Call for Nominations for 2019 Best of Green Schools Awards

By January 18, nominate someone making significant strides toward creating more sustainable schools.

The Center for Green Schools at USGBC is excited to partner again with the Green Schools National Network to co-present the Best of Green Schools 2019.

The Best of Green Schools celebrates the hard work being done—by people, schools, campuses and organizations—to push the green schools movement forward. The 2018 honorees included a policymaker instrumental in establishing a grant program to address deteriorating school facilities and a school district that built a classroom entirely out of recycled sea containers.

If you or someone you know is making significant strides toward creating more sustainable schools, we want to hear from you. You are welcome to submit nominations both for yourself and others.

The call for nominations closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on Fri., January 18, 2019.

Winners will be announced and awards given at the 2019 Green Schools Conference and Expo, to be held April 8–9 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in partnership with IMPACT, the Midwest’s leading event for sustainable development. This annual gathering of the leaders and innovators in the green schools movement is the perfect moment to celebrate the leadership embodied by awardees.

After you submit your nomination, register to attend the conference so you’ll be on hand in Saint Paul to see (or receive!) the awards during the ceremony.

Categories and criteria

  • K–12 School: Recognizing schools that have consistently modeled exemplary green school practices and shared what they have learned with external communities.
  • School System: Recognizing school systems and districts that have created long-term partnerships, demonstrated a commitment to systemic change and shared best practices with external communities.
  • Higher Ed Institution: Recognizing higher education institutions or faculty members who have made a significant contribution to the K–12 green schools movement through partnership, research and/or scholarship.
  • Policy Maker: Recognizing individuals who have demonstrated exemplary efforts in promoting policies at the local, state or federal level that support the necessary systemic change to ensure that all children can attend a green school.
  • Ambassador: Recognizing individuals who have demonstrated exemplary efforts in promoting green schools in K–12 classroom settings and have engaged community organizations to create systemic change to strengthen the green schools movement and create a more sustainable future.
  • Collaborator: Recognizing organizations and governmental agencies that have made substantial contributions in advancing the green schools movement.
  • Student Leader: Recognizing K–12 students who have demonstrated exemplary efforts in promoting improvements to their schools and communities. 
  • Business Leader: Recognizing private sector organizations and individuals who have made substantial contributions in advancing the green schools movement.
  • Transformation: Recognizing investments of time, energy and resources to transform a school, school community, event or policy into an exemplary model for the green schools movement.
  • Moment for the Movement: Recognizing events, initiatives or happenings that significantly advanced the green schools movement.

 

Featured

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    The Arizona Board of Regents recently approved plans for a new residence hall at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., according to a news release. The new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2028 and have the capacity for more than 1,200 students, enforcing a new university expectation that all first-year students live on campus.

  • Houston K–12 District Opens New Elementary School

    The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (Lamar CISD) recently announced the completion of a new elementary school in a western suburb of Houston, Texas, according to a news release. Haygood Elementary School measures in at 110,000 square feet, has the capacity for 854 students, and is the first of three new schools scheduled to be built in the Cross Creek West community.

  • NWEA Report Recommends K–12 Natural Disaster Recovery Strategies

    The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), a K–12 assessment and research organization, recently announced the release of a new playbook for schools and communities recovering from extreme weather events, according to a news release.

  • California K–12 District Completes Elementary School Campus Replacement

    The West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) in Richmond, Calif., recently announced the completion of a replacement campus for Lake Elementary School, according to a news release. The school has capacity for 470 students between Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and sixth grade.