Los Cerritos Elementary School has earned the 2015 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools award, according to the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD).
This “urban farmyard” at Los Cerritos Elementary has been cited by the California School Gardens Network as a model school garden and is a designated wildlife habitat and monarch butterfly way station.
“We’re so pleased that the U.S. Department of Education has chosen our school as a national Green Ribbon School,” said Los Cerritos Principal Marie Hatwan. “This award represents a lot of hard work by our students, parents and staff. In the process, our students are learning valuable lessons about reducing waste and helping to create a greener and healthier world.”
The awards recognize exemplary efforts to reduce environmental impact and utility costs, promote better health and provide effective environmental education, including civics and green career pathways.
An urban farmyard at Los Cerritos has been cited by the California School Gardens Network as a model school garden and is a designated wildlife habitat and monarch butterfly way station. The garden is complemented by after-school programs focused on environmental awareness, including Cool the Earth, Roots & Shoots and Green Team. A Safe Routes to School program includes Walk-to-School Wednesday, Walking School Bus and Bike-Friendly Friday activities.
Los Cerritos is the fifth school in the Long Beach Unified School District to earn the national award. Hughes, Longfellow, Lowell and Twain schools have also earned Green Ribbon honors.
In total, across the country, 58 schools and 14 districts were honored. In addition, nine colleges and universities were honored with the Postsecondary Sustainability Award.
“These honorees are compelling examples of the ways schools can help children build real-world skill sets, cut school costs and provide healthy learning environments,” Duncan said. “U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools are an inspiration and deserve the spotlight for embodying strong examples of innovative learning and civic engagement. We also are thrilled to add institutions of higher education to the list of honorees this year for the first time in the award’s history.”
A ceremony to celebrate the honorees is scheduled for June 3 in Washington, DC.
The schools, districts and postsecondary institutions were confirmed from a pool of candidates voluntarily nominated by 30 state education agencies, with honorees selected from 28 jurisdictions. The list of 81 total selectees includes 52 public schools and six private schools. The public schools include two charter and three magnet schools. The schools serve various grade levels, including 35 elementary, 19 middle and 17 high schools, with several schools having various K-12 configurations, from 28 of the nominating authorities.Â
Forty-seven percent of the 2015 honorees serve a disadvantaged student body, 22 percent are rural and one-third of the postsecondary institutions are community colleges.Â
The list of all selected schools, districts, colleges, and universities, as well as their nomination packages, can be found at ed.gov/programs/green-ribbon-schools/awards . A report with highlights on the 81 honorees can be found at ed.gov/programs/green-ribbon-schools/performance .
Source: LBUSD
