BVSD’s second annual Earth Day edition of the Superintendent’s Honor Roll took place at the April 26 board meeting.The following groups and individuals have, according to BVSD Sustainability Coordinator Ghita Carroll, made outstanding contributions toward meeting BVSD’s goals as outlined in the BVSD Sustainability Management System or "SMS."
The SMS is broken into four categories, Education (which includes curricular and extracurricular), Transportation, Material Flows and Buildings (which includes construction and operations).
Education
Dr. Samantha Messier, all members of the Student Accountability Advisory Committee, and Casey Middle School Teachers Val Wheeler, Molly Hoverstock, Ian Schwartz and Joyce Pierpont were honored.
Dr. Messier was recognized for her leadership to incorporate sustainability into district’s standards and for her role as the co-chair of the BVSD Sustainability Education Task Force.
SAAC was honored for their work to create and implement BVSD’s first green month challenge, a competition between high schools to reduce energy use. Seven schools became actively involved and five of the seven participating schools were able to reduce electricity on a per square foot basis! Thanks to SAAC for laying the groundwork for a competition which we hope will become an annual BVSD tradition.
Val Wheeler, Molly Hoverstock, Ian Schwartz and Joyce Pierpont were honored because of their work and coordination with the Casey Eco Portrait project. They voluntarily spent their time working with a group of students on an enhancement of what started as a class project to investigate the relationship between people and nature in Boulder through the lens of four elements: earth, fire, wind and water.
Transportation
BVSD “TO School Program and GObyBus-Schoolpool” Coordinator Peter Hurst was honored.
Peter was honored for what Ghita writes are, “…his tireless efforts with the GobyBus/Schoolpool program, including the very successful trip tracker program and the pilot RTD program.”
Materials
The Fairview Net Zero Club, Fairview High School Head Custodian Kyle Engel and Alliance Partnership and Outstanding Parent Beth Stade were honored.
Fairview’s Net Zero Club and Kyle Engel were selected for this recognition because of their work and dedication to significantly expanding recycling and reducing waste at Fairview High School. This group was also selected as one of ten in the nation to receive the Environmental Protection Agency’s Youth Award this year.
Beth Stade, a parent volunteer at BCSIS and High Peaks elementary schools, was honored because of what Ghita described as an, “…amazing amount of work to raise money for, and implement an outdoor classroom at the schools.”
This classroom has been a partnership among BVSD, the City of Boulder and Great Outdoors Colorado. Enhancing these partnerships is an important component of the SMS.
Buildings and Operations
BVSD Assistant Superintendent of Operations Joe Sleeper was honored.
Joe is selected for his unwavering support of BVSD’s sustainability program, without which, none of the district’s efforts in this area would have been possible.
Joe has provided his guidance, leadership and years of experience within the district to help shape this program. It began as a new effort for BVSD three years ago. Under Joe’s supervision, the district has stepped into a leadership role and now receives national recognition and accolades in the area of sustainability.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The first annual “Earth Day recognition for the Superintendent’s Honor Roll” were honored at the April 27 board meeting. The following groups and individuals have, according to BVSD Sustainability Coordinator Ghita Carroll, made outstanding contributions toward meeting BVSD’s goals as outlined in the BVSD Sustainability Management System or SMS.
The SMS is broken into four categories, Education, Buildings, Transportation and Material Flows. Students and staff district wide have been making changes big and small to help green our operations and curriculum.
In the Education category, we honored New Vista High School’s Earth Task Force made up of: Students: Kelly Muller, Zander Deetz, Aleyna Porreca, Aaron Fox, Marissa Bramlett and Malcolm Marshall. Teachers: Paige Doughty, Kate Hartman and Andy Stephens
The Earth Task Force is a group of dedicated students and teachers who have spent the past year creating a comprehensive sustainability campaign at New Vista. The school was selected as a pilot by BVSD, and this group has gone above and beyond all expectations in their efforts. Some of their activities included: hosting “eat local” and “lights out” lunches; creating an “Alternative April” bike, bus or walk month; and raising money to install solar panels on the school (to name just few activities).
Also in the Education category, Crest View Teacher Cindy Monnet was honored for her creation of “green curricula.” Ghita writes that Cindy is, “a stand-out teacher who has brought renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other environmental concepts to life in her classroom through her enthusiasm for teaching and her collaboration with the University of Colorado’s Teach for Sustainability.”
Another Crest View Elementary teacher who was recognized was David Mohseni who served as the sponsor teacher for Eco-Cycle’s Waste-Free Lunch Contest three different years, first at BCSIS and now at Crest View Elementary, facilitating up to a 95 percent lunchtime waste reduction at those schools.
Flatirons Elementary Teacher Mike Strife was also recognized for his integration of concepts of sustainability within his lesson plans and his leadership in CU’s Teach for Sustainability program.
In the Buildings category, Jesse McCoppin of BVSD IT was recognized for his successful implementation of new IT power management software, which will power down all district computers when not in use, savings tens of thousands of dollars for BVSD in decreased energy costs.
Next in the Buildings category was Lou Novak, Bond Project Manager for the new Casey Middle School. Lou was acknowledged for his leadership in the construction of what will be BVSD’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified school, making it one of the greenest school buildings in the nation.
In the Material Flows category, Matt Stewart, BVSD Warehouse Manager, was recognized for his many greenBVSD efforts around reuse and recycling. Thanks to Matt’s time and dedication, BVSD has been able to reuse and recycle the majority of the furniture coming out of the schools for replacement. He has also helped reduce the amount of non-recyclable items in the warehouse stock.
In the Transportation category, BVSD Alternative Transportation Coordinator Landon Hilliard was honored for his tireless advocacy for biking, walking and busing. His ongoing work has resulted in thousands of BVSD students taking alternative modes of transportation to school.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________