Broward County Public Schools Finalist for Sustainable Florida Best Practice Award

Broward County Public Schools has been named as a finalist for the prestigious 2010 Sustainable Florida Best Practice Award presented each year by Sustainable Florida - Collins Center, a division of the Collins Center for Public Policy. The award winner will be announced on Friday, June 4 at the Florida Green Building Coalition Green Trends conference in St. Petersburg.

Sustainable Florida - Collins Center is the premier alliance of organizations and leaders committed to promoting sustainable development principles through collaboration and education. They strive to seek a balance between economic interests and the need to be socially and environmentally responsible. Its mission is to improve Floridaís economy and environment, while building a safer, healthier, higher quality of life for all of its citizens.

The District was selected as a finalist for the honor for its overall approach to greening-up every aspect of Broward County Public Schools through its Environmental Strategic Plan. Its stewardship policy, which is designed to create a healthier, more environmentally friendly place to learn and work, addresses everything from retrofitting old buildings to the design of new ones, to recycling to education programs. The goal is to make a positive impact on the community. But in doing so, Browardís public schools have become a model across the country.

While the program has brought major environmental advances and cost savings to the School District, its greatest achievement may be in the way it has involved students in hands-on projects that are both ecologically beneficial and teach lessons in chemistry, physics, biology, zoology and botany.

So significant are the Districtís achievements that on March 25, the District unveiled a new website that describes in detail the steps taken to encourage an attitude of “Live Green, Learn Green.” The website (www.BrowardSchoolsGoGreen) serves as a “green portal,” a template for other school districts, large and small, that want to promote environmental awareness and activism among students, parents and staff. It serves as a model for businesses, industries, governments and residential developments that want to adopt new green attitudes.

Dr. Robert D. Parks, a 24-year member of the School Board and a driving influence behind the green wave, says the Districtís Stewardship Plan is a “blueprint to, one: Make sure everybody is on the same page, and two: Make sure it is important to all of us.” He says he wants to “save the planet, and save money. I want the school system to teach children environmental values and demonstrate those values through daily operations. Environmental stewardship is one of the systemís seven critical goals, on par with student achievement, employee excellence and safety