🌐 Denver public schools lead on climate education, green infrastructure, and student engagement.

Over a sustained two-year effort, a group of thirty students within the Denver Public Schools (DPS) district, one of the largest in the nation, convinced the School Board of Education to unanimously adopt a climate policy charging DPS with cutting carbon emissions and becoming a national leader in sustainability.

It was a groundbreaking achievement.

As of 2023, 59 of the nation’s 13,452 school districts have adopted formal climate goals to cut emissions. For the students in Denver, there was no time to wait for the grownups in their district to take the lead on climate action. They were determined to make a difference.

However, channeling student passion and urgency into a strategy that works to sway a massive organization comprised of 207 schools. 92,500 students, 10,177 full-time employees, and 4780 teachers required a shift in tactics.

Under the mentorship of LeeAnn Kittle, Executive Director of Sustainability for Denver Public Schools, the students refined their presentation and communications skills. They delved into school finances and operations. They became highly proficient in the arts of listening and persuasion.

They made their case to principals, community leaders, business leaders, city council members, and even Denver’s mayor. Their successful advocacy gathered 4,000 community signatures in support of their goal.

Then they won.

In April 2022, the Board of Education approved a policy with far-reaching implications. It read:

"DPS shall be a national leader in establishing an organizational culture anchored in sustainability, climate action, and environmental justice in both the conservation of natural resources and in minimizing the carbon footprint of DPS’ practices."

Then, LeeAnn and her team created the climate action plan that today makes DPS a national leader and model for student action, engagement, and ongoing climate education. Carbon reduction initiatives at DPS  now save $5 million annually on a $1 billion annual budget.

LeeAnn joins the podcast to discuss how the school district is advancing climate action, how students are central to the effort, and what it takes for her and her team to move a giant organization toward greater and greater climate heights.

Reilly Loveland Falvey, Associate Director at the New Buildings Institute, also joins the conversation to highlight climate efforts underway at school districts nationwide and how public school students are disrupting "learning as usual" to create a super cool climate future.

Take me to the podcast: Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and all other platforms.

Read the full story.

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Number of the week: 6 Million

That’s the number of students in America attending K-12 schools that use solar power.

Quote of the week:

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Here are five more climate angles on green schools that we find supercool:

Solar Canopies Over School Parking Lots Cut Bills for Low-Income School Families

From Denver to Butte, Montana, school districts use onsite solar to cut their energy bills and do the same for low-income families. The key is renewable energy credits from solar projects, which can amount to hundreds of dollars in annual savings per family. 

Students are Rallying their School Boards Across the U.S. to Accelerate Climate Action

Ithaca just did it in July. Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, San Franciso, and a  few local districts in Minnesota have, too. Across the country, students are honing their organizational, leadership, and communication skills to convince their school boards to decarbonize. Noting the shift in how students activate their communities, one Ithaca teacher categorized it as “the transition from [a] climate doomist mentally that does not foster engagement to a climate optimist.”

Fargo Public Schools Unleash Robots To Mow the Grass

The future is upon us, or at least everyone attending public school in Fargo, North Dakota. Nineteen (soon to be forty-three) electric, self-propelling, automated robots mow the sports fields and other grass areas at high schools, elementary schools, and a school for performing arts school. Whisper-quiet and emissions-free, the robot mowers also require less maintenance than gas-powered mowers.

Steelton, PA Rolls Out Nation’s First Electric, Solar-Powered EV School Bus Fleet

In the heart of Pennsylvania steel country, students are breathing easier; the exhaust from diesel fuels no longer accompanies them to and from school. The Steelton Highspire School District has introduced a new fleet of electric school buses that charge up using energy from a local solar farm.

Schools Go Solar To Close Budget Gaps and Pay Teachers More

The Batesviile School District in Arkansas estimates it will save over $4 million over two decades thanks to its solar power system. The district uses those savings to increase teacher salaries from $30,000 to $40,000 annually, allowing it to retain and attract teachers despite a statewide teacher shortage.

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City Spotlight: Golden, Colorado

Sure, Boulder/Denver is a leading climate tech startup hub, and the region is an epicenter for natural and high-performance foods, including Boulder-based Zeal, a Supercool restaurant favorite; where else can you get a flight of organic cold pressed juice on tap?

And, yes, Colorado has 438 breweries at last count, which slake the thirst of nature-loving hipsters in all sixty-four counties.

But if you want to know, or go, to the place from whence Colorado’s rise to supercool-ness began, head up the Clear Creek Valley on the western edge of Denver and behold Golden, a town of 20,000 residents nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Coors Brewery, the mother of all Colorado breweries, was founded there in 1873. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is headquartered in Golden and opened its doors in 1977. Just down the road, you’ll find the famed Red Rocks Amphitheater.

Here’s what else is Supercool about Golden:

1. Biking and Walking: Golden is among the most outdoorsy towns in one of the most outdoorsy states in the country and is considered a road and mountain biking mecca. Golden goes the extra mile to make biking and walking for everyday commuting and errand running convenient and safe. In 2023, Golden adopted a comprehensive Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan. 

2. Clever Kids: Golden is home to the Colorado School of Mines, an engineering and applied science university with 7,000 students. According to Lumosity, the university has the 4th brainiest students in the country (ahead of Harvard, yo). That’s probably why the university tasked its students with helping to design its solar strategy. 

3. Climate Conscious Professionals: Over 3,000 people work at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), part of the U.S. Department of Energy and the foremost institute dedicated to the research, development, commercialization, and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Notable focus areas include solar, wind, bioenergy, hydrogen and fuel cells, geothermal, and water power. The 327-acre campus in Golden leads by example. Its Research Support Facility (RSF), at 362,055 square feet, is one of the largest zero-energy commercial buildings in the world and acts as a living laboratory for technologies NREL aims to help the private sector commercialize.

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