Charter Schools in HSC Collaborative Kick Off New School Food Programs
More than three thousand students at three Chicago public charter schools are eating healthy, freshly prepared school food as part of new school meal programs this year – and even their teachers are lining up to get a great tasting lunch from the school cafeteria.
Namaste Charter School, Noble Street Charter School and Perspectives Charter School launched new school food programs after working together with HSC to develop goals and strategies for implementation. HSC facilitated meetings where school leaders shared their varied experiences in both the logistics and the big picture of implementing a healthy school food program.
"This was truly one of those situations where the sum became stronger than each of the parts," said Jean Saunders, HSC’s director of school wellness. "Each school learned from the others’ insight, even though their goals were different."
Noble Street came to the discussions with the goal of making a significant food transformation, while Namaste hoped to bring more healthy food to a long-established focus on wellness and Perspectives hoped to maintain a high quality of food while decreasing costs. As charter schools, each organization has flexibility in aspects of operation – including food service – that allows them to make such changes.
All three of the schools achieved these goals through solutions they developed in working together with HSC. As the school year continues, the group will share lessons learned with each other and with other schools interested in making changes. Stay posted for updates in the HSC newsletter and magazine.
Plus: Check out a recent Chicago Tribune article on the new food program at Namaste Charter School!
HSC Lunch & Learn Series Features Green Building and Green Cleaning Pioneers
HSC hosted a series of Lunch & Learn events in the Chicago area during the national Greenbuild conference, featuring pioneers in the fields of green building and green cleaning.
Anja Caldwell, the Green Building Program Manager for Montgomery County Public Schools and self-described "proud parent of the first LEED certified school in Maryland," shared her insight on ways that all schools can benefit from green changes and ideas.
Kurt Larson, who worked closely on New York’s implementation of a policy requiring green cleaning in schools, shared lessons learned in his experiences as Illinois leaders prepare to embark on implementation of a similar policy.
HSC Receives American Institute of Architects Illinois President’s Award
The American Institute of Architects Illinois (AIA) has presented HSC with their President’s Award, the only annual award presented to an organization outside of AIA. We’re honored to receive this award from a group we hold in such high esteem.
HSC has worked with AIA to bring the green schools message to design professionals in Illinois through trainings, policy and outreach. It’s through this collaboration that we were able to help pass legislation requiring that all new schools built in Illinois with state funds meet energy-efficient design standards.
We thank AIA for this award and look forward to continuing our work together to bring the benefits of green design to all students, teachers and schools staff.
Plus: Check out our blog on the AIA award! |
