The Chicago Public Schools are getting a lot of attention these days, as the hometown of President-elect Barack Obama and Superintendent Arne Duncan, the most-likely-soon-to-be-confirmed Secretary of Education. The district has undergone many changes in the last decade, and has made impressive academic progress under Duncan’s leadership.
But what a lot of people don’t know is that the district is undertaking a major commitment to “go green” and embrace more environmentally friendly practices. Part of it is mandated by state law-the Illinois legislature required all schools in the state to adopt green cleaning practices in May 2008, to not only help the environment but also to improve indoor air quality and help curb asthma, allergies, and other ailments.
Then Mayor Richard Daley decided to make Chicago the “greenest city in the U.S.” The school district hired a new environmental program manager, Suzanne Carlson, and began to look for ways to instill more sustainable practices into the day-to-day operations of schools. What resulted was a 26-part plan, and Chicago will be one of the districts featured in ASBJ’s April issue with lessons on “going green.”
In recent years the district has worked to restore many of its historic school buildings, and while adaptive reuse is a hallmark of the green movement, it’s sometimes hard to incorporate sustainable features into existing buildings. Nevertheless, Chicago has made good strides, maximizing the potential for daylighting and energy efficiency, two hallmarks of sustainable designs.
The district is now focusing on ways to conserve energy, such as showing teachers and students how small changes can add up to big savings. It’s also undertaken a comprehensive recycling program.
One of the areas Chicago schools have targeted is the cafeteria, where food and product waste can really accumulate. District officials are working with food-service vendor Chartwells to find ways to recycle food containers and also cut down on food waste. Carlson says that elementary students often threw away apples, oranges, and other fruits when given a whole piece, because they didn’t want all of it or know how to slice it. Instead, cafeterias now slice the fruits, and ask students to only take as much as they plan to eat.
Some schools also are planting gardens to not only improve their landscapes but also use as a teaching tool and help students better appreciate nature.
The district is now working to find vendors to standardize cleaning products and other supplies throughout schools. One of the greatest challenges, Carlson says, is the size of the district-she feels smaller districts will be able to adapt more easily.
And even though the vast majority of staff has embraced the concept of going green, there’s always the challenge of keeping people focused. “It’s hard to change old habits,” she adds.
Joetta Sack-Min, Associate Editor
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