Healthy Schools Campaign Launches Inaugural Green Clean Schools Leadership Summit

Healthy Schools Campaign will host the first annual Green Clean Schools Leadership Summit, July 30-31, in Seattle. The summit is open to school facility managers, green cleaning experts and vendors from across the country interested in making schools healthier places for students and staff to learn and work. The focus of the summit is to envision the future of green cleaning in schools, with presentations from industry leaders who will address the advantages of green cleaning, as well as the common challenges, emerging issues and best practices.

“Through our Green Clean Schools program and our annual Green Cleaning Award for Schools & Universities we’ve been consistently amazed by new and exciting innovations in the green cleaning field,” says Mark Bishop, Healthy Schools Campaign’s vice president of policy. “The first annual Green Clean Schools Leadership Summit is a much-needed opportunity to bring together leaders from across the country to share their knowledge and experiences, tackle common challenges and take green cleaning in schools to the next level — for children’s health and for the environment.”

Each school day, more than 60 million students and staff attend our nation’s schools, representing 20 percent of the American population. Unfortunately, more than half may be exposed to polluted indoor air within their schools. A comprehensive green cleaning program can help reduce these harmful exposures, while at the same time being a cost-effective and efficient practice for facility managers and workers.

The two-day summit, held at the three-time Green Cleaning Award-winning University of Washington – Seattle, will feature the leading voices in green cleaning, including Steve Ashkin, founder and CEO of Sustainability Dashboard Tools and The Ashkin Group; Rachel Gutter, senior vice president of knowledge at the U.S. Green Building Council and director of the Center for Green Schools; founding members of Healthy Schools Campaign’s Green Clean Schools Leadership Council; and several other past winners of the Green Cleaning Award for Schools & Universities.

Discussion topics will include emerging issues in green cleaning, workforce management and training, green floor care and infection control, all with an eye toward the future of green cleaning. Summit attendees will also receive a behind-the-scenes look at the University of Washington’s award-winning green cleaning program led by Gene Woodward, Green Clean Schools Leadership Council member and the university’s director of building services.

To learn more and to register, visit greencleanschools.org/summit.

Featured

  • UTampa Breaks Ground on STEM Academic Facility

    The University of Tampa in Tampa, Fla., recently broke ground on one of its largest academic facilities ever, according to a news release. The Dickey Science Innovation Center will measure 153,000 square feet and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.

  • Wisconsin District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The School District of La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff of two existing schools, according to local news. Funding for the school comes from a $53-million referendum approved in 2024.

  • Massachusetts K–12 District Selects Architect for New Junior High

    Swansea Public Schools in Swansea, Mass., recently announced that it has selected Finegold Alexander Architects to design a new junior high school for the district, according to a news release. The firm will create the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design for Joseph Case Junior High School after a lengthy selection process by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.