SLO #5 – Grant Proposal
LEADERSHIP by influencing policy and practice in educational communities through
advocacy and example.
For years I had wanted to implement a recycling program at my school. Students would
always ask, “Which trash can is for recycling?” I would sheepishly reply that we didn’t have
one. I fashioned an old storage bin into a recycling container in my classroom, but I wanted to
figure out a way to create a schoolwide waste management program. I noticed so many
opportunities for recycling and I realized that it would not take much to organize a system that
would reduce the waste sent off to our landfills, as well as to instill a sense of responsibility in
students with regards to the environment. My school was already taking measures to reduce
energy use through the use of motion sensored lighting and double-paned windows. However, I
knew that by piloting a recycling program in my school, I could eventually extend the program
to other schools in the district. I wrote a grant requesting funding from the Environmental
Protection Agency and found that they were willing to offer money to support organizations that
were eager to establish recycling programs in their institutions.
I researched the local city government and found that the city that my school resides in works
with the public to find ways to encourage everyone in the community to make waste reduction a
part of their everyday lives. The City agreed to work jointly with my school to implement the
pilot on-campus recycling program and to promote education and awareness of our goal to make
our community waste-free. By joining with the community to put this program into operation,
the plan was to affect positive and meaningful change as we educate the next generation on how
to care for the environment. By preparing children to take responsibility for the well being of the
natural world, schools provide our best opportunity in the long run to solve problems such as
global warming.
School district waste reduction programs foster student achievement by transforming the
school environment into a laboratory for learning and providing numerous opportunities for
investigation through environment based education. My primary objectives were to link
classroom learning and the real world. I wanted to make a difference in how young people think,
in their sense of responsibility toward their communities, and in their understanding of their
relationship to the environment. The objective was to help students become aware of ways they
could cut down on the amount of trash they produced and to educate them on reusing materials
they might previously have thrown out.
This was the first time I took a leadership role at my school. As a teacher, I have always
been more comfortable staying in the background. However, this was a cause I was passionate
about and I had seen this type of program implemented effectively at other schools. By
corresponding with schools that had put successful waste reduction programs into practice, I was
able to structure a similar plan for my school. I learned that staying in the background was not
always the best approach. I will continue to work with the committee to expand the program and
to promote unity within our school by caring for the environment.