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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.

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

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Green Schools Committee
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Committee Members

CSDNR Committee Members

  • Nathaniel Adams, Program Coordinator, New Rochelle My Brother's Keeper Initiative

  • Marisa Adler, Parent

  • Alex Alvarez, Community Volunteer

  • Meilisa Arlt, CSDNR Purchasing Agent

  • Oumar Bamba, Davis Student

  • Hawa Bamba, Parent

  • Emily Bates, Student

  • Mary Claire Breslin, Federation of United School Employees

  • Ray Casher, District Custodial Supervisor

  • Ava Dee, Student

  • Ivy Dee, Parent

  • Brenda DeGiacomo, Parent Teacher Association Council

  • Nicole Forman, Parent

  • Nicole Friedman, Student

  • Robin Friedman, Parent

  • Teresa Carmen Glenn, NRHS Science teacher

  • Sam Hollander, Parent

  • Leslie Hughes, District Office

  • Amy Kessler, Parent

  • Eric Kessler, Parent

  • Sara Key, Community Volunteer

  • Carlos Leal, CSDNR Business Official and Chief of Staff

  • Alexa Lopez, Davis Student

  • Maria Lopez, Parent

  • James Mumm, Community Volunteer

  • Kim Nieves, Jefferson Elementary School Principal, Administrators and Supervisors Representative, Co-Lead

  • Wendy Ochoa-Grosso, Senior Account Clerk

  • Jennifer Peck, Community Volunteer

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

  • Eli Robinson, Student Rep

  • Lauren Robinson, Community Volunteer

  • Nick Sioufas, Community Volunteer

  • Jayme Sirota, Student

  • Gail Sirota, Parent

  • Melany Soto, Davis Student

  • Cely Rodriquez Hernandez, Parent

  • Otilia Taylor-Tanner, Parent

  • Anastasia Tzortzatos, CSDNR Director of Technology

  • Keith Watkins, CSDNR Director of Facilities

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

  • Expand outdoor education by increasing the number of school gardens

  • Expand schoolyard natural habitats

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

Green Schools Audits and Competition Fair

  • Create school Green Teams audit sites and provide recommendations for improvement projects in a science fair-style competition

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