The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Colorado Chapter’s 2014 Green Schools Summit will convene over 300 K-12 and Higher Education stakeholders, policy makers, students, parents and green building industry professionals at the University of Denver on Friday, Nov. 14, for a practical discussion on how to green Colorado’s schools within this generation.

The Summit will leverage the three pillars of the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools: environmental impact and costs, improving the health and wellness of schools, students and staff and providing environmental education. The fourth education track, the technical track, is designed with green building industry practitioners in mind.

“Colorado, like so many states, has a big infrastructural challenge to confront in renovating and building green schools,” said Sharon Alton, Executive Director, USGBC Colorado. “The Green Schools Summit offers these four tracks to give as many people as possible the tools to build schools for the 21st century.”

“We’re focusing on how to design, build and maintain 21st century schools. We hope to see professionals from many diverse fields participating in the conversation; it’s an important conversation because where we learn matters,” added Patti Mason, Director of Advocacy, USGBC Colorado.

The Douglas County School District 21st Century Design Competition Panel will be included in the Technical Track. The Douglas County School District (DCSD) is a leader in advancing innovative 21st Century learning concepts District-wide. Integral to the discussion will be Douglas County's voice in how these principles have gained traction in the district and how the process of evaluating and integrating 21st Century learning is influencing the district's planning for the future.

“DCSD is providing a world class education to all students with the 21st century skills students will need – communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity – to succeed in whatever college or career they choose,” said Richard D. Cosgrove, Director of Planning and Construction, Facilities Management at the DSCD, naming game changing, risk-taking, innovating and collaborating as desired traits sought by the nation’s largest employers. “Sustainable design sets an example to follow by putting innovation and creative technology on display.  Sustainability brings STEM home. Students see first-hand how creative engineering and innovation affects everyone, every day.”

The Environment Track will feature a panel on The Whole-School Sustainability Framework. Based on years of research by the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University, and recently published by the USGBC Center for Green Schools, The Whole-School Sustainability Framework illustrates how every school can establish the conditions necessary to support their journey toward sustainability across all three pillars set forth in the Green Ribbon Schools criteria.

Stephanie Barr, Research Associate & Project Manager, Colorado State University's Institute for the Built Environment, says that the shift from changing practices and policies to changing culture in the interest of sustainability is about understanding your organization’s shared values. “Being able to articulate the cultural norms and beliefs that you already hold helps you define what you actually want to sustain, and this future-focused, positive vision collectively inspires your organization to make the shift from within,” Barr said.

A panel that will investigate Green School Grounds for Play, Learning and Well-being will be featured in the Health Track. This panel will present design principles for successful natural areas on school grounds, covering natural habitats for play and learning and gardens for science classes, and service projects, and drawing on examples from Colorado schools.

“Students benefit in three major ways when nature is incorporated into schools,” said Louise Chawla, professor of Environmental Design, University of Colorado. “On the level of health, many studies document that children and adults experience less stress, have a greater subjective sense of wellbeing, and concentrate better when they have daily contact with the natural world. Students maintain moderate to active levels of physical activity on naturalized school grounds, in contrast to conventional play equipment and athletic fields where less athletic children tend to be less active. Green school grounds encourage more creative play and more cooperative social play, and they provide inexhaustible opportunities for science learning, writing, and art.”

The Education Track promises to get attendees’ heart rate up with the discussion panel “The Movement” - Exercise Culture at Red Hawk Elementary School. Cyrus Weinberger, Principal at Red Hawk Elementary School in Erie, Colorado, will speak to how he created an all-school movement program that has gained acclaim for its innovation and success. At Red Hawk, movement, exercise, and health are foundational to the school culture. The design of the LEED Gold Certified facility was refined to support the curriculum, with physical activity included from the beginning. The school uses a rotating daily "movement calendar," where students gain 35-40 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity on a daily basis, in addition to scheduled PE class and recess.