Community Meeting 4

Key Idea Synthesis

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Provenance: Released by Participating Schools in MCC Community Meeting 4.
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A Whole School Approach to Cultivating Solutionaries

October 20, 2022, 3:30 - 5:30 pm CT

The below are are the takeaways from the fourth community meeting of the Midwest Climate Educator Community of Practice.

• The prevailing definition of a "Green School" is a school that reduces environmental impact, improves health and wellness of students and staff, and provides effective environmental and sustainability education.
• Research shows that in order to reach "whole-school sustainability," green and healthy practices should be integrated holistically throughout the school's physical place, educational programming, and organizational culture - with the school culture being a key piece for achieving long-term success.
• While these definitions and approaches can help us to find commonality and serve as a guiding force, there is no one size fits all. A "Green School" can take lots of different forms based upon their unique setting, needs, desires, resources, and community. 
• Leaders are empowered at all levels - students, faculty, staff, administration - and one champion can catalyze efforts that result in systems-level changes.
• The most successful models seem to be very connected to their communities, engaging community partners to collectively bring about positive outcomes that benefit the school, the partnering organizations and community.