Ninety-eight Oakland County schools were recognized as Michigan Green or Emerald Schools at a ceremony today at Oakland Schools.
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Oakland Schools Superintendent Dr. Vickie L. Markavitch congratulated representatives from each of the 98 schools and awarded them a Michigan Green Schools flag and a certificate signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
"The Michigan Green Schools Program has energized Oakland County's students to become more environmentally sensitive while clearly demonstrating what they do does make a difference," Patterson said. "The fact that we more than doubled the number of schools participating over last year illustrates that Oakland County students, their teachers and the school staff understand their responsibility to future generations and are committed to being good stewards of our environment."
Markavitch praised the honorees while recognizing the importance of educating students to be productive citizens in a changing world.
"The Green Schools we recognized today for their commitment to recycling paper and other materials, instituting an energy-savings program, establishing a garden, or doing energy audits could not have met the program criteria without the involvement and engagement of their students," Markavitch said.
"I applaud the accomplishments of our schools and students for their efforts which have expanded the traditional definition of citizenship – demonstrating a sense of responsibility and obligation for the world in which we live. These are powerful lessons which transcend the classroom and build character that will help our students be successful in school and beyond."
The 98 schools is more than double the number that participated last year when 41 schools were designated Green and four were designated Emerald. This year 32 schools took the extra steps to be designated Emerald.
The Michigan Green Schools Initiative is a statewide program that was signed into law by Governor Granholm in 2006. A school that participates in 10 of 20 listed environmental and energy savings activities can apply to be designated a Green School.
A school that takes the extra steps and participates in 15 of the activities can apply to be designated an Emerald School. Schools reapply for the designation each year. The program is administered at the county level by Oakland County Waste Resource Management.
Oakland Schools is a partner in this program. Information about the 2009-2010 program will be available on the Oakland County Waste Resource Management website at
www.oakgov.com/waste/green_schools in the summer.
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