EXCITING OPPORTUNITY!
GRANT FUNDED LEADERSHIP TRAINING FOR SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS STAKEHOLDERS
'Creating a Culture of Sustainability'
We would like to introduce you to an exciting new partnership between the New Jersey Chapter of the US Green Building Council (USGBC NJ) and the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA). This initiative will provide free training to school districts across New Jersey.
The USGBC NJ Chapter has been awarded an educational grant from the State of New Jersey that includes funding for multi-track sustainability leadership training for all school districts. The training will be available for key district stakeholders to learn how sustainability can lower a school’s operating and maintenance costs.
As a result of your district’s outstanding commitment to sustainability, the NJSBA and the USGBC NJ are reaching out to you to provide these highly valuable, relevant and fully funded training sessions.
Click Here for Dates, Locations & Registration
Click here for DIRECTIONS to all locations
Session Venues include Regional Schools as well as the following LEED Certified Schools and Corporate Facilities:
Center for Lifelong Learning, Parlin NJ - LEED Platinum
Wyndham Worldwide HQ, Parsippany, NJ- LEED Silver
Montclair State Univ., Montclair, NJ - LEED Certified
Willow School - Gladstone, NJ, LEED Platinum
PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
I. EVENING SESSION FOR BOARD MEMBERS – Dinner 6:00, Session 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Sustainability 101; Why focus on sustainability? reduced O&M costs, healthier learning environments, and lower environmental impact
It is essential, especially during difficult economic times, for School Boards to make key decision to provide optimal learning environments while maintaining budgets. Sustainability is a viable pathway for schools to become more financially and environmentally responsible while providing good indoor environmental quality. This course will provide a basic understanding of the what, why and how of sustainability can help your school survive and thrive in the future.
This introduction workshop will provide an overview of sustainability and why its so important for the leadership of any school to understand how strategic actions can result in a high performing school that will save money and benefit the entire community. One focus of this workshop will be on how to utilize Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Green Ribbon Schools, Sustainable Jersey for Schools and other successful programs as a framework for planning, implementing and monitoring financial, environmental and academic connections for sustainability. Examples of successful strategies will be provided and preliminary discussions will focus on planning steps and the policies for becoming a sustainable school.
II. THREE PART DAYTIME SERIES FOR SCHOOL ADMINSTRATORS, FACILITIES DIRECTORS & MANAGERS, MUNICIPAL LEADERS
9:00 AM - 11:AM
Session 1: Sustainable Policy Development; Where are you today and where do you need to go?
This course will assist policy makers, boards, and/or administrators in understanding the components of a sustainable school. Participants will investigate how to assess where their schools are today and identifying, creating, and establishing sustainable policies and practices within their organization to move their district forward on a path toward sustainability. Areas to be discussed will include site management, water efficiency, energy efficiency, renewable energy, purchasing, waste disposal, indoor air quality and green cleaning. Many of these policies are necessary to achieve LEED for Existing Buildings certification, Green Ribbon Schools recognition or Sustainable Jersey for School certification. Regardless of the desire or ability to actually certify, the creation and implementation of such policies will define goals and metrics for achieving an improved learning environment, reduced operating costs, and lessened environmental impact.
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Session 2: Developing a Sustainability Action Plan; How to get from here to there.
Prerequisite: Sustainable Policy Development
This course will focus on creating implementation plans around the sustainable policies adopted within the organization, building consensus and stake holder buy-in, and effectively managing action items with limited resources. Financing mechanisms, structures, and opportunities will be discussed as part of this course, such as Energy Savings Improvement Programs (ESIP) and Power Purchase Agreements (PPA). Clearly defining roles, responsibilities, metrics, and timelines to achieve the sustainability goals defined in any implementation plan is a key element that will also be discussed.
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Session 3: Implementation, Tracking, and Evaluating Sustainability Action Plans: Are we there yet?
Prerequisite: Developing an Sustainability Action Plan
This course will build on the policy and implementation plans developed in prior courses and provide recommendations on managing successful achievement of goals set forth in sustainable policies and defined in the Sustainability Action Plan, including various methods to track performance and evaluate results. You cannot improve what you cannot measure. Using our buildings as teaching tools is critical to the mission of creating a culture of sustainability and an often-missed opportunity. Sustainability is a process of ongoing assessment and improvement and the lessons learned in managing our facilities sustainably often translate well in to the classroom. This session will also examine how those improvement projects implemented to reduce energy, water, and natural resource consumption can serve as the basis for an integrative Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (iSTEM) and environmental curriculum.
It is suggested the courses are taken in sequential order, however, based on individual knowledge, it may not be necessary.
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