I’m writing a series of blog posts to document my learning about green schools; work that I have landed in over the last three years. Please follow along with my journey and share where you are in the environmental sustainability movement. 

Thanks to our district’s participation in the Green Schools National Network, I am proud to share that I contributed a chapter to a book coming out soon: Trailblazers for Whole School Sustainability: Case Studies of Educators in Action, available for preorder on Amazon now. I asked Santa to pre-order me a copy to have and it arrived just after Christmas!

My journey with this collection began at a writing workshop in Portland in February 2020. I believe that was the last plane trip I took before the pandemic shut everything down. I remember we were beginning to be concerned because Portland, close to Washington, was already reporting more cases of COVID than San Diego, where we had none until mid-March.  But all that was just a flicker in the background as a group of educators got together to brainstorm our case studies, and how we might share our school or district’s green work with other educators.  I was passionate about this because I love writing. Even more important was the idea of sharing where to begin and what this work looks like in various settings for educators new to green initiatives.

Before I joined the Encinitas Union School District (EUSD), none of the previous districts where I worked were tackling green initiatives in a focused and sustainable (pun intended!) way.  Once I saw all of the incredible work EUSD had been doing for years, I knew it was critical to spread the word and share with others.  Until you see some of this in action, you can’t even imagine how to begin, what it might look like, or the positive impacts you can have on students, learning and your community in addition to our climate.

The chapter I wrote is a description of EUSD, where Environmental Stewardship is one of our four district pillars and a continual focus area. I detail the green initiatives that are foundational in all of our schools, while highlighting each of our schools’ unique brands. I also discuss site and district leadership, and the considerations for starting and sustaining such a large initiative. I encourage educators to order a copy of this book for their own schools, teams, leaders and community partners.  Each case study has something different to teach school leaders, all of whom may be at different steps in their own green school journey.  Consider reaching out to the Green Schools National Network to join a supportive group of like-minded colleagues who want to work alongside you.

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Did you know that I also wrote an entire book?  The Coach ADVenture: Building Powerful Instructional Skills That Impact Learning is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I love interacting with readers via Twitter and my hashtag #CoachADV.