Resources

This report offers a side-by-side comparison of of each state’s legislation and program features, including dollars invested, type of allocation, purpose and intent of each, and percentage of schools impacted.

An executive summary of the Adequate & Equitable U.S. PK-12 Infrastructure: Priority Actions for Systemic Reform report.

State policy places an integral role in determining both the mechanisms and funding levels for construction, renovation, and repair of school facilities. Through policy review and notes from a 2017 convening in Atlanta, this report discusses a unique schools funding mechanism in Georgia: the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (E-SPLOST).

State legislators have powerful opportunities to promote healthy, high-performing schools through legislative activities and innovative community partnerships. This resources offers a menu of legislative options for green schools.

The Green Classroom Professional Certificate program provides pre K-12 educators and school staff with the knowledge to identify what supports or impedes healthy, resource-efficient and environmentally sustainable learning spaces.

The Global Coalition for Green Schools creates a powerful global force for ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn in a green school within this generation. It seeks to amplify the voices of the many national coalitions around the world who work tirelessly to make their schools healthy, safe and efficient.

In the 2016 State of Our Schools report we compile and analyze the best available school district data about U.S. K–12 public school facilities funding. The report projects that going forward our nation will under-invest in school buildings by $46 billion annually.

Earn continuing education hours by reading this report on [email protected].

The U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) recognition award honors schools, districts, and Institutions of Higher Education that are leading the way in the green schools movement. This resources offers an overview of the award and application process, as well as resource recommendations to get started.

In June 2013, the Center for Green Schools at USGBC and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt brought together stakeholders from academic, corporate, and nonprofit sectors to envision a future where our schools support thriving, healthy, and regenerative communities. Participants agreed on a shared vision where all students graduate educated for a sustainable future through the integration of the environment, economy, and equity, with the ability to apply systems thinking to problem solving and decision making by 2040. Fifteen subject matter experts undertook the task of recommending key actions that, collectively, outline a pathway to achieve our ambitious goal. This National Action Plan for Educating for Sustainability intends to propel efforts to affect policies and practices through collaboration, alignment, and large-scale implementation.

Earn continuing education hours by reading this action plan report on [email protected].

"Powering Down: Behavior-Based Energy Conservation in K-12 Schools," follows the experiences of five public schools that have reduced electricity use by an astonishing 20 to 37 percent through behavior-based strategies alone. The paper, which was written with lead author Kate Crosby, looks to these schools as models for others and examines common strategies for every school to reduce its energy usage.

Earn continuing education hours by reading this report on [email protected].

Lutz, FL
LEED Platinum

Philadelphia, PA
LEED Certified

Lincolnshire, IL
LEED Gold

Listen to the web training (7 minutes and 30 seconds)
Download the Water Management Companion Guide

This module will help you to begin planning a water management program for your school or school district.

Contributors: Nikolai Kaestner of San Francisco Unified School District and Jeff Haberstroh of Boerne Independent School District

Listen to the web training (7 minutes and 30 seconds)
Download the Green Cleaning Companion Guide

This module will help you to begin planning a green cleaning program for your school or school district.

Contributors: Dianne Jones of Montgomery County Public Schools, Carol Stroup of Hillsboro School District and Nikolai Kaestner of San Francisco Unified School District

View Tools to Green Existing Schools (8 minutes and 30 seconds)

This module identifies and explains free tools to assist in greening schools, including ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, the Green Existing Schools Toolkit, and the LEED certification process.

Contributor: Suzanne Hearther, consultant with Pasco County Schools

Listen to the web training (9 minutes)
Download the Indoor Environmental Quality Companion Guide

This module will help you begin planning a program to promote indoor environmental quality at your school or school district.

Contributors: Brian Kasher of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Tiffany Delcour of the Recovery School District of Louisiana

Listen to the web training (6 minutes)
Download the Groundskeeping Companion Guide

The focus of this training module is to outline a process for developing and implementing an effective green groundskeeping program at your school or school district.

The Green Schools Investment Guide for Healthy, Efficient and Inspiring Learning Spaces is a free downloadable resource for K-12 schools and communities that demonstrates how schools can implement healthy and resource-efficient building improvements. The guide is the first product of a joint initiative of Architecture for Humanity and the Center for Green Schools.

Earn continuing education hours by reading this guide on [email protected].

This guide will help K-12 administrators, teachers, parents, and students interested in pursuing LEED to understand the importance of healthy indoor air, how it manifests in schools, and actions that can be taken. It includes an interactive case study of Learning Gate Community School and an interactive web module.

This guide is intended for K-12 administrators and teaching staff, as well as building professionals working on K-12 projects – or for individuals who educate these audiences. Using Learning Gate Community School as a case example of how to harness a LEED-certified building as a teaching tool, the guide includes short- and long-format case studies and a professional development workshop, complete with a presentation.

Outlines a national action plan that mayors and local leaders can use as a framework to develop and implement green schools initiatives. The report also provides a comprehensive review of the benefits of green schools; a summary of local, state and federal policy solutions; leadership profiles of green school advocates; and case studies from both large cities and small communities. Together, these resources serve as a roadmap on the journey to green schools.

Focuses on the O&M best practices and sustainable policies addressed by the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance rating system.