Press release from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, shared April 23.
Evergreen Community Charter School is one of 78 schools nationwide to receive the inaugural U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools Award, which recognizes the highest performing green schools in the nation. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, together with White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, today made the announcement during a visit to one of the award recipients in Washington, D.C.
“Science and environmental education play a central role in providing children with a well-rounded education that prepares them for the jobs of the future,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. “Green Ribbon Schools demonstrate compelling examples of the ways schools can expand their coursework while also helping children build real world skill sets, cut school costs, and provide healthy learning environments.”
State Superintendent June Atkinson congratulated the staff and students at Evergreen Community Charter for their selection. “I have visited this school and know that Evergreen’s staff and students understand the importance of minimizing their carbon footprint and the school community is benefiting from their efforts,” Atkinson said.
The Green Ribbon Schools Award program honors schools that “exercise a comprehensive approach to creating ‘green’ environments through reducing environmental impact, promoting health, and ensuring a high-quality environmental and outdoor education to prepare students with the 21st century skills and sustainability concepts needed in the growing global economy.”
The Green Ribbon Schools Award is the first comprehensive federal policy for schools related to environment, health and education. It lays out a thoughtful vision for the nation’s schools, sets a high bar for success, and raises the profile of individual green schools and the states that encourage them.
Award recipients will be honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on June 4. For more information on the Green Ribbon Schools Award program, please visit http://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-ribbon-schools/index.html.
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