Green Schools Award Presentations

School District Award
Irvine Unified School District

The Irvine Unified School District not only passed a resolution to build all future schools to meet high sustainability standards, district representatives traveled to Europe to study green initiatives there. In a short 14 months, they have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars on their utility bills by carefully monitoring electrical, water and gas usage and by implementing behavioral changes throughout the district. At the same time, the district's curriculum coordinator for math and science is spearheading the integration of energy efficiency, water conservation and other district green programs into the curriculum. Irvine Unified's 27,000 students, 38 schools and 2,000 employees are all housed under 2.5 million square feet of roof space, which the district realized was prime territory for solar installations. What started out as a project to install one experimental solar panel on a roof of a middle school and is on its way to becoming the largest solar installation on any school in the United States.

Green Teacher Award
Norma Williamson

As a Spanish Language teacher at La Mirada High School with a personal passion for sustainability, Norma Williamson felt impelled to turn her love for the environment into school-wide awareness. She was instrumental in writing five grant proposals, which were awarded to the school for $70,000. Along with a team of Language Arts, Math, Science and Special Education teachers, she used the money to start two eco-clubs. She also initiated and coordinated the first school-wide Annual Energy & Earth Day Festival, an annual "Bike, Walk to School Day" and many other eco-activities and projects. Recently, under her leadership, La Mirada High applied for and received a California Department of Education grant to implement a Solar Energy Academy, which she coordinates. Norma and her husband live in a solar, energy efficient home, where they charge their zero emissions electric car. They receive a substantial credit each year from their utility company because they generate more electricity than they consume.

Green Building Award
Dublin Unified School District

A small school district in Northern California with only 6,000 students, Dublin USD could well be a leader in school renovation and green building. Located in one of the fastest growing communities in the state, the district realized it had to plan for the future. It envisioned what the world would be like in 15 years and what their students would need to know when they entered that world. Housing students in energy efficient and sustainable buildings, they decided, had to be part of that plan. All district schools have been or are being renovated with green elements, and new construction is being built to high performance standards. A major renovation, the district's high school, is a "live build," being completely renovated while students are still attending. Students are watching their green school being built around them and are actively involved in the project, including videotaping its progress and broadcasting highlights of the building's green features.

Green Industry Award
Wendy Rogers and LPA Inc.

As a Design Principal at LPA Inc., Wendy Rogers works to promote the adoption and execution of green schools in Southern California. During her 22-year career, she has designed more than 50 projects, half of which have achieved awards for design excellence. Her specialty is the integration of design and curriculum within educational spaces. In 2009, she co-authored "The LPA Green School Primer: Lessons in Sustainability." LPA has completed more LEED-certified buildings than any other firm in the state; of their 230 employees, more than 78 percent are LEED accredited professionals. The firm was an early adopter of integrated design solutions, emphasizing that achieving true sustainability means involving the client, architect, designer and construction team from the earliest planning stages of any school project.

Green Culture Award
San Francisco Unified School District

Proving how serious it is about creating a green culture among its more than 150 schools, last year San Francisco Unified School District established the position of Director of Sustainability. The district is focusing on modernizing its existing schools to achieve energy efficiency, but the culture of sustainability is all encompassing - from healthy foods in the cafeterias to green schoolyards to using green cleaners to improve indoor air quality. The district also recently completed a virtual server farm that will replace 60 physical servers with only 9 machines, leading to an 85 percent reduction in IT-related energy use. The city's waste hauler recycles school food waste into compost sold to local farms and wineries. Standards-based lesson plans focused on sustainability, and the creation of school environmental clubs, brings students and the community together, creating a truly green culture for the entire district.

Green Energy Award
New Haven Unified School District

Four years ago, New Haven Unified became the first Alameda County school district with a primarily solar-powered school, when Conley-Caraballo High School's 600 solar panels began producing electricity. The system doubles as a teaching tool, with interactive learning modules designed to help educate students, teachers and the community about the benefits of renewable energy technologies. Installation has also just been completed on a solar-energy systems at Kitayama Elementary School and James Logan High School. The 200-kilowatt systems will supply a significant portion of the energy needs at all the schools and are expected to pay for themselves over time. The local utility, P G & E, will also help defray installation costs with a series of annual rebates. Continuing its efforts to be a leader in environmental consciousness, the district has now embarked on a project to retrofit its entire fleet of 28 school buses to reduce emissions by up to 85 percent and will significantly improve engine efficiency.