School-Wide Environmental Behavior Changes
Narrative:
Gunston has accelerated its position as a regional and national leader in environmental teaching and learning since the release of its forward thinking Environmental Strategic Plan, released in January 2016.
The Environmental Strategic Plan is ambitious and broad reaching, spanning Gunston’s curriculum, facilities, community partnerships, and new programs. We are proceeding deliberately and taking advantage of opportunities that come our way.
1. Curriculum
Teaching and learning is at the center of what Gunston does. Over the past two years, the faculty has put significant work into understanding Educating for Sustainability as an integrating context for Gunston’s environmental, global, and technology initiatives. We have worked with both faculty and the Board to envision teaching and learning in the 21st Century at Gunston. Themes that continue to emerge include place-based and project-based learning, student-driven inquiry, college readiness and cultural competency.
During the 2016-2017 academic year, Gunston faculty put in extensive professional work time to update their curriculum maps in Rubicon Atlas, a web-based platform. A curriculum map is a planning tool utilized by teachers to plan the sequence and timing of major instructional units and content of their course. The strength of Atlas is its ability to allow us to analyze how and what we are teaching, increasing the strength of the learning experience for our students. The results are truly impressive, clearly positioning Gunston as a regional and national leader in environmental teaching and learning.
Highlights:
Attached below: faculty meeting agenda showing strategic environmental planning, new faculty induction agenda showing time allotted for Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, excerpt from Gunston's annual magazine on sustainability across the curriculum.
Gunston has accelerated its position as a regional and national leader in environmental teaching and learning since the release of its forward thinking Environmental Strategic Plan, released in January 2016.
The Environmental Strategic Plan is ambitious and broad reaching, spanning Gunston’s curriculum, facilities, community partnerships, and new programs. We are proceeding deliberately and taking advantage of opportunities that come our way.
1. Curriculum
Teaching and learning is at the center of what Gunston does. Over the past two years, the faculty has put significant work into understanding Educating for Sustainability as an integrating context for Gunston’s environmental, global, and technology initiatives. We have worked with both faculty and the Board to envision teaching and learning in the 21st Century at Gunston. Themes that continue to emerge include place-based and project-based learning, student-driven inquiry, college readiness and cultural competency.
During the 2016-2017 academic year, Gunston faculty put in extensive professional work time to update their curriculum maps in Rubicon Atlas, a web-based platform. A curriculum map is a planning tool utilized by teachers to plan the sequence and timing of major instructional units and content of their course. The strength of Atlas is its ability to allow us to analyze how and what we are teaching, increasing the strength of the learning experience for our students. The results are truly impressive, clearly positioning Gunston as a regional and national leader in environmental teaching and learning.
Highlights:
- A revised mission and philosophy statement that places environmental learning at the center of the Gunston experience.
- A board-level leadership focus on environmental strategic planning that prioritizes environmental stewardship as a central school emphasis.
- A school-wide integration of environmental stewardship topics into the curriculum across all disciplines.
- The development of ongoing faculty and staff administrative professional development protocols that now make environmental stewardship one of the four areas of primary focus for faculty professional development and orientation experiences.
- New faculty orientation includes a full-day tour of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum to introduce faculty to the Bay region, and each faculty member must pursue an bi-annual environmental professional development experience as part of their ongoing training.
Attached below: faculty meeting agenda showing strategic environmental planning, new faculty induction agenda showing time allotted for Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, excerpt from Gunston's annual magazine on sustainability across the curriculum.
faculty_meeting_agenda_environmental_planning.pdf | |
File Size: | 117 kb |
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new_faculty_and_staff_induction_2018.pdf | |
File Size: | 159 kb |
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2. Facilities
The school's 100-year history is replete with high-quality student environmental learning experiences, but during the last five years, the school has established environmental sustainability as one of the school’s primary areas of emphasis as our campus and buildings receive needed upgrades. Our recent accomplishments include:
Gunston's Energy Star Building Audit attached below:
The school's 100-year history is replete with high-quality student environmental learning experiences, but during the last five years, the school has established environmental sustainability as one of the school’s primary areas of emphasis as our campus and buildings receive needed upgrades. Our recent accomplishments include:
- A $6 million facilities renovation of our academic buildings where sustainability and energy-efficiency were a top priority,
- Installation of LED lighting in the Field House, funded through grants and credits
- Replacing two major septic systems on campus with state-of-the-art BAT systems.
- A comprehensive stormwater restoration project on campus that repaired three badly damaged intermittent drainages with restorative step-pool conveyance systems and regraded and stabilized an eroding hillside located within the 100’ buffer.
- Gunston now conducts annual Energy Star building audits to monitor and address energy consumption across the facility.
- A dedicated area on our website focused on the school's commitment to highlighting the school's efforts in environmental stewardship.
- A heightened campus focus on paperless communication and recycling. A new daily bulletin includes environmental "tips" generated by students.
- Gunston includes an annual Sustainability Report in its annual magazine to share success with the wider community and to promote greater accountability for our stated goals.
Gunston's Energy Star Building Audit attached below:
energy_star_building_audit.pdf | |
File Size: | 519 kb |
File Type: |
Pictures below of Gunston's Sustainability Report in its annual magazine:
Pictures below of 2018 stormwater restoration project on Gunston's campus, showing step-pool conveyance systems and regraded and stabilized hillside located within the 100’ buffer:
3. Community Partnerships
Aspects of Gunston's longstanding relationships with environmental partners are detailed under Community Partnerships (community in the school and school in the community).
4. New Programs
Gunston launched the Chesapeake Watershed Semester in the fall of 2018 after four years of careful planning and development. To learn more about the program, go to Chesapeake Watershed Semester, listed under Curriculum and Instruction.
Aspects of Gunston's longstanding relationships with environmental partners are detailed under Community Partnerships (community in the school and school in the community).
4. New Programs
Gunston launched the Chesapeake Watershed Semester in the fall of 2018 after four years of careful planning and development. To learn more about the program, go to Chesapeake Watershed Semester, listed under Curriculum and Instruction.