By the time our students reach the 8th grade, they are ready to tackle a variety of environmental issues that revolve around the big idea of SUSTAINABILITY. They learn the concept of Sustainable Farming, Sustainable Forestry, Sustainable Land Use, and Sustainable Energy Sources. They learn about the science of Global Warming in science class while in Social Studies class they seek to understand the various perspectives of other nations on the issue of global warming. Green Woods students graduate and attend some of the best magnet schools in the city such as Central, Science Leadership Academy, Masterman, CAPA, LaSalle, and St. Joseph's Prep.
They leave us with a broad knowledge base and a deep understanding of the complex economic, political, and social systems that drive our environmental decision-making. Our students are true global citizens able to apply their knowledge to real-world issues that require critical thinking and problem-solving.
This level of learning would not be possible without the dedication and commitment of a core team of teachers who never wavered from their belief that children can learn differently and still learn well and set out to prove it. It is because of their spirit and dedication that I nominate the teachers of Green Woods Charter School for this prestigious award.
In Kindergarten our students are introduced to the basic needs of living things. During their first year at Green Woods our youngest naturalists are given the opportunity explore the living and non-living things within three main habitats on our school grounds: the pond, the field, and forest. They learn about food chains, food webs, and how we, as humans, need the environment to sustain us.
In first grade our students are immersed in the study of four different pond ecosystems: Polliwog Pond, Cattail Pond, Springhouse Pond and Wind Dance Pond. Each is unique in their size and location providing for a diversity of animal and plant life to study.
In second grade, our students explore the field ecosystem with an in-depth study of the wildflowers in the field, seed dispersal, wildlife of the field, insects of the field, and IPM with a strong focus on bats - as pollinators and as nature's own IPM. Students also begin to learn the basics of weather terminology and weather patterns as they study the field through the seasons.
In third grade our students then look at a much larger picture of our local environment by exploring the entire forest ecosystem. Students start from the ground up by looking at the various soil types, species of plants, trees, wildlife, with a very specific focus on birds, their migration patterns, the human impacts that threaten them and what third graders can do to improve the forest for migrating birds and birds that live with us all year round.
In fourth grade our students begin to broaden their experience even more to include not only a study of our local streams, but they expand their focus to look at both the Schuylkill and Delaware River watersheds. This fourth grade year is the "bridge" year that leads our students from an in-depth study of their local environment to fifth grade where they study the environment from a more global perspective.
Our fifth grade Earth Science class has our students look at land, air, and water resources from a global perspective through an in-depth study of the weather and weather patterns. We believe that in having a deep understanding of our local environment, they are now well prepared to look at the environment from a global perspective. This is also the time they study global warming. In Social Studies they study the Kyoto Protocol to gain a better understanding of how other nations address the global warming crisis.
In sixth grade our students study physical science and chemistry with a focus on the environment. They focus on nutrient cycles, learning about the ways and forms in which nitrogen and carbon continuously travel through the biosphere. Students then studied the basic laws of motion and develop a conceptual understanding of the interaction of forces and matter, to better understand the dynamic nature of the natural world.
Our seventh grade students are immersed in an integrated and comprehensive unit focusing on the Yellow Fever Epidemic in Philadelphia. In Language Arts, they read the book "Fever" by Laurie Halse Anderson. The 7th graders learn that there are many people that impacted the development of our country through medicine and abolition. The unit includes lessons in language arts, social studies and science. In social studies the students take on the roles of either Dr. Benjamin Rush or Reverend Richard Allen in a mock version of the old game show - To Tell the Truth. In Life Science class the students learn how viruses are transmitted and they even construct virus models.
The 8th grade year at Green Woods is considered a "capstone" Human Ecology year when our students are able to conceptualize all that they have learned in the study of how humans impact our natural environment as a whole. For example: students study agriculture, with a focus on the concerns of farmers, the environmental impact of agricultural practices, and our role in the economics of agriculture through our choices at the supermarket. They learn about the causes of soil erosion and how farming practices in the early 20th century escalated the rate of erosion - and the modern farming methods that are reducing soil erosion.
Our students learn about the role that farmers play in managing the nutrients on their land, and the consequences of their choices. They study the effect of nutrient runoff and consider the environmental costs of eating beef compared with soy products. They also compare the environmental costs of eating fresh and locally grown produce compared with packaged food. In Social Studies the students learn about the Amish culture as both a farming and sustainable economic community. They focus is on the coal mining industry and learn how the rise of this industry supported the immigration of people to Pennsylvania. Students study labor laws, economics, and the impact of extraction methods, as they compare and contrast the various sources of energy such as coal, wind, and nuclear power.
As a team, it was the teachers' job to work both individually and collectively to create a curriculum framework that was engaging to students and met all of the guidelines outlined by the Department of Education. What is most impressive is that they did it themselves and they had to do it while they were teaching. No easy task.
What is most rewarding, however, is that our students recognize and value the hard work of our teachers and appreciate their efforts to create unique learning experiences that span all disciplines. Also, as a public school, Green Woods is required to take all of the same standardized tests as the School District of Philadelphia and many other schools throughout the state and country. If these tests are both valid and reliable then Green Woods integrated curriculum is certainly a success story for public education. Our standardized tests show that Green Woods students far exceed the local, state, and national averages in science and in all other tested subjects. When Arcadia University was asked to review the test scores for us, the results of their analysis proved the success of our program. We were told that, without a doubt, the results of these tests were a direct result of these learning opportunities.
Thanks to the hard work of great teachers, Green Woods is a success story for public education in Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, and beyond. In August 2004 we started as strangers with no curriculum. In August of 2006, Green Woods Curriculum was awarded "Exemplary Status" by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the inscription on the plague says it all: "...in recognition of your school's high standards of excellence in both standards-based teaching and learning and for giving your teachers the incentive to make change and the power of decision to make those changes." In addition to receiving this recognition from the Department of Education, we also received the 2007 Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence.
While it may be too early to tell just what impact our teaching will have on the world as a whole, we are confident that, thanks to our incredible teachers, our students develop a true understanding of sustainability and appreciate what the environment provides for us.
Great teachers created our award-winning curriculum foundation and not just for our students today, but for the many Green Woods students in the future who will be afforded an opportunity to benefit from all of this hard work.
Sustainability in teaching is about leaving behind those lessons that will last a lifetime. Clearly the teachers at Green Woods have done just that.
