US ED Announces First Round of Green Ribbon School Recipients
This morning at 10:30 a.m. EST, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, and Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley will announce the first winners of the ED Green Ribbon Schools recognition awards. The announcement will take place at Stoddert Elementary School in Washington, D.C., but don’t worry if you can’t make it in person: US ED will be streaming the broadcast live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/education-department
~~~~~ Post Announcement Update ~~~~~
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) Green Ribbon Schools program is intended to recognize schools that save energy, reduce costs, feature environmentally sustainable learning spaces, protect health, foster wellness, and offer environmental education to boost academic achievement and community engagement. At such schools, staff, students, officials and communities have worked together to produce energy efficient, sustainable and healthy school environments and to ensure the sustainability and environmental literacy of graduates.
Over 350 schools completed and submitted applications for the inaugural year of ED Green Ribbon Schools. From these applications, 30 states, Washington, DC and the Bureau of Indian Education selected and submitted 98 nominations packets to the Department of Education. From these nominations, 78 schools were selected as the first winners of the US Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools recognition award. Impressively, nearly 50% of the nominations received represented the efforts of schools with a high percentage of students from disadvantaged backgrounds (eligible for free/reduced price lunch, limited English proficiency, etc). These schools show that green alternatives are an option for every school in our nation.
… And the first-ever Chesapeake Bay watershed state winners of the US Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Program are:
| Chesapeake Bay Watershed State Green Ribbon School Winners | ||
|---|---|---|
| State: | School Name | School Location |
| Maryland | Dunloggin Middle School | Ellicott City, MD |
| Maryland | Francis Scott Key Middle School | Silver Spring, MD |
| Maryland | Folger McKinsey Elementary School | Severna Park, MD |
| Maryland | Lucy School | Middletown, MD |
| New York | Hampton Bays Middle School | Hampton Bays, NY |
| New York | Sleepy Hollow Middle School | Sleepy Hollow, NY |
| New York | Bethlehem Central Middle School | Delmar, NY |
| Pennsylvania | Radnor Middle School | Wayne, PA |
| Pennsylvania | Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School | Chambersburg, PA |
| Pennsylvania | A.W. Beattie Career Center | Allison Park, PA |
| Pennsylvania | Springside Chestnut Hill Academy | Philadelphia, PA |
| Virginia | Fishburn Park Elementary School | Roanoke, VA |
| Virginia | The Gereau Center for Applied Technology & Career Exploration | Rocky Mount, VA |
| Washington, DC | Stoddert Elementary School | Washington, DC |
| Washington, DC | Sidwell Friends Middle School | Washington, DC |
| West Virginia | Hilltop Elementary School | Wheeling, WV |
| West Virginia | Wyoming County Career & Technical Center | Pineville, WV |
| For the complete list of US ED Green Ribbon Schools winners, please refer to the official Department of Education press release. |
State agencies are encouraged to send their intents to submit nominees for the next round of Green Ribbon School recognition awards by June 15, 2012 via email to green.ribbon.schools@ed.gov.