Issues > July/August 2006 (#115) > The Top 10 Green Schools in the U.S.: 2006

The Top 10 Green Schools in the U.S.: 2006

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In the school's vegetable garden, children plant seeds in the spring to harvest when they return to school. First-grade teacher Sandra Nutt notes that her kids "went with carrots, squash, things they could pick when they came back from the summer." Other activities in Nutt's class include map reading and finding directions, scavenger hunts and writing poetry about their walks in the woods.

As for the curriculum, "We feel one of the biggest strands we need should be water use and abuse, preservation of wetlands, et cetera," principal Sue Masterson says. "At each grade level, there is a project-based learning activity that focuses on water." For example, Masterson notes, "We have the pre-K and kindergarten kids growing plants using different water—fresh water, salt water, contaminated water [with dish soap, bubble bath and cream rinse, all personal care products that go down the drain and can end up in streams]—to see the impact on individual plants." Meanwhile, the first and second graders are developing bee and butterfly habitats to help the fruit tree orchard proposed by the fifth graders.

"To save energy, we ventilate properly, but not excessively," building and grounds superintendent Brad Dryer notes, adding that he turns down the heat when the school isn't occupied, and has installed motion detectors on the lights in hallways and bathrooms to reduce consumption. All of these steps are part of a larger program the town of Washburn has undertaken to model itself after aspects of three successful green communities in Sweden: Orsa, Övertorneå and Falkenberg. So the lessons the kids learn in school will help them take their places in this forward-looking town.

10) 10th Place (tie): One World Montessori (private), San Jose, CA; Score: 49.6
One World's commitment to the environment starts at the name and extends to a curriculum that, head of school Rebecca Keith says, "reveals to the students how all living beings are interdependent and that we rely on the earth to provide for all our needs." Following the practical approach emphasized in Montessori schools, kids plant and grow vegetables in the garden and then prepare their own foods. Keeping this focus on healthier foods, the non-profit private school provides organic snacks made from local ingredients, while prohibiting vending machines. But their environmental commitment goes beyond nutrition. One World considers product life cycles, recyclability, energy and water use and toxicity before any purchases. Highlighting this concern on toxicity, the school uses integrated pest management indoors and out to eliminate pesticide use and employs Green Seal-certified green cleaners.

"I've been really impressed with the amount of knowledge children come home with about the environment and the earth," Tricia Jiang, mother of five-year-old Capriana and three-year-old Trenton, says. "The curriculum is based on timelines, they see how long the earth, plants, animals and people have been around. They chart the evolution of species, noting those with short existences and those with longer runs. They look at the whole food chain and the specialization of teeth and bodies for eating." Jiang adds that the kids are "eating all natural foods—fruit, whole wheat bread—and that the parents are encouraged not to send junk food. From a very early age, the kids participate in creating foods, slicing and dicing."

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