally preferable" (e.g. locally sourced, certified organic, Fair Trade, etc.)
YesNo
Percentage and Type:
RESOURCES: Farm to School in Kansas
10. Describe the type of outdoor education, exercise and recreation available.
RESOURCES: Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Outdoor Wildlife Learning Sites
Kansas Green Schools Learning Community Investigation
11. Describe any other efforts to improve nutrition and fitness, highlighting innovative or unique practices and partnerships.
12.Does your school use a Coordinated School Health approach or other health-related initiatives to address overall school health issues?
YesNo
Describe the health-related initiatives or approaches used by the school::
13.Does your school partner with any postsecondary institutions, businesses, nonprofit organizations, or community groups to support student health and/or safety?
YesNo
Describe the partnerships:
14.Does your school have a school nurse and/or a school-based health center?
YesNo
15.Describe your school’s efforts to support student mental health and school climate (e.g. anti-bullying programs, peer counseling, etc.):
Pillar One
Pillar I. Reduced Environmental Impact and Costs
• Reduced or eliminated greenhouse gas emissions, using an energy audit or emissions inventory and reduction plan, cost-effective energy efficiency improvements, conservation measures, and/or and on-site renewable energy and/or purchase of green power;
• Improved water quality, efficiency, and conservation;
• Reduced solid and hazardous waste production through increased recycling, reduced consumption, and improved management, reduction, or elimination of hazardous waste; and
• Expanded use of alternative transportation, through active promotion of locally-available, energy-efficient options and implementation of alternative transportation supportive projects and policies.
1. Energy: Can your school demonstrate a reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions?