Sustainability education is getting a boost at the national level thanks to a federal grant to Eastern Michigan University in partnership with Creative Change. “Buiding Leadership Capacity for Sustainability Education” is an 18-month initiative that will support four districts in three states to implement sustainability education as their central improvement approach. Through the grant, EMU and Creative Change will provide the schools with consulting and technical support as they redesign curriculum to emphasize environmental, economic, and community well-being. Each district will develop a rigorous strategic plan that defines how these instructional efforts will improve student achievement and school-community partnerships.

The participating districts are Proctor, Minnesota; Scarsdale, New York; Somers, New York; and Souhegan, New Hampshire. These schools were selected to participate in the project based on their significant efforts to integrate community-based environmental issues into the curriculum. The Proctor schools, for example, have just erected a wind turbine that will be the centerpiece of curriculum redesign and career awareness focused on renewable energy. Other districts’ efforts focus on sustainable food systems, water quality, environmental justice, and reducing the ecological “footprint” of the school campus.

The project began with a two-day retreat held at Eastern Michigan University December 1st and 2nd. Each district sent to the retreat a Leadership Team consisting of teachers, administrators and a local community partner. The two-day gathering provided teams with training and networking as they began to develop their strategic plans.

As they advance their goals in the months after the retreat, the teams will evaluate gains in student achievement, community involvement, and district leadership. Measuring impacts in these areas is critical to ensuring that the schools’ approaches have a lasting impact on educational quality. To promote their efforts, district teams will disseminate their work to other educators with the aim of increasing awareness of sustainability education as a vehicle for school improvement.
For information, see the project website at http://www.blcse.org