El Monte Union Selected for a 2015 Green Ribbon Award
Selected for partnerships that promote robust sustainability learningHighlights
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El Monte Union School District (EMUSD) recently won a U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon School award for 2015. The Green Ribbon School program recognizes schools and school districts that reduce environmental impacts, improve wellness of schools, students, and staff, and provide environmental education to students. El Monte Union High School District was recognized for their numerous partnerships that allow students to explore green careers, increase their environmental awareness, and prepare for graduation and advanced education. The school district has successfully reduced its environmental impact through a variety of programs ranging from water conservation to energy efficiency and waste reduction. Their programs have improved students’ health and furthered STEM education and sustainability goals.
Much of this has been accomplished through numerous partnerships between EMUSD and government agencies, community organizations, nonprofits, and advanced education institutions. Serving more than 9,000 students in eight schools, EMUSD is a recognized Energy Star Leader and continues to raise students’ environmental awareness through school-wide initiatives, student clubs, and organizations. Every school in EMUSD has a PowerSave team through their partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy and Southern California Edison, and the program has united students, teachers, administrators, and maintenance staff around energy efficiency. Each of the PowerSave teams reaps benefits for the entire school, as 50% of efficiency savings are returned to the district and individual schools. The work of PowerSave Teams in this district has been complemented by the district’s dedication to environmental literacy, which includes bringing environmental awareness to students, staff, parents, and the community to catalyze stewardship.
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Spotlight: Arroyo and South El Monte High PowerSave Teams |
At Arroyo High, the PowerSave team held presentations on how to save energy in class, and encouraged teachers to reduce energy use by passing out fliers with energy-saving tips and candy to sweeten the deal. Three students from this team went above and beyond by volunteering at a solar installation with GRID Alternatives—a solar nonprofit that installs free solar panels in low-income and minority communities. Even more students from the team worked with 350.org at volunteer events.
South El Monte high also worked hard to contribute to the environmental successes of the district. The school hosted an all-day Student Energy Audit Training workshop, where students learned about energy use on campus and were trained to perform low-level audits at school. They also had the infamous Energy Hog appear at a school activities fair to promote sustainability and the goals of the PowerSave team. This wonderfully complemented their school wide energy patrol contest, where students monitored classrooms and rewarded those implementing power saving measures. The impact of the drought was not lost on South El Monte High students, and they even performed a water audit at their school to identify leaky faucets, high-flow fixtures, and other water-wasting features on campus. Toward the end of the school year, the team got some fun activities in like a field trip to CSU Long Beach where they toured their Science Center and Heating and Cooling Plant. |
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We can't brag enough about our schools. Want to learn more? |
Congratulations to El Monte Union District, and thanks to the eight PowerSave teams on these campuses who worked so hard to make the green ribbon award achievable for their district. Want to hear more about the district's great work? Check out El Monte Union School District's proposal below.
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August News: Reflections on Professional Development Workshops
The southern California PowerSave Schools program is excited to kick off a new school year as students head back to class this August. To get energy efficiency programs off on the right foot, Professional Development Workshops (PDW) are underway in Southern California Edison-funded schools. These workshops are a benchmark of the PowerSave schools program, and offer teachers, custodians, and PowerSave team leads the tools they need to lead a successful program. These workshops introduce PowerSave Schools, discuss why energy matters, give teachers a toolkit training, and provide space for a team planning session. Professional Development Workshops are just the beginning for new teams. It’s when we begin the process of discussing how we will meet our goals to save energy, reduce energy costs, educate students about energy, and foster student leadership, teamwork, and community involvement.
During these workshops, the PowerSave team gets to talk about energy in a meaningful way. We get to discuss why we care about energy and why energy is important. For example, even though the US represents only 5% of the world’s population, we use 25% of the world’s energy resources. We have tremendous room for improvement when it comes to energy use. Energy efficiency is the cleanest, quickest, and cheapest resource for securing a healthy environment and a healthy economy. Efficiency is particularly beneficial to US schools, which typically spend six to eight billion dollars on energy annually, which is more than the cost of computers and textbooks combined. An estimated 30% of that six to eight billion is lost because of waste or building inefficiencies. This is one of the largest cost in a school district’s budget, second only to teacher salaries. Implementing energy-efficient behaviors doesn’t mean going back to the dark ages—it means doing more with less. PDWs create a space to pass this knowledge to the students and teachers who can make real, impactful changes on campus.
PDWs are an incredibly exciting time of year for the PowerSave Schools team. We get to bring together a passionate group of educators from each district and discuss why energy saving is so important and why students are the best people to tackle energy efficiency. The meetings inspire teachers, custodians, and district representatives to make a positive change in their schools, districts, and communities. We get to listen in as schools discuss their plans for the upcoming year with in-person support from their local project leader, and hand them the tools to make those dreams a reality. We get to discuss opportunities like field trips, and incentives like free materials and savings that will be returned back to the schools themselves. PDW season is rife with possibilities and enthusiasm for what’s to come.
PDWs are an incredibly exciting time of year for the PowerSave Schools team. We get to bring together a passionate group of educators from each district and discuss why energy saving is so important and why students are the best people to tackle energy efficiency. The meetings inspire teachers, custodians, and district representatives to make a positive change in their schools, districts, and communities. We get to listen in as schools discuss their plans for the upcoming year with in-person support from their local project leader, and hand them the tools to make those dreams a reality. We get to discuss opportunities like field trips, and incentives like free materials and savings that will be returned back to the schools themselves. PDW season is rife with possibilities and enthusiasm for what’s to come.
July Spotlight: SMUD Audit and Conservation Training
In July, PowerSave Schools partnered with Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to create an Audit and Conservation Training (ACT) program for eight Sacramento high schools. The program features a week-long summer training session for students where they learned the basics about energy use and demand on campus. Project Manager David Younan-Montgomery and Program Associate Alexis Whitaker led two of these week-long training sessions in July, each with four schools from the ACT program in attendance. These training sessions were supported by professional energy auditors from KWW Energy Services. The students received standards-based energy literacy education, empowering students to discover and leverage energy savings opportunities at school and in the community.
The students truly shined during a light bulb experiment, where they were given a watt meter, a foot-candle meter, and an infrared thermometer, determined which of three light bulbs was the most energy efficient. After designing their own experiment, every student group determined that LED bulbs are the most efficient and gave a short, data-driven presentation about their experiment. Later, the students presented the same information very differently, creating skits that were designed to convince their classmates to switch to LED bulbs. The skits took creative and varied forms—from telenovelas to crime dramas, the students had some bright ideas about encouraging energy efficiency.
The students truly shined during a light bulb experiment, where they were given a watt meter, a foot-candle meter, and an infrared thermometer, determined which of three light bulbs was the most energy efficient. After designing their own experiment, every student group determined that LED bulbs are the most efficient and gave a short, data-driven presentation about their experiment. Later, the students presented the same information very differently, creating skits that were designed to convince their classmates to switch to LED bulbs. The skits took creative and varied forms—from telenovelas to crime dramas, the students had some bright ideas about encouraging energy efficiency.
Energy auditing and understanding energy use is crucial to any efficiency plan. With the help of experts from KWW, students conducted a practice audit of the school hosting ACT training. Examining lighting levels, plug loads, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), the students performed a basic and thorough first-level audit of the campus. They got to examine a wide variety of rooms on a typical campus, auditing everything from classrooms to libraries and gyms. The KWW energy experts, Don Kazama and Tony Wong, spoke to the students about the hardware they had to work with on campus. They went over the type of lighting on a typical campus, as well as HVAC controls, and devices with large phantom loads. They also suggested the easiest hardware and infrastructure improvements that students may want to advocate for in the future.
These superstar students had been troopers all week—not many high schoolers would volunteer to sit in a classroom during summer vacation. When field trip Friday came along, the student excitement was palpable as they loaded onto busses and into cars to their destinations. Students from the first week of the ACT program went to a solar installation site with Grid Alternatives, a nonprofit that installs solar panels and energy efficient technologies for low-income neighborhoods. The students learned about how solar panels work, and students over 18 were able to go onto the roof and help install the panels themselves! During week two, students went on a tour of UC Berkeley led by two members of the PowerSave Campus team. They saw many energy-efficient technologies implemented on the campus, and learned about opportunities to participate in energy efficiency and sustainability on college campuses.
In the coming months, Alexis will return to each school site to lead the students in energy audits with the assistance of the experts at KWW. The data that students collect during these audits will prove invaluable moving forward, as students estimate the cost savings that can be accomplished by simple changes like turning off lights or unplugging appliances over breaks. During Energy Awareness Month in October, the students will launch conservation campaigns at their schools. The students are already bringing as much energy and creativity to their campaigns as they did to their skits during ACT training in July. There is talk of posters, contests, assemblies, and Wall-e movie nights. The PowerSave Team is thrilled to see what these students accomplish in the coming months.
These superstar students had been troopers all week—not many high schoolers would volunteer to sit in a classroom during summer vacation. When field trip Friday came along, the student excitement was palpable as they loaded onto busses and into cars to their destinations. Students from the first week of the ACT program went to a solar installation site with Grid Alternatives, a nonprofit that installs solar panels and energy efficient technologies for low-income neighborhoods. The students learned about how solar panels work, and students over 18 were able to go onto the roof and help install the panels themselves! During week two, students went on a tour of UC Berkeley led by two members of the PowerSave Campus team. They saw many energy-efficient technologies implemented on the campus, and learned about opportunities to participate in energy efficiency and sustainability on college campuses.
In the coming months, Alexis will return to each school site to lead the students in energy audits with the assistance of the experts at KWW. The data that students collect during these audits will prove invaluable moving forward, as students estimate the cost savings that can be accomplished by simple changes like turning off lights or unplugging appliances over breaks. During Energy Awareness Month in October, the students will launch conservation campaigns at their schools. The students are already bringing as much energy and creativity to their campaigns as they did to their skits during ACT training in July. There is talk of posters, contests, assemblies, and Wall-e movie nights. The PowerSave Team is thrilled to see what these students accomplish in the coming months.
June News
Year End HighlightsRosemont Middle School
Rosemont took a trip to the Tree People campus for a morning field trip! Students learned about LEED, sustainability, and the importance of native species! After a beautiful and informative tour, the team even got to enjoy lunch with a view! Belvedere Middle School Belvedere PowerSavers had the chance to speak with two GRID Alternatives representatives, a nonprofit that brings solar technology to low income communities (www.gridalternatives.org/) during a class period in May! The team learned about volunteer opportunites, career paths, and the benefits of working in a green field! Opportunities for StudentsMiddle & High school students:
A fascinating opportunity for students to explore renewable energy and design in a project-based learning context. The competition opens in mid-August and offers support to registered teams. http://youth.landartgenerator.org/ High school sophomores & juniors: A fellowship program that awards 50 high school sophomores/juniors and 10 teachers from Los Angeles County with an all-expenses paid research expedition to various locations around the country, going for around two weeks in the summer. Applications open in September. http://earthwatch.org/education/student-fellowships/ignite |
The Canyon Early Learning Center Power Save Team sings the Ellie the Energy Efficient Elephant song at the End of Year Celebration!
June Priorities
Remember... PowerSave Schools tracks your energy usage through JUNE! Summer is a great opportunity to boost your savings numbers! Use the summer shut down checklist to help you spot savings opportunities! |
May Newsletter:
Earth Day Activity: Succulents in biodegradable containers from Cloverdale!
Reminders
Don't forget to bring your energy auditing toolkit to the end of year celebration! Progress summaries will be due at or before the End of Year Celebration prior to receiving your stipend. Contact your LPL for assistance with this form. |
Tips and Tricks: HighlightsMayflower
The Mayflower PowerSave Team researched their dream careers and then brainstormed ways to make them environmentally friendly! Each student drew a picture of a green career and included information about average salary and required education. Canyon Oaks High School PowerSave Students from Canyon Oaks made a visit to SCE’s Energy Education Center in Irwindale to learn about new energy technologies and discuss energy careers and energy literacy with Edison representative Tony Lee. Find more about free courses offered at the center over the summer here: http://on.sce.com/1GESpOI Bonita Elementary School In celebration of Earth Day, the City of Carson hosted an afternoon of tree planting, environmental education workshops, recycling projects, and more at Calas Park. Bonita’s PowerSave team, in collaboration with the CSU Long Beach PowerSave Campus team, created an interactive presentation with tips on how to be energy efficient at home. Summer is Coming
Get ready for shut-downs! 
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April is Mathematics Awareness Month
April is Mathematics Awareness Month, according to the American Mathematics Society, and this year’s theme is Mathematics in sustainability. In light of this theme, Mathematics can especially be used to help prepare the nation’s youth to become a more energy-literate citizenry. Mathematics helps students understand complex energy problems and can be used in a wide range of fields to create solutions for a sustainable, energy-efficient way of life. For example, energy-efficiency can be seen in the following sub-categories of mathematics:
- Addition/Subtraction
- Multiplication/Division
- Fractions
- Decimals
- Algebra
- Charts and Graphs
- Probability
March Newsletter: Spring into Energy Savings!
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March Priorities
Upcoming Benchmarks
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Tips and TricksGage Middle School
Are you looking for ways to cut down on water waste? 65 sixth graders came to school on a Saturday to learn about the connection between energy and water through a hands-on water audit training! Students audited their entire school and discovered sinks with high flow rates and leaks around campus. The PowerSave Team plans to ask facilities management to fix leaks and install aerators! Middleton The PowerSave Team at Middleton had a busy month! In an effort to save energy, the team came up with the bright idea of making personalized signs as a way of encouraging students and teachers to turn off their lights when rooms are unoccupied. Three team members, using their newly acquired water auditing skills, went above and beyond in their effort to stop energy and water waste! After locating leaks around the school, the students wrote a formal letter to the principal requesting a work order. Mayflower Elementary School After completing school-wide audits, the PowerSave Team at Mayflower created colorful posters to keep track of their energy shut down competition and monthly energy savings. They plan to place these posters where everyone in the school will see them daily! Madison Elementary PowerSave Team Students honed their public speaking skills by performing a water wise skit for all the first grade classrooms at their school. They asked students to share what they learned with family and friends. |
February Newsletter
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TIPS & TRICKS
Upcoming Benchmarks: -Understanding Energy Demand -Watts & Water -Know Your Renewables -Green Your Career -Final Presentation Spring Priorities Finish school energy audits! Start school-wide contest/energy saving campaign! Look for green career/community outreach opportunities! |
School Successes
San Antonio Elementary To incentivize classrooms participating in their school-wide PowerDown Challenge, the PowerSave Team is offering a prize (such as a donut party provided by PowerSave) for winning classrooms and advertising front runners on a leaderboard. Bonita Elementary School The PowerSave Team taught fellow students that wasting energy can harm people and the environment by making an announcement before an Energy Hog assembly. They also helped the Energy Hog Buster send the Energy Hog packing! 
PowerSave Spotlight
Jocielly Aure and her co-team leads at Middleton Street Elementary School have really gone above and beyond with their program! Not only did she help her team conduct audits of their entire school, but she has aided with shutdown announcements for each individual classroom and guided them through Energy Patrols. Gage Middle School is planning a week long Earth Day celebration! The team is creating an energy obstacle course where each participant will use their energy knowledge to conquer the course! |
Interested in seeing more news from the PowerSave Schools Program? Click here to check out our archived news.
