INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS
Schools Encouraged to Go ‘Green’ A new U.S. Department of Education initiative is recognizing
schools that create healthy and sustainable learning environ- ments teaching environmental literacy. Federal representatives this spring said the Green Ribbon Schools program reflects an administration’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy efficiency and preparing today’s students for jobs in fields that provide clean energy solu- tions. A new awards program will be run by the Education Department with the support of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Te Education Department, EPA and CEQ will use the Green Ribbon Schools program to recognize schools for their energy conservation and how those efforts affect learning. Te program is modeled after the Department of Educa-
tion’s Blue Ribbon Schools Program, which annually honors public and private schools that are either high performing or have improved student achievement to high levels. Applica- tions for the program will be released later this year, and the
first group of “Green Ribbon Schools” will be announced next year. EPA Administrator
Lisa Jackson and CEQ Chair
Nancy Sutley
joined Education Sec- retary Arne Duncan on April 26 in planting a tree at the Department of Education’s headquarters. The Texas live oak they planted is the same tree that is depicted in the Ed- ucation Department’s seal, symbolizing a commitment to securing our nation’s future by promoting student achieve- ment and fostering education excellence. “Preparing our children to be good environmental citizens is
some of the most important work any of us can do,” U.S. Sec- retary of Education Arne Duncan said on April 26 during an event announcing the new program. “It’s work that will serve future generations and quite literally sustain our world.”
More Guidance On Restraint and Seclusion Although congressional action on the hotly-debated subject of
restraint and seclusion in schools seems to be in a holding pattern, the U.S. Department of Education announced it will offer districts specific guidance in lieu of a government mandate. Tis will coin- cide with the release of the first national data ever that covers the use of restraint and seclusion in schools, explained Alexa Posny, the
DOE’s top special education official, to the safety subcommittee of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. According to Posny, the federal effort will attempt to advise schools how to handle instances when restraint or seclusion might be necessary through the use of positive behavior supports and other tech- niques before considering restraining a child.
School Bus Driver Gives First-Person Account of Tsunami George O. Layton, a
school bus driver for Del Norte County Unified School District in Cres- cent City, Calif., shared his experience of the March 11 tsunami that resulted from the earthquakes in
Japan. He received two early-morning calls from the department’s second in command, Carlena Horn, informing him of the situation and to be prepared to come into work to help with an evacuation. “Fortunately, we had been training for this moment for a few years,
with some FEMA management training, some information on know- ing the tsunami inundation zones, knowledge of the evacuation sites, and which roads and highways were in and out of the inundation
14 School Transportation News Magazine July 2011
zones, and the knowledge we would be working with a couple of other transportation agencies,” Layton recalled. “Tis was, however, the real thing, with real evacuations and a tsunami of unknown pro- portions. Tank goodness for that advanced training!” After evacuating residents from the tsunami inundation area, staff
retrieved local transit buses and drove them to the school district compound, which is the command center for all transportation in an emergency. In all, 18 school buses, 11 RCT buses, and five Coast- line buses either were on the streets or ready to roll throughout the county. Several were dispatched to the downtown areas, to several housing units and to other low lying areas to evacuate residents Layton and the rest of the drivers waited patiently for their next or-
ders. By the evening they were returning all residents to their homes. Luckily, he said the area received little damage, but Layton and the others were thankful for all of their training and preparation.
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