Today’s kindergarteners will face a much different world when they reach high school in 2030. So how do we teach science and civic duty for the next decade when we’re worrying about next year, next month, and tomorrow?
After being concerned about these issues for a long time, our school found a new way to improve its classrooms and teach positive values at the same time. Green Building Alliance kindled this optimism at my school with its Green & Healthy Schools Academy.
GBA led my teachers and staff through training that inspired us to take creative action, and now our school culture is changing to value strategic planning and collective efforts that can preemptively improve the district’s health. While we used to think that sustainability was just about things like LED light bulbs, we now realize it is also about the health of our community.
In 2019, we held our first Wellness Day in the school gym. Students stood next to teachers, who joined in with cleaning and administrative staff alike. We exercised, ate healthy lunches, and listened to each other. Today, we have five teacher cohorts working on people-led projects related to recycling, classroom improvements, and mindfulness curriculum. We are excited that our entire faculty at the Emily Brittain Community Partnership and Demonstration School is currently participating in the program and already positively impacting the school environment and culture.
You can bring these types of changes to your neighborhood school as well! When you donate to GBA, you provide a teacher with the opportunity to learn about environmental and social optimism by creating healthy schools and communities.
Join together with other educators to inspire this hope in the next generation: invest in teacher training through the Green & Healthy Schools Academy and/or ask your child’s teacher to bring this training to your school.
– If you give $60 dollars today, you can train a teacher to create healthy and high-performing schools.
– If you give $100 dollars, you can bring these projects to life in your neighborhood.
Our kindergartners don’t have to enter the next decade in fear. Together, we can build healthier, sustainable schools with hope for the future.
Sincerely,
Brian White
Past GHSA Participant
Superintendent, Butler Area School District
