New Alliance Green Schools Program Launched in the Capital

The Alliance to Save Energy kicked off its first Green Schools program in its hometown last week, bringing the Saving Energy in DC Schools (SEDS) Program to the District of Columbia.

Funded under the DC Public Service Commission by the Natural Gas Trust Fund and co-implemented with the District Department of the Environment’s (DDOE) Energy Office, the SEDS program engages students, teachers, facilities, staff and administrators in teaching and learning about energy efficiency while actively pursuing energy saving opportunities at school.

On October 23, teachers, school support staff, facility managers, maintenance staff and/or administrators representing fourteen public, charter and private District schools gathered for the inaugural SEDS Program Fall Workshop, where they learned how to craft fun and useful SEDS activities for their schools and students.

Schools heard welcome comments and encouragement from representatives of DDOE’s Energy Office, who put the schools’ efforts in the context of other notable Energy Office programs around the district. Spokespersons from Councilmember Mary Cheh's office affirmed that the District is poised to be a leader in sustainability. And, representatives from the Office of Transformation Management at District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) spoke of their strong committment to reducing energy costs, while promising to field accurate data for schools to use in their assessments and audits.

During the workshop, teams discussed lesson plans to engage students in learning about energy, and explored the many uses of Alliance Green Schools Tool Kits, complete with professional-quality diagnostic tools. Everyone enjoyed using the light meters, watt meters, temperature sensors and building stethoscopes to generate creative ideas about involving students in collecting, analyzing and tracking energy data at their schools.

The school teams from Aidan Montessori School, Alice Deal Middle School, Capital City Public Charter School, Center City Public Charter School, Gonzaga College High School, Horace Mann School, Key Elementary School, Lafayette Elementary School, McKinley Tech High School, Oyster Adams Bilingual School, Prospect Learning Center, Stoddert Elementary School, Washington International School and Wilson Senior High School planned a few months' worth of activities in each of the above target goals, and will begin implementing their plans as soon as they get back to school.

The Alliance to Save Energy is excited about the enthusiasm and innovation generating in the workshop, and is looking forward to empowering students with an appreciation of energy efficiency in meaningful and productive ways this year.