Illinois Schools Sign Compact to Focus Green Efforts
A voluntary compact authored by the Illinois Lieutenant Governor’s office has elementary and secondary schools around Chicago putting their environmental priorities down on paper. Students, teachers, and administrators from the first six schools signed the compact at a ceremony hosted by Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn in January.
Modeled after the Illinois Sustainable University Compact, which began in 2006, the new Illinois Sustainable Schools Compact sets out 12 achievable sustainability objectives for elementary and secondary schools. These goals focus on conserving energy, encouraging recycling, and practicing natural landscape techniques (including minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers, following a conservative watering schedule, using rain barrels, and planting drought-resistant native species). For complete list of the goals in the compact, click here (PDF).
Interestingly, four of the 12 goals put forward in the Illinois Sustainable Schools Compact are aimed at curriculum; rather than simply focus on greening the schools’ physical plant and operations, the compact calls for students to learn the concepts of environmental sustainability in deeper way. These curriculum goals call for the introduction of environmental studies in the classroom and promoting green awareness through community service projects, field trips, and environmental club activities. One of the goals suggests that students, teachers, and staff work together to create a rain garden on school property.
As an environmentalist and a parent, I think this kind of iniative is great to see. First, it sets some concrete objectives for school administrators who may be wondering which direction to go when implementing a green agenda. In the bureaucratic environment of school administration, having so many choices of direction can lead to paralysis. This compact provides a concrete framework to help schools prioritize many of the good ideas that may come from students, parents, faculty, and staff members wanting to see their school reduce its ecological footprint.
Second, even though school participation in the compact is completely voluntary, it puts the topic on the table, in a simple and straightforward way. It allows schools to benchmark their progress on a number of fronts against a statewide standard. In this era of school “accountability” it gives administrators a chance to see how they measure up against other schools on the issue of sustainability. Right now, simply signing the compact is a feature that may distinguish one school from another in the minds of parents choosing the right school for their children. But down the road, parents will be able to ask school officials, “How many of the Illinois Sustainable Schools Compact goals has your school met?” It could be a powerful tool for measuring school performance in arenas that often get a lot of lip service but not much in the way of quantifiable evidence.
Finally, I think it’s vitally important that the teaching of environmental awareness become part of every school’s core curriculum. Children won’t have the framework to understand the challenges of climate change, water conservation, and renewable energy (to name just three global problems that society will have to confront in the coming decades) if these concepts aren’t addressed from an early age. If the next generation of scientists, engineers, activists, entrepreneurs, and educators receives a good grounding in environmental issues, they will be more likely to see the ecological problems facing humanity as intriguing challenges upon which they can base the work of a career. The sooner we can get the creative minds of tomorrow engaged in addressing the environmental challenges facing humanity, the better.
Hopefully, Illinois schools’ goal-oriented commitments to operate sustainably and teach students why such change is necessary will catch on in school systems around the U.S., and around the world. The earlier we expose all young people to the complex, unseen ecological costs of modern society, the sooner it will be possible to form the kind of political consensus that must accompany the truly transformative change it will take to create a more sustainable economy.
Further reading:
News story on Sustainable Universities Compact - DailyIllini.com
Sustainable Universities Compact - Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn
Photo credit: Standing Up for Illinois
It makes me proud to see this initiative in my home state.
Do you know how much traction it’s getting beyond the initial six schools who signed?