ABSTRACT

What does it take to prepare students, teachers, and school staff to shape a just and sustainable future? In Trailblazers for Whole School Sustainability, you will meet educators and school leaders who are on the front lines of re-imagining school through the lens of sustainability.

This book features inspiring stories from around the country, from urban and rural schools and districts, that highlight best practices and lessons learned from teachers, administrators, and students as they transformed their school communities for a just and sustainable future. These stories are structured around a practical framework that demonstrates how this work allows schools and districts to work smarter, not harder, by integrating sustainability and systems thinking into leadership; curriculum and instruction; culture and climate; and facilities and operations.

While each school and district’s story in this book is different, the passion that drives each one to embrace sustainability in everything they do, from operations to curriculum, remains the same. Trailblazers for Whole School Sustainability shows what is possible when educators resolve to blaze a trail to re-imagine K-12 education for a just and sustainable future.

part Section 1|65 pages

Leadership

chapter |16 pages

The Philadelphia Sustainability Story

Drivers for a Large Urban Public School District's Sustainability Plan

chapter 3|14 pages

Teaching Our Cities

Place-Based Education in an Urban Environment

part Section 2|69 pages

Curriculum and Instruction

chapter 5|17 pages

Places, Projects, and Problems, Oh My!

An Integrated Approach to Sustainability Curriculum at Prairie Crossing Charter School

chapter 6|16 pages

Planting Seeds for Engaged 21st-Century Citizens

Civic Education through Place-Based Education at The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science

part Section 4|72 pages

Facilities and Operations

chapter 13|16 pages

Discovery Elementary School

A 3D Textbook Comes to Life

chapter 14|19 pages

Waste Not, Want Not

Boulder Valley School District's School Food Project Leads the Way in K-12 Food Waste Reduction

chapter 16|17 pages

From LEED to Leader

Virginia Beach City Public Schools Sets the Bar for Divisionwide Sustainability