The Howard County Public Schools System (HCPSS) has been a strong supporter of Green Schools since it established a partnership with the Alliance to implement the program in 2002. Seven schools participated in the Green Schools Program over the 2005-2006 school year, and eleven were active during the 2006-2007 year:
- Clarksville Middle School
- Cradlerock Middle School
- Elkridge Landing Middle School
- Glenwood Middle School
- Harper’s Choice Middle School
- Homewood Center
- Mount View Middle School
- Murray Hill Middle School
- Oakland Mills High School
- Patapsco Middle School
- River Hill High School
With support from teams of teachers, custodians, administrators, and staff at each school, students were able to accomplish some pretty impressive things, including:
- Giving presentations to faculty and staff, the school board, and the Howard County Council about Green Schools and the importance of saving energy;
- Conducting campaigns to increase home energy efficiency: An estimated 100 HCPSS families took the ENERGY STAR® “Change a Light” pledge to replace one incandescent light bulb with an energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulb;
- Using the Green Schools Tool Kit, a collection of professional energy measurement tools, to investigate energy use – and waste – in their school buildings;
- Creating posters, movies, skits, and commercials to increase school-wide awareness about the importance of saving energy; and
- Writing articles about Green Schools for school newsletters and the Alliance’s Green Schools Gazette student newsletter.
The Alliance would like to thank the HCPSS Department of School Facilities, Educational Foundation of America, and Maryland Energy Administration for their support of the program.
The Montgomery County Public Schools of Rockville, Maryland, fund and administer a program modeled after the Alliance’s Green Schools Program, called SERT (School Eco Response Team) Green Schools. The SERT Green Schools Program promotes efficient and responsible energy use in Montgomery County middle and high schools. The program is implemented by SERT teams of students, teachers, parents, building managers and staff from the principal’s office. School teams implement energy saving strategies to earn quarterly awards as a percentage of their savings. For more information, please visit the Green Schools Focus website.