Penn Treaty Middle School

PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
600 East Thompson St. Philadelphia, PA 19125

Earth Apple Awards 2002 Tied for 1st Place, Middle Schools

Eighth graders at Penn Treaty know that to make change you need to bring your message to your fellow students as well as the community. The focus on home and community was the foundation for Penn Treaty’s Green Schools Program.
When Green Schools began at their school in January of 2002, students at Penn Treaty Middle School created a survey of 10 questions for the staff to discover their overall attitude towards energy usage. This information was used to develop energy-saving tips and to begin the work of the energy patrol. Their main focus was on the appliance explosion, the energy patrol surveyed appliance use in the school building determining how many appliances were used and how many were unnecessary. They then presented the results to the staff and administration. When a follow-up survey was done later in the year, they found that many of the unnecessary appliances had been removed from classrooms.

In addition, students designed a pamphlet on energy efficiency with tips on buying appliances and conserving energy. They distributed over 150 pamphlets to the community and took the pamphlet home to their families. Another class wrote an article for the neighborhood newspaper, including details about the Penn Treaty Green Schools program and tips on conserving energy.  Penn Treaty’s energy efficiency efforts saved a total of 126,120 kWh. This reflects a savings of 26% over a 9-month period. For more information on the Penn Treaty program please see the newsletter from last quarter at http://www.ase.org/greenschools/update.html.