Politics & Government

Gwinnett Schools Win National Green Ribbon Award

The Gwinnett County Public Schools district will split a $10,000 prize with Cobb County's Ford Elementary.

Gwinnett County Public Schools is among the nation's first school districts to be awarded a sustainability award from the U.S. Department of Education.

The announcement came this week to coincide with Earth Day. In addition to Gwinnett County's honor, Ford Elementary in Cobb County was named a 2013 national Green Ribbon School.

For their outstanding green principles, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) and Ford Elementary will split $10,000 in award money from the Turner Foundation.

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"We are so proud that once again a Georgia school has been named a National Green Ribbon School,” said State School Superintendent John Barge. "We are equally proud of Gwinnett County Public Schools for being named as one of the first National Green Ribbon Districts.

"This goes to show that schools and districts in Georgia are striving to be more energy efficient, developing healthy living habits and providing environmental education."

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GCPS was honored, in part, for its ENERGY STAR-certified buildings, as we as energy-efficient upgrades, such as occupancy sensors and water source heat pumps.

"We are very proud of the work our school district has accomplished in terms of its ‘green’ initiatives," said J. Alvin Wilbanks, GCPS chief executive officer and superintendent, in a press release. "Through our actions in the area of energy conservation and environmental education, we are better serving our community and teaching valuable lessons to our students.

"In addition, these efforts are an excellent example of our outstanding stewardship of resources as they have resulted in savings of millions of dollars annually in utility costs.”

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan had this to say: "The honorees are modeling a comprehensive approach to being green. They are demonstrating ways schools can simultaneously cut costs; improve health, performance and equity; and provide an education geared toward the jobs of the future.

GCPS and Ford Elementary were first nominated through a partnership involving the state Department of Education, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, the U.S. Green Building Council of Georgia, Georgia EPD, the Clean Air Campaign, Captain Planet Foundation and the Turner Foundation.

Want to know more?

  • To view a list of all the selected school and district winners, as well as nomination packages, click here. A report with highlights on the 78 honorees can be found here.
  • Learn more about the federal program by clicking here.
  • Find resources for for helping your school or district become more environmentally friendly, by clicking here.

See also:

  • GCPS to Represent State in National Green Ribbon School District Program


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