Abstract
Sustainability practices that lead to greener schools are often overlooked in leadership preparation programs and in school improvement efforts. An urban middle school principal recognizes the potential to build community, foster a healthy learning environment, and redefine her school through focusing on sustainability practices in a collaborative manner.
Case Narrative
Principal Janice Jones squinted in the sun and waved at the students as the last school bus gunned its engine and left the school grounds. She turned toward the school and glanced at her watch, 4:19 p.m., it read. She pushed a button; 12,782 steps her pedometer function read. She laughed and grimaced at the same time, “Six miles, check. Now I have eleven minutes to eat lunch and get ready for the meeting,” she thought to herself. It had been one of those busy “response-mode” days.
The first semester School Improvement Planning (SIP) committee meeting started in just a few minutes. She knew that several teachers were likely already present in the conference room. A parent, a student representative, a lead custodian, and her office manager would be attending as well. In her fifth year at Shepherd Middle School, Janice knew she had already beaten the odds. She was, by all accounts, a successful urban principal who had stayed. Test scores were above average—way above comparison schools—and the other important metrics, such as student attendance, discipline, and teacher turnover, were each in great shape (Table 1). The achievement gaps had decreased and the school community was very supportive.
Shepherd Middle School Summary Overview.
“So why do these SIP meetings always seem so routine?” she wondered internally as she poured Italian dressing on her chicken and kale salad. SIP provided a powerful opportunity for determining what was important and ensuring the work was accomplished collaboratively (Duke, Carr, & Sterrett, 2013). She looked at her watch again, shook her head, and started chewing fast.
“I know we can do more,” Janice thought to herself as she tossed her mostly eaten salad into the trashcan and finished her bottled water. She grabbed her laptop and the top folder labeled “SIP” from the pile on her neatly organized, nearly paperless desk (itself a huge improvement after years of sticky notes and piles of paper) and stepped across the hall.
“Hello Principal Jones,” parent Sam Sutton, father of two middle school students, extended his hand and the group exchanged pleasantries and passed around a veggie tray (Janice’s initiative—always have healthy snacks on hand), as Janice distributed the agenda. An eighth grade science teacher, a Health & Physical Education teacher, the lead custodian, the student council president (an eighth grader named LeRoy), the assistant principal, and Janice’s office manager comprised the School Improvement Team (SIT).
Janice welcomed the group and initiated a quick check-in that welcomed every voice into the room, to begin the meeting (Senge, Cambron-McCabe, Lucas, Smith, & Dutton, 2012). She highlighted the previous years’ goals (the assistant principal, Ryan Rodriguez, overviewed the focus on math achievement, reading achievement, and improving student daily attendance). She summarized the recent years’ efforts and then paused. “I have an idea that is different from what we have done before,” she said. The group collectively blinked, and looked at her silently.
“You know,” Janice continued, For the last 4 years, we have played the game of school improvement planning well. We worked as a team and have made significant progress in some key areas. We have emphasized goals that are important to our school and enabled student success. But we need something more. I want us to connect the dots.
Sam Sutton and several staff members nodded. LeRoy tilted his head and asked, “What do you mean, Principal Jones?”
“LeRoy,” Janice continued, “Let me ask you. What really matters? As you look back at your several years at Shepherd Middle, what is going to stand out in your mind most?” He paused and then responded, “I can think of three things. The 2-day spelunking trip we took in our outdoors science club group, our Fitness challenge with Ms. Florence,” he nodded toward the PE teacher who smiled, “and our Shepherd Recycle Challenge last year that our seventh-grade pod won!” he added proudly.
“Exactly,” said Principal Jones, nodding. “And you know what, team?” she continued, holding up the chart that showed academic progress over the past 4 years, None of that is captured in our School Improvement Plan. None of that excitement, that accomplishment, that energy, can be found in our SIP docs or in our SIT minutes. And it’s time we connected the dots! Let’s turn this year’s focus into building upon what matters most. It doesn’t mean we stop our good work in these other efforts.
She explained, But let’s highlight, build upon, and grow our work in those areas that LeRoy just mentioned. He spoke about sustainable learning places with the recycling effort, he spoke to health and wellness with Ms. Florence’s collaborative work, and he highlighted our great STEM/outdoors work that infuses environmental education in so many areas here at Shepherd.
She walked over to the whiteboard and pulled a cap off of a dry-erase marker.
“There are nearly three hundred schools and districts who have been recognized as U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS),” Janice explained. And this recognition is based on success in all three “pillars” (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.) “like this,” she explained, drawing a three-column diagram (Figure 1) on the board. Recent research has indicated that educators at ED-GRS schools perceive a number of benefits related to this work (Sterrett, Imig, & Moore, 2014). “In fact,” she explained, “Here is a copy of an example template application rubric used to help think through the three pillars. 1 This and more resources are available on the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools, Green Strides website.”
U.S. ED-GRS pillars.
“Think about it,” said Janice. “We are doing a lot of related work, just like LeRoy highlighted, already. What if we worked to align our efforts more intentionally with these three pillars to really build whole-school sustainability?” (Barr, Cross, & Dunbar, 2014). Mr. Rodriguez, the assistant principal who also served as testing coordinator, cleared his throat and spoke up.
Principal Jones, you know I am supportive of this idea, but my big concern is that we have been focused like a laser beam on achievement and attendance. I am a bit concerned that we can lose momentum if we shift our focus on data. We are beating the odds, and I would hate to see us take a step back.
Janice nodded and scanned the room at the others, who were listening closer.
Mr. Rodriguez, yes we have worked hard. And yes we are beating the odds. But we are also in a great place to really build out what learning means to our school community. In fact, we are doing much of this work already. As a team, we can maintain our success and build on some really great initiatives, and we can grow in some key areas as well. In fact, we are meeting some of these pillar criteria already.
Mrs. Sharon Leaf, the eighth grade science teacher added, “Our learning garden fits squarely into Pillar Three, our wellness efforts fit into Pillar 2,” she said, nodding at Health/PE teacher Lee Wilkinson. Ernie Gomez, the lead custodian added, “We have consistently reduced our energy usage and it is showing up as improved Energy Star scores and, with a bit more work, could really shine in Pillar 1.”
Over the next 40 minutes, a lively discussion ensued. Janice solicited input and encouraged the team to jot down notes using the whiteboard. Using her laptop and projector, Janice highlighted a few green schools from the ED-GRS website and recent research regarding leadership and perceived benefits (Sterrett, Imig, & Moore 2014; Sterrett & Imig, 2015). After some shared discussion on the ED-GRS framework, each member of the SIT chose a particular pillar, and pledged to lead a pillar-specific work session, involving at least two more school community members, before the next SIT meeting occurred in a month. Here is how the SIP team decided to share responsibilities:
Pillar 1: Environmental Impact and Costs: Lead Custodian Ernie Gomez and Parent Sam Sutton.
Pillar 2: Health/PE Teacher Lee Wilkinson and student LeRoy.
Pillar 3: Learning garden work with eighth grade Science Teacher Sharon Leaf and Office Manager Sherry Sykes.
They set a date and time for the second meeting next month, in which the three groups would report back with ideas and next steps. Janice solicited ideas for structuring the next meeting and the group agreed that each member would lead the next discussion regarding their respective pillar in the form of a “subcommittee report.” The energy was palpable, and, for the first time in a long time, Janice was looking forward to the next meeting.
Strategies for Learning Green
A month flies by in a school community. However, their assignments were engaging and motivating. Janice’s team found that the momentum generated at their last SIT meeting continued into their work sessions. They were generating some buzz across campus and it became clear that their work was tapping into their collective desire to make a positive difference beyond test scores alone. The efforts toward whole-school sustainability had the potential for bringing everyone together in new and synergistic ways. It was exciting. Janice welcomed everyone to the meeting. She reminded them that their agenda included three primary presentations—one for each of the three pillars of the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon School recognition award—and then time to discuss their strategies for moving forward. Lead custodian, Ernie Gomez and, parent, Sam Sutton, were on the agenda, first with Pillar 1.
Pillar 1: Environmental Impact and Costs
Ernie began, As Sam and I researched Pillar 1 and met with our team this past month, I was struck by how many opportunities there are for us to not only save money, but also involve students in these efforts. We have been narrowly focused on these efforts as a facilities department. There is so much more we could be doing. We have a great start and a long way to go.
Ernie described the emphasis of Pillar 1, “The aim of this pillar is to reduce our environmental impacts and costs through energy and water conservation, reduced waste production, increased recycling, and expanded alternative transportation efforts.” He explained that the facilities department had tracked their energy usage via Energy Star for the past 5 years and had improved their scores substantially, from 50 to 76. Their baseline score of 50 was an average score for buildings like theirs. He was sure that they would be able to continue improving their score if they involved students and teachers in their efforts. “Maybe we could establish an Energy Patrol of students to help us remind everyone to turn off lights and keep unused appliances unplugged. These small efforts, consistently practiced, turn into big savings over time.” Ernie hoped the team liked his idea of an Energy Patrol. He would love to work with students and often felt like an educational outsider, although he worked in a school.
Sam followed Ernie’s part of the presentation with comments of his own.
As a tax payer, I am proud of our effort to reduce energy costs and I want us to continue that work! As a parent, I’m less concerned about the financial gains and more interested in the opportunities our children have for learning to live more wisely. In our last meeting, LeRoy recalled the recycling competition last year. Our children participated in that event too. As a result, we are far more conscientious about recycling at home. Our children taught us about the importance of recycling and they hold us accountable for following through. At work, I’m hearing more and more discussion about sustainability. We’ve recently hired a sustainability director (Ruedig & Metzger, 2013) who is helping us identify ways for operating more responsibly and efficiently. Our customers want to know that we are environmentally and socially responsible.
He went on a bit longer and ended with a passionate observation, If we truly embrace this work as a school community, it has the potential to be a real game changer. Our children will realize that they are learning for a bigger purpose than test scores. They will understand the importance of local and global citizenship. They will know how to do their part to mitigate environmental sensitivity and build our community’s resilience. We have a lot to learn to do this right. Let’s do it!
Janice expressed appreciation for their presentation. She was quietly thrilled that Sam had spoken so freely about the importance of this work. He was a leader among the parents and many others likely feel the same way. She knows there may be some resistance among the faculty, but if she keeps the conversations focused on possibilities and not mandates, maybe the momentum will win over resistance.
Pillar 2: Health and Wellness of Students and Staff
Janice looked at Health/PE teacher Lee Wilkinson and said, “Mr. Wilkinson, would you and LeRoy like to report on Pillar 2?” Mr. Wilkinson nodded and LeRoy distributed a handout to the group. Wilkinson said, In looking at improving the health and wellness of the students and staff, we concentrated on two key areas, the school environmental health, such as air quality and chemicals, and also health and wellness aspects such as fitness, food and nutrition, and improving outdoors time.
LeRoy added, “Yes, we need to encourage students and staff to get outside for learning . . . a lot more!” and Janice smiled.
Wilkinson continued, We have focused on two key strategies for this pillar: the Count Your Steps program that I am working with all teachers and staff to implement, and the Breathe in Clean emphasis that we are working with the district on along with some great parent volunteers; this ties in closely with the first pillar. Here is a short summary of each [and held up the handout], I will explain and we can discuss next steps.
Count your steps
Wilkinson detailed the grant she was pursuing to provide all staff members with a pedometer that would calculate daily steps. A friendly competition would help the staff members set goals and monitor progress, and they would be encouraged to utilize the outdoors grounds during the instructional day for activities such as nature walks and outdoor discussions that supplemented the core instruction. Documenting student learning and engagement outdoors would be a plus, and Wilkinson was coordinating with the tech liaison to help share out examples in the office foyer with a continuous PowerPoint display and Twitter feed. Although Wilkinson’s classes currently met the rubric suggestion of more than half of the PE allotted time being spent outdoors, he was also coordinating the compilation of a list in GoogleDocs of possible outdoor learning activities to help ensure more time was spent learning outside across the curricular areas (Sterrett, 2011). LeRoy would be encouraging students to join in through the televised morning announcements as well and to also encourage teachers in their progress. Rivkin (2014) notes that being outdoors can help connect children to their local communities. Louv (2008) has written extensively about the connection between outdoor activity and the physical health of humans, including helping self-esteem, social supports, and improving attention. Wilkinson emphasized the importance of facilitating an appreciation for students living in their local area.
Breathe in clean
Using the sample application rubric, Wilkinson had coordinated with Lead Custodian Ernie Gomez and a district manager to document the working ventilation system. They realized that they needed to closely monitor excess humidity and had taken steps to reduce the generic cleaning materials that had dangerous chemicals and had replaced them with safer, greener alternatives. They also realized they were using and storing too much pesticide, so they were able to reduce costs and pesticide use with a proactive effort to allow natural wild grasses to grow alongside the school grounds. They had found a lot of resources for improving their indoor air quality on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website for schools and were looking forward to implementing more ideas.
Two parent volunteers were helping coordinate landscaping efforts to ensure that they were attractive, student-friendly, and pesticide free. Louv (2008) notes that it is important to focus not just on energy conservation but also the “benefits of more natural environments to human health and well-being” (p. 261). Janice added in perspective of building on the momentum of their relatively new and efficient building to launch initiatives that helped encourage greater overall environmental health.
Shepherd Middle School was already on a path toward greater energy efficiency. Janice and Wilkinson knew, however, that important steps needed to be taken to deliberately ensure that the grounds were safe and being used by students and staff alike. Learning outdoors was not just a “PE thing,” but it could be connected to other curricular aspects, and Janice was determined to lead by example.
Pillar 3: Sustainability Education
Ms. Leaf and Ms. Sykes were excited to finally share their findings on Pillar 3. Ms. Leaf started by reviewing the main objectives of Pillar 3. She stated that Pillar 3 provides attention to the importance of interdisciplinary learning about the key relationships between dynamic environmental, energy, and human systems; preparing students for the 21st century through environmental and sustainability curriculums that incorporate STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), and developing civic-minded students who work collaboratively to address sustainability issues in their community. Ms. Sykes added that research suggests that students are more successful in school when they are involved in project-based, problem-based, and constructivist learning (Barr, Leigh, & Dunbar, 2011; Henderson & Tilbury, 2004; Upitis, 2007). In addition, green schools embed sustainability across the entire school curriculum (Birney & Reed, 2009). Ms. Leaf went on to say that as a science teacher, she works diligently to include sustainability issues into her current scope and sequence, including her classroom learning garden. However, she stated that it is important for students to experience real-life, practical activities that emphasize ecological principles (Goleman, Bennett, & Barlow, 2012; Stone & Barlow, 2005; Kensler, 2012) within all of their core classes and this could be accomplished by adopting or creating a school-wide environmental/sustainability curriculum. Ms. Sykes recapped by suggesting that the key areas of focus would be adopting or creating an environmental/sustainability curriculum that would support a new outdoor classroom and an expanded learning garden that could become a community garden.
Outdoor classroom/community garden
Ms. Sykes continued to champion the importance of encouraging the use of outside learning that was suggested by Leroy. It is important to create opportunities for students to engage in hands-on learning that is meaningful and relevant in an attempt to address local sustainability issues in the community. Ms. Sykes, went on to suggest that as a longtime community member and active member of the Lions Club, that schools need to purposefully involve the community in the taught curriculum. One of the key areas was to create an outdoor classroom that included a community garden expanding the current learning garden she uses for her science classes. Ms. Leaf added that along with a community garden, we need to engage our community in the design, building, and implementation. Local businesses along with the Lions Club have several minigrants to help with supporting this initiative. In addition, all students and staff would have access to the community garden and outdoor classroom spaces; the community could have access after school hr and on the weekends. This project could involve all students and staff through our current homeroom program led by the outdoor science club group.
Project learning tree
Janice asked if either of them had found any examples of environmental/sustainability curriculum that the staff could be take part in reviewing. Ms. Sykes was excited that Janice asked the question. She said, Well, after reviewing several of the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School honorees; we created a list of possible programs/curriculums to review and many include professional development opportunities for the teachers and staff. As we reviewed these programs and more on the Green Strides website, we were impressed with several of the available programs/curriculum. However, we found that Project Learning Tree offered an integrated curriculum that focused on teaching students to think critically, how to ask good questions, and make smart decisions about environmental issues (www.plt.org). In addition, they have a Project Learning Tree GreenSchools! program that incorporates all of the three pillars into the learning. This program would help get us started in creating a school-wide environmental/sustainability curriculum with the opportunity for our teachers to create authentic units in the future. The program also includes extensive professional development opportunities for our teachers and staff; so they feel supported in implementing a new initiative.
“This is definitely something to look into and share with our staff,” Janice added.
Now that the three presentations were complete, the conversation turned to strategy. How could the team integrate the three pillars into their work in a way that did not add to their already long to-do lists? Might it be possible to work differently and not necessarily more? How could they ensure that they continued to maintain, as Mr. Rodriguez had noted, their continued success in all areas of student achievement?
Conclusion
Sustainability is an important area that can be realized through school improvement. Duke, Carr, & Sterrett (2013) highlight the importance of leadership in realizing school improvement, noting that “of all the steps in the planning process, focusing is also the one most closely associated with leadership. Leadership is supposed to provide direction, and direction requires a clear sense of priorities” (p. 27). Principal Jones and her team have a new focus of educating for sustainability that guides their work as a collaborative team.
Green schools, schools that practice whole-school sustainability (Barr et al., 2014), are a growing global trend (Chan, Mense, Lane, & Richardson, 2014; Edwards, 2005; Henderson & Tilbury, 2004; Wu, 2002). Kensler (2012) proposes that green schools are both ecologically and socially healthy. Ecological principles guide the design and management of ecologically healthy and environmentally responsible systems whereas democratic principles guide the design and leadership of healthy social systems. A principle-based framework will lead to expressions of green schools that are deeply rooted in their local communities, as winners of the Greenest School on Earth award demonstrate. Winners have been from Indonesia, South Africa, China, and Canada.
Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools says, Dunbarton High School [2015 winner from Canada] is an excellent example of a school that engages its students at every turn, placing them in the driver’s seat and empowering them to improve their environment, inside and out. We are pleased to recognize Dunbarton’s efforts to improve their community, enhance the biodiversity of the region and elevate young minds to a higher order of thinking about sustainable practices. (http://www.centerforgreenschools.org/global-coalition-green-schools-recognizes-greenest-school-earth-118)
John Hardy (2010) details the story of Green School, Bali, in his TED. Dunbarton High School is a brick and mortar building of the 1960s, retrofitted for the 20th century whereas Green School in Bali is made entirely of bamboo by local community members using traditional methods. In both cases, students are deeply involved in the work of leading for whole-school sustainability.
Visionary school leaders across the world are aiming beyond test scores; they are striving to engage their school communities in learning for a better world. They understand their interdependent relationships within local and global socioecological communities. Their work improves the health and well-being of school building occupants through improved indoor air quality, nutritious food, and engaging outdoor learning. They reduce their use of toxins and, thus, flush fewer poisons into their local waterways. They reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to slowing global warming trends. They empower students to be leaders in this work and find that students are highly motivated to engage in learning when they are involved in real efforts to improve their local and global communities (Chawla & Cushing, 2007). Although these visionary practitioners are leading the way, our school leadership standards and preparation programs lag behind (Kensler, 2012). This case provides an opportunity for introducing green schools and whole-school sustainability to emerging school leaders.
Vision is important, but having a well-developed and manageable plan with specific measures, strategies, and staff buy-in is critical to realize sustained school improvement (Duke, Carr, & Sterrett, 2013). The work of the SIT must be focused and carefully examined in creating a school improvement plan that cultivates community and long-lasting results.
Teaching Notes
Supporting “green” aspects of schools, both physical and curricular, provides educational leaders an opportunity to deepen the relevance of the school experience for children and deepen their connection to local and global communities. From areas of organizational structures (such as SIP) to instructional alignment (such as sustainability emphases across the curriculum), school leaders can serve as agents of change. However, school leader preparation programs and current evaluation models may not emphasize this work in a manner that promotes meaningful action from administrators and teachers. Consider aspects of this case in generating discussion and reflection for cultivating community and collaboration through the lens of sustainability.
A Focus on the ED-GRS Pillars
Review the three pillars of U.S. ED-GRS (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-ribbon-schools/index.html). Think of one example, for each pillar, that is relevant to your school or district. What are you currently doing? How might you expand these efforts?
Consider some examples from past ED-GRS honorees (click “Highlights” associated with the link above). Which ideas strike you as particularly exciting and/or relevant to your school community? What role does leadership play in facilitating this work? Consider leadership from the lens of the Teacher leader Principal or Head of School District Leader Facilities Director Student Parent or community member
Exploring Organizational Leadership
Consider Principal Jones’s work in introducing the plan. To what extent do you see Janice as a visionary leader? As a collaborative leader? Why? Why not? Consider Ylimaki’s (2006) article where she presented three visionary leaders whose practice deviated from mainstream vision recipes. Ylimaki ended her paper with a suggestion for, . . . a new conceptualization of vision—namely, that vision is a dynamic interaction among inner human resources (e.g., insight, intuition, and perception), an outward perspective, and the context of a particular visioning situation. There are four key elements in this definition. First, vision is an active, multidimensional process. Second, vision involves inner human resources of the visionary (e.g., insight, intuition, and perception) as well as information gained from an outward perspective. Third, this outward perspective focuses on larger educational ideals as well as external research and policies. Finally, vision making is contextual and lies, at least in part, within the needs of particular schools and communities. (p. 649)
Consider how Principal Jones and her team might realize their vision in a collaborative manner.
“Collectively building an authentic, trusting, learning community is one way to strengthen connectedness and encourage collaboration” (Burns, Diamond-Vaught, & Bauman, 2015, p. 139). In this case, Janice seeks to overview the ED-GRS process and promote shared leadership in pursuing ED-GRS recognition. Why is this collaborative approach important? What other action steps would be important for her to consider?
What obstacles or challenges might Janice and her team face as they engage in their improvement work? How should they prepare for and address these?
Consider the objectives that Assistant Principal Rodriguez raised. Are these legitimate concerns? Can a school focus on “green efforts” while still succeeding in more “traditional” accountability areas?
Owings and Kaplan (2012) note that to translate vision into reality, there must be “significant and sustained leadership” (p. 187) within the organization. Even after successfully achieving ED-GRS recognition, what steps should the team take to ensure continued engagement and improvement related to their green efforts? How might the SIP team ensure that their green efforts are continually linked to student achievement? How should they measure success?
Leadership Discussion
To what extent might sustainability education be a flash-in-the-pan fad? Why? Why not? What relevance, if any, do trends in higher education have for educational leadership programs? (Barlett & Chase, 2013; Christensen, Peirce, Hartman, Hoffman, & Carrier, 2007; Vincent, Bunn, & Stevens, 2013)
What responsibility, if any, do educational leadership preparation programs have for fostering awareness and understanding of green/sustainability practices in schools? (See Sobel, Gentile, & Bocko, 2014)
How might practicing school and district leaders gain awareness and understanding of whole-school sustainability practices? What types of support for their efforts to “go green” would be most helpful? (Sample resources: Center for Green Schools website: http://www.usgbc.org; U.S. Department of Education Green Strides website: http://www.greenstrides.org/)
What are some creative ways that school leaders might fund green school initiatives? Read about Harvard’s Green Revolving Fund (GRF) to spark a few ideas (http://green.harvard.edu/programs/green-revolving-fund)
Footnotes
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Andrea Suarez Falken for her thoughtful review of this article.
Authors’ Note
This case study is fictitious as are all case characters.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.