Taking Green Ribbon to Scale Campaign

The California Green Ribbon Schools (CA-GRS) recognition award is the corresponding state award for the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools recognition award (ED-GRS). This award recognizes school communities for excellence in resource efficiency, health and wellness, and environmental and sustainability education. As of 2023, only three percent of California school districts have participated in the California Green Ribbon program (see California Green Ribbon Summary Data 2014-2023 to learn more). Therefore, CAELI has launched an initiative style campaign to increase participation.

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GOALS

The goal of the Green Ribbon CAELI-Wide Initiative is to increase participation in the California Green Ribbon to at least fifteen percent of California school districts by 2028.

PROJECTS & WORKING GROUPS

This initiative focuses on the following goals The Green Ribbon CAELI-wide Initiative is focused on three efforts in 2024-25:

CAELI Green Ribbon Technical Assistance Working Group: This working group is made up of leaders across the state who are champions for the Green Ribbon program and/or provide technical assistance to districts and schools pursuing. The working group also plans the California Green Ribbon Achievers and Applicants Network, and has developed the CAELI Green Ribbon Resources Website in order to provide applicants with the resources they need to achieve success in the Green Ribbon recognition program.
California Green Ribbon Achievers and Applicants Network: This network meets quarterly with a focus on giving participants the chance to network with each other to inspire and share best practices. The network strives to help participants move from being a one-time applicant, to participants who apply year-after-year until they achieve “Green Achiever”. For schools that achieve at this highest level, the network helps to identify strategies for continuous improvement and innovation beyond the Green Ribbon framework. The network is also be active in recruiting new schools and districts to apply to be a Green Ribbon school.
Check out recordings from last year’s network events here: Dates for 2024-25 include:
- Thursday September 12, 2024 from 3:30 – 4:30: Agenda, Recording
- Thursday December 5, 2024 from 3:30 – 4:30: Agenda, Recording
- Thursday February 27, 2025 from 3:30 – 4:30: Registration Link
- Thursday May 8, 2025 from 3:30 – 4:30: Registration Link

Data and Stories from the Field: This initiative will continue to support efforts to utilize a data and equity informed strategy for going to scale. In particular this means supporting the annual updating of the Green Ribbon Data Report. Additionally, the initiative will continue to gather stories from the field through Green Ribbon Promising Practice Profiles and articles.