Sustainable Jersey for Schools awarded all four Highland Park, New Jersey schools a Bronze Certification, recognizing the district’s commitment to being an environment-conscious school district that has met the rigorous requirements to achieve certification.
To become Jersey certified, Highland Park Schools submitted documentation to show it had completed a balance of the required sustainability actions, meeting a minimum of 150 action points. In addition, each certified school had to create a “green team” and select at least two out of 11 priority action options. Action options included community education and outreach and student education about sustainability in Grades K-12.
Superintendent, Dr. Scott Taylor, stated, “It is a huge honor to be recognized for our commitment to environmental protection and sustainability. Our board has implemented policies, and our school faculty and leadership have put procedures in place that have led to such amazing practices as a school travel plan for walking and biking, a staff wellness program, and efforts to buy renewable energy.”
About Sustainable Jersey for Schools
Sustainable Jersey for Schools is a certification program for public schools in New Jersey. Launched in October 2014, Sustainable Jersey for Schools is a program of Sustainable Jersey, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides tools, training and financial incentives to support and reward schools as they pursue sustainability programs. The process is one hundred percent voluntary and each school can choose whether it wants to get certified and the actions it wants to do in order to achieve enough points to get certified.
The New Jersey School Boards Association, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) Clean Energy Program and the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) underwrite sustainable Jersey for Schools. The PSEG Foundation, New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) and the New Jersey Department of Health underwrite small Grants for Sustainable Jersey for Schools. The Founding Sponsors are South Jersey Gas, New Jersey Natural Gas and NJM Insurance Group. The program supporters are the Foundation for Educational Administration and the Bayer Foundation.
Program partners include: New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA), New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA), New Jersey Association of School Business Officials (NJASBO), New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), New Jersey Parent Teacher Association (NJPTA), New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association (NJPSA), New Jersey School Buildings and Grounds Association (NJSBGA) and The Sustainability Institute at The College of New Jersey.