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The City School District of New Rochelle will aspire to have schools and district facilities that are environmentally sustainable, manage resources efficiently and economically, and be safe places for children and staff to learn and work. Our schools will be neighborhood hubs for educating students, families and the community to become environmental stewards for a greener and sustainable New Rochelle.

Flowers

CSDNR Green Schools Committee and Albert Leonard Middle School student Eli Robinson discusses the importance of the Green Schools Committee's work.

Green Schools in the News

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Green Schools Committee

City of New Rochelle Sustainability Resources

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Green Schools

Committee Members

  • Meilisa Arlt, CSDNR Purchasing Agent

  • Mia Baudry, CSDNR Sustainability and Environmental Coordinator and Green Schools Committee Co-Lead

  • Amanda Burgos, Parent

  • Ray Casher, District Custodial Supervisor

  • Brenda DeGiacomo, Parent Teacher Association Council

  • Nicole Forman, Parent

  • Carmen Glenn, NRHS Science teacher

  • William Iannuzzi, CSDNR Board of Education President

  • Sara Kaye, New Rochelle City Council Member, Parent

  • Jonathan Larosa, Huguenot Academy Science Teacher

  • James Mumm, Parent, Green Schools Funding Subcommittee

  • Kim Nieves, Jefferson Elementary School Principal, Green Schools Committee Co-Lead

  • Wendy Ochoa-Grosso, CSDNR Senior Account Clerk

  • Paul Anthony Presendieu, New Rochelle Ecology and Natural Resources Advisory Committee, Leadership Subcommittee Member

  • Eli Robinson, Student Rep

  • Lauren Robinson, Parent

  • Nick Sioufas, City of New Rochelle Sustainability Coordinator, Funding Subcommittee Member

  • Otilia Taylor-Tanner, CSDNR Teaching Assistant, Parent

  • Anastasia Tzortzatos, CSDNR Director of Technology

  • Keith Watkins, CSDNR Director of Facilities, Funding Subcommittee Member

Green Schools Fair

Green Schools Fair

Green Schools Subcommittees

Healthy and Sustainable Food Services

  • Pursue dining practices that minimize waste, take advantage of healthy, locally sourced food and explore composting and organic gardening opportunities

  • Reduce/eliminate the use of single use plastics in schools and cafeterias

Education

  • Green Clubs in each school building

  • Indoor and outdoor vegetable and/or native plant gardens in each school building

  • Green Club initiatives culminate in the yearly Green Fair, which is held in mid-May

  • Encourage classrooms to explore natural habitats on campus and beyond through regularly scheduled nature walks

  • Offer sustainability/green workshops for students, families, and community

Student watering plant

Funding for Development, Implementation, and Sustainability of the Work

  • Grants

  • Bonds

  • Local, State, and National foundations

  • State and federal funding opportunities

Facilities and Central Office Operations

  • Develop a comprehensive utility management program (electricity, natural gas, water) that maximizes conservation of natural resources, ensures optimal mechanical efficiency, and utilizes inexpensive available sources to fund conservation projects

  • Obtain LEED, or other green certification for our buildings

  • Implement green cleaning practices

  • Create sustainable and healthy buildings

  • Expand a comprehensive recycling program 

  • Pursue a comprehensive waste stream management program focused on source reduction and landfill diversion

  • Pursue a transportation plan that encourages and supports efficient forms of transportation for students, employees, and families, including carpooling, after school activities, and regular bus routes

  • Work with the transportation company to install particulate traps on all school buses and change all equipment to run on 5% biodiesel

  • Retrofit and upgrade existing greenhouses 

  • Conduct building audits to reduce energy, water, waste, and toxic chemicals

  • Develop Green Plans to reduce carbon footprint greenhouse gasses 

  • Establish procurement policies and practices that do not rely exclusively on initial cost, but account for other factors such as total cost of ownership (life cycle costing) and environmental impact (Energy Star, grown locally, etc.)

  • Incorporate “green and resilient” thinking into all new projects and renovations that encourage renewable energy sources, maintenance free components, maximum insulating efficiency, use of recycled materials, and take advantage of environmental factors that help conservation efforts