Mathematics Awareness Month: Mathematics in Sustainability, April 2013
April is Mathematics Awareness Month, according to the American Mathematics Society, and this year’s theme is Mathematics in sustainability. In light of this theme, Mathematics can especially be used to help prepare the nation’s youth to become a more energy-literate citizenry. Mathematics helps students understand complex energy problems and can be used in a wide range of fields to create solutions for a sustainable, energy-efficient way of life. For example, energy-efficiency can be seen in the following sub-categories of mathematics:
- Addition/Subtraction
- Multiplication/Division
- Fractions
- Decimals
- Algebra
- Charts and Graphs
- Probability
Back-to-School Energy Savings in 2012-13 Curriculum
Successful Alliance to Save Energy Program Cut Energy Use By 11% to Save $1 Million+ in 2011-12 School Year
September 6, 2012
Author: Ronnie Kweller
The Alliance started the 2012-2013 school year building on 16 years of success in educating students to lead in cutting energy waste at their K-12 schools nationwide to capture sizable financial savings that can be redirected to classroom needs.
And those savings don’t require an investment in new equipment – just the research, enthusiasm, and hard work of students working with teachers and facility staff to identify opportunities to change the way they use energy. Click here to read more!
September 6, 2012
Author: Ronnie Kweller
The Alliance started the 2012-2013 school year building on 16 years of success in educating students to lead in cutting energy waste at their K-12 schools nationwide to capture sizable financial savings that can be redirected to classroom needs.
And those savings don’t require an investment in new equipment – just the research, enthusiasm, and hard work of students working with teachers and facility staff to identify opportunities to change the way they use energy. Click here to read more!
Green California Schools Summit Advances Energy Efficiency
From Dec. 8 – 10 at the Pasadena Convention Center in California, hundreds of leaders in environmental education came together for the Green California Schools Summit and Expo, appropriately themed, “Green Schools: More Important than Ever.”
January 10, 2011
Author: Katie Landeros
Author: Katie Landeros
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Leaders in education and green building delivered the keynote addresses: Norma Williamson, who was the 1991 Teacher of the Year at La Mirada Unified School District, and Eric Corey Freed, who is a renowned architect, principal of organic ARCHITECT and author of four books on green building. Concurrent sessions focused on innovative school projects and strategies for infusing environmental issues into curricula. The sessions covered what it means to be a “green” school, financing renewable energy, greening curricula and using the school building as a learning laboratory. “The Summit was eye-opening and introduced me to the abundance of teachers, academics and green professionals dedicated to advancing sustainability and environmental education in K-12 schools,” said Alliance Project Manager Jennifer Alvarez at the event. Alliance’s Green Schools Program in the Spotlight Alliance Program Associate Katie Landeros, Vista Murrieta High School teacher Matthew Willard and seven senior students from Sultana High School in Hesperia Unified School District gave a presentation about the Green Schools Program in a session titled, “Tomorrow’s Energy Leaders: The Role of Education in Solving the Climate Crisis.” The students not only impressed the audience with their knowledge of energy audits and data collection, but also enjoyed doing the presentation, according to Sultana teacher and Green Schools advisor Mark Ziesmer. “I was proud of them,” Zeismer added. Recognizing Green Schools Efforts Murrieta Valley Unified School District, a champion district involved in the Alliance’s Green Schools Program for several years, won the Green Leadership Award in the Energy category. The district is receiving the award for their achievements in energy efficiency programs such as the Green Schools Program, retrofits of existing buildings and building new schools with high levels of energy efficiency. Murrieta’s Energy Manager Jeff Boone accepted the Green Leadership Award on behalf of the district. For More Info The Green California Schools Summit is designed by an advisory board chaired by Bonnie Reiss, the state’s Secretary of Education. For more information on the summit, visit www.green-technology.org/gcschools |
 Sultana High School Green Team student presenters with their teacher, Mark Zeismer at the Green CA Schools Summit awards reception  Murrieta Valley Unified District staff accepting the Green CA Summit Leadership Award in Energy with Alliance Green Schools staff |
Big Bucks Saved as Southwest Riverside Schools Go Green
Between September 2008 and June 2010, the three districts together saved more than $911,000, according to Tiffany. The percentage of savings combined in Southwest Riverside school districts was 15 percent, the highest in the state.
By Maggie Avants, SWRNN
Saturday, September 25, 2010
In a time when every dollar counts, schools in Southwest Riverside County are bringing in some needed green by going green.
Lake Elsinore Unified School District Governing Board President Tom Thomas (far left) and Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Operations Greg Bowers (far right) visited Railroad Canyon Elementary School to present the school’s Green Team a check for $4,287.50, which will be added to the school’s discretionary budget. Joining Thomas and Bowers were (from left to right) teachers Marie Vargas Piel and Glenda Haas, Principal Jeri Peterson and custodian Bill Eller. (Courtesy photo/LEUSD)
Through the Alliance to Save Energy’s Green Schools program, Lake Elsinore Unified School District’s Donald Graham Elementary was recently presented with a check for $11,374 for cutting down on electricity use; Lakeside High School got $34,122.
More than $216,000 went to schools throughout Lake Elsinore and Wildomar — 70 percent of the $308,000 saved by the district in 2009-2010.
“Energy efficiency is invisible, you can’t really see it. This makes the invisible visible and provides an incentive to be energy efficient,” said Jo Tiffany, director of California education programs for Alliance to Save Energy. “These savings initiatives come in large part from the students, who are much more energy efficient than adults.”
The savings can be spent in whichever way schools see fit, to support curricular or extra-curricular activities, Tiffany said. School districts that sign on to the program pledge to give at least 50 percent of the savings back to individual school sites. Lake Elsinore agreed to give 70 percent back to its schools in 2009-2010, and 80 percent this year.
“That’s a miracle! That’s a record for Southern California,” said Lorraine Gutierrez, local project leader and a Southern California Edison retiree. Gutierrez works closely with schools enrolled in the program.
Lake Elsinore has just entered its second year of the two-year program, which is sponsored locally by Southern California Edison. The Murrieta and Temecula school districts have completed their two years, but said they will still practice what they learned. Three schools in Murrieta are being trained as mentor schools, Gutierrez said.
Between September 2008 and June 2010, the three districts together saved more than $911,000, according to Tiffany. The percentage of savings combined in Southwest Riverside school districts was 15 percent, the highest in the state.
“It just makes sense when you see how much you can save,” said Karen Parris, spokeswoman for the Murrieta Valley Unified School District. In 2008-2009, Murrieta saved more than $203,000.
That’s more than 1 million kilowatts, or pounds of carbon dioxide, that won’t be released into the atmosphere, Tiffany pointed out.
Enrolled schools are given a $1,000 stipend per year to create and manage a Green Team at each site. An energy conservation curriculum is provided, and districts are equipped with data monitoring models to accurately measure their savings.
“This is absolutely free,” Gutierrez said. “This program is so important because it is saving jobs.”
In Lake Elsinore, Murrieta and Temecula, all schools have participated. Temecula gave a 50 percent rebate to its sites. While numbers weren’t in yet for 2009-2010, Temecula Valley Unified School District Spokeswoman Melanie Norton said $154,932 was saved in 2008-2009.
“This is a great motivator, particularly during lean budget years,” Norton said.
Lake Elsinore Unified School District Board President Tom Thomas has been making the rounds in his district, handing out checks. The money has already been deposited in school accounts, so the large duplicate checks are more of gesture, he said.
“I kind of view this as money falling out of the sky,” Thomas said about the money saved from turning off light switches, setting all district computers to turn off at 5 p.m. and turning the majority of lights off on school campuses after hours.
“We have very few lights on at the schools. The lighting makes more of a difference than anything when you add up all the schools. It has taught us all some lessons,” he said.
Greg Bowers, assistant superintendent of facilities for Lake Elsinore, said measures to conserve energy at schools have included auto shutdown of all major electronics, unplugging appliances not in use, applying set points for HVAC systems and retrofitting lights.
“We teach the kids how to unplug things. They’ve even come up with citations for teachers. This is a student-driven program. They have made this happen and now they are going home and sharing it and it is going out in the community,” Bowers said at a recent board meeting.
Bowers said his goal is for the district to continue practicing conservation once the program is over. He said staff will recommend the district hire an energy manager to sustain it.
Overall, he was impressed with the enthusiasm of all the schools.
“We gave the sites the resources, but the kids, the staff, the parents did all the work to help balance the budget,” Bowers said.
Maggie Avants is the education editor for SWRNN. Reach her at mavants.swrnn@gmail.com. Follow SWRNNedu on Twitter!
(Courtesy photo/LEUSD) Lake Elsinore Unified School District Governing Board President Tom Thomas (far left) and Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Operations Greg Bowers (far right) visited Railroad Canyon Elementary School to present the school’s Green Team a check for $4,287.50, which will be added to the school’s discretionary budget. Joining Thomas and Bowers were (from left to right) teachers Marie Vargas Piel and Glenda Haas, Principal Jeri Peterson and custodian Bill Eller.
Read more: http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-09-25/local-county-news/big-bucks-saved-as-southwest-riverside-schools-go-green/attachment/rrcenergycheck#ixzz10qP1lDXY
Lake Elsinore Unified School District Governing Board President Tom Thomas (far left) and Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Operations Greg Bowers (far right) visited Railroad Canyon Elementary School to present the school’s Green Team a check for $4,287.50, which will be added to the school’s discretionary budget. Joining Thomas and Bowers were (from left to right) teachers Marie Vargas Piel and Glenda Haas, Principal Jeri Peterson and custodian Bill Eller. (Courtesy photo/LEUSD)
Through the Alliance to Save Energy’s Green Schools program, Lake Elsinore Unified School District’s Donald Graham Elementary was recently presented with a check for $11,374 for cutting down on electricity use; Lakeside High School got $34,122.
More than $216,000 went to schools throughout Lake Elsinore and Wildomar — 70 percent of the $308,000 saved by the district in 2009-2010.
“Energy efficiency is invisible, you can’t really see it. This makes the invisible visible and provides an incentive to be energy efficient,” said Jo Tiffany, director of California education programs for Alliance to Save Energy. “These savings initiatives come in large part from the students, who are much more energy efficient than adults.”
The savings can be spent in whichever way schools see fit, to support curricular or extra-curricular activities, Tiffany said. School districts that sign on to the program pledge to give at least 50 percent of the savings back to individual school sites. Lake Elsinore agreed to give 70 percent back to its schools in 2009-2010, and 80 percent this year.
“That’s a miracle! That’s a record for Southern California,” said Lorraine Gutierrez, local project leader and a Southern California Edison retiree. Gutierrez works closely with schools enrolled in the program.
Lake Elsinore has just entered its second year of the two-year program, which is sponsored locally by Southern California Edison. The Murrieta and Temecula school districts have completed their two years, but said they will still practice what they learned. Three schools in Murrieta are being trained as mentor schools, Gutierrez said.
Between September 2008 and June 2010, the three districts together saved more than $911,000, according to Tiffany. The percentage of savings combined in Southwest Riverside school districts was 15 percent, the highest in the state.
“It just makes sense when you see how much you can save,” said Karen Parris, spokeswoman for the Murrieta Valley Unified School District. In 2008-2009, Murrieta saved more than $203,000.
That’s more than 1 million kilowatts, or pounds of carbon dioxide, that won’t be released into the atmosphere, Tiffany pointed out.
Enrolled schools are given a $1,000 stipend per year to create and manage a Green Team at each site. An energy conservation curriculum is provided, and districts are equipped with data monitoring models to accurately measure their savings.
“This is absolutely free,” Gutierrez said. “This program is so important because it is saving jobs.”
In Lake Elsinore, Murrieta and Temecula, all schools have participated. Temecula gave a 50 percent rebate to its sites. While numbers weren’t in yet for 2009-2010, Temecula Valley Unified School District Spokeswoman Melanie Norton said $154,932 was saved in 2008-2009.
“This is a great motivator, particularly during lean budget years,” Norton said.
Lake Elsinore Unified School District Board President Tom Thomas has been making the rounds in his district, handing out checks. The money has already been deposited in school accounts, so the large duplicate checks are more of gesture, he said.
“I kind of view this as money falling out of the sky,” Thomas said about the money saved from turning off light switches, setting all district computers to turn off at 5 p.m. and turning the majority of lights off on school campuses after hours.
“We have very few lights on at the schools. The lighting makes more of a difference than anything when you add up all the schools. It has taught us all some lessons,” he said.
Greg Bowers, assistant superintendent of facilities for Lake Elsinore, said measures to conserve energy at schools have included auto shutdown of all major electronics, unplugging appliances not in use, applying set points for HVAC systems and retrofitting lights.
“We teach the kids how to unplug things. They’ve even come up with citations for teachers. This is a student-driven program. They have made this happen and now they are going home and sharing it and it is going out in the community,” Bowers said at a recent board meeting.
Bowers said his goal is for the district to continue practicing conservation once the program is over. He said staff will recommend the district hire an energy manager to sustain it.
Overall, he was impressed with the enthusiasm of all the schools.
“We gave the sites the resources, but the kids, the staff, the parents did all the work to help balance the budget,” Bowers said.
Maggie Avants is the education editor for SWRNN. Reach her at mavants.swrnn@gmail.com. Follow SWRNNedu on Twitter!
(Courtesy photo/LEUSD) Lake Elsinore Unified School District Governing Board President Tom Thomas (far left) and Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Operations Greg Bowers (far right) visited Railroad Canyon Elementary School to present the school’s Green Team a check for $4,287.50, which will be added to the school’s discretionary budget. Joining Thomas and Bowers were (from left to right) teachers Marie Vargas Piel and Glenda Haas, Principal Jeri Peterson and custodian Bill Eller.
Read more: http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-09-25/local-county-news/big-bucks-saved-as-southwest-riverside-schools-go-green/attachment/rrcenergycheck#ixzz10qP1lDXY
