E=USE² Takes on a New Look
Fayette County Public Schools believes that all students deserve the opportunity to be educated in healthy, sustainable, efficient environments conducive to learning. A FCPS Green School excels in three areas of whole school sustainability
- Building Efficiency
- Environmental Literacy
- Student & Staff Wellness
This whole-system approach requires student leaders, school administration and district personnel to work together to reduce our environmental impact of buildings and grounds, promote student and teacher health and increase environmental literacy among students and graduates. To that end, E=USE2 is adopting an inquiry-based, project-driven, standards-aligned paradigm approach that will put tools in students hands and ask them to analyze the data they’ve collected to answer the questions What does this data tell me about how green & healthy my school is? and What can I do to improve my school?
Following Our Students’ Lead
Launching in 2017, students will use their school buildings as Living Labs and shift from learning about sustainability to investigating problems and developing solutions. The investigations imbedded in E=USE2 seamlessly integrate into classroom instruction, purposefully aligns with NGSS and Practical Living KY Academic Standards and educates entire school communities—not just the students—about sustainable, efficient and healthy habits.
Sustainability Audit- students will conduct monthly audits and collect data on sustainability habits like lighting efficiency, appliance usage, recycling and airborne allergens.
Plug Load Survey- students will utilize a Belkin Conserve Insight meter to calculate the fiscal and environmental impact of common classroom appliances.
Light Level Survey- students will measure light levels across their school building to identify potential overlit, inefficient areas.
Indoor Air Quality- students will measure carbon dioxide, relative humidity and temperature of various school areas.
Building Envelope- students will apply what they learn about heat transfer loss from windows, walls, ceilings and doors to their own homes by using a infrared thermal heat gun.
What Do the Numbers Mean?
Collecting data is only the first step. Students will graph and analyze the data to inform their decisions on how to improve their school’s sustainability. Energy Engineer Logan Poteat will be available for classroom discussion to help students brainstorm and define their top project priorities, and Go Green + Earn Green incentive funds will be available if student projects require minimal funding.
To learn more about E=USE2 and its targeted integration into standards-based curriculum, please email Tresine.Logsdon@fayette.kyschools.us
