Highlights from the 2013 Honorees

Douglas County School District, CO

Douglas County School District (DCSD) is a large, rapidly growing district. Situated over 900 square miles, with 6,800,000+ square feet of building space, 60,000+ students and over 6,500 staff, DCSD is challenged to make large scale changes across all of its schools. From 1990-2010 DCSD was the fastest growing school district in the top 100 largest in the U.S., growing at 400 percent! As DCSD develops into a truly world-class school district, it is building its sustainability program to support and enhance this conversion. Sustainability provides a solid platform from which to enact the changes needed to transform the district into a 21^st century learning system.

DCSD has blended the 10 pathways of Eco Schools USA with the three Pillars of ED-Green Ribbon Schools to develop a district sustainability plan, which is based on student-led programs. All of these efforts support the three legs of sustainability, specifically social, environmental, and economic. Students develop programs at each school, identify challenges and goals, and build programs to achieve these. Students regularly study the effects of their buildings, develop educational campaigns to teach occupants what they need to do, then implement and lead those programs. In a real-world sense, they run the sustainability program for the district. These programs are entirely voluntary; schools only join if they want. The sustainability program has grown from 11 students in one class at one school to over 3,000 students running the energy program across 60+ schools! In many schools, students and staff decide what they want to improve, and build their program from there.

The results these student teams have achieved are truly remarkable! As a district, DCSD saved over $14,000,000 in six years. Electrical use per square foot has dropped over 20 percent. These accomplishments are astounding when coupled with the fact that the district’s buildings are 100 percent air-conditioned, and after-school community use amounts to over 60,000 hours per year. What students learn at school also translates to home and work. Students perform behavior audits on local businesses in the type of hands-on learning that can benefit the community, and hold a community-wide summer Recycling Festival that provides an opportunity to turn in hard-to-recycle items. A team of former DCSD students, who are passionate about sustainability, has been hired to perform building energy audits and report to the district environmental manager.

Following the success of the Energy Management Program, the district has grown in many other sustainability areas. Recycling is a growing program, with 87 of 88 sites now participating. DCSD is migrating many schools to durable trays and silverware, eliminating the need for much Styrofoam and plastic. When the superintendent learned of the volume of paper DCSD traditionally has used, she came to the sustainability team to ask how DCSD could reduce that amount dramatically. This was the genesis of the new paper use reduction incentive challenge. Local foods are becoming a bigger part of the menu. The information technology team has striven to reduce its impact. Server virtualization, remote service, and energy management programs and techniques are part of the standard of business now. Transportation has optimized routes, reduced stops, and improved vehicle efficiency.

Operations and maintenance divisions have focused on running buildings as efficiently as possible while maintaining the healthiest, most achievement enhancing learning environments. The district stocks only 100 percent green cleaning products, 90 percent post-consumer paper and is a Safe Routes to School participant. Indoor environmental quality is overseen by district’s environmental manager, with rigorous maintenance and aggressive mitigation techniques to ensure healthy air quality. To that end, DCSD’s construction team has developed high-performing buildings and earned awards for their work.

Thirty-two district sites have on-site renewable energy (wind or solar). These facilities are a wonderful means to deliver STEM education. Two schools are DOE Wind for Schools participants. DCSD support schools with initiatives and grants for school gardens, outdoor classrooms, composting, bird monitoring, and an outdoor education center. There is a strong district robotics team, which has competed internationally, gaining fame for its design of a robot built to save lives in an earthquake. Seventeen percent of DCSD students take AP environmental science.

Nutrition services have greatly improved menus with regard to student health and wellness. DCSD is an inaugural member of Michele Obama’s Chef's Move to Schools program. The district includes five USDA HealthierUS Schools Challenge awardees and four schools that participate in Fuel Up to Play 60. Many schools use The Great Body Shop Curriculum, which teaches about healthy living, and the district sponsors a 5K.