nothin Youth Climate Activists Grade Ed Board On… | New Haven Independent

Youth Climate Activists Grade Ed Board On Pandemic Aid Spending

Emily Hays Photos

Kiana Flores, 17: It would be ridiculous if no federal aid went to climate relief.

New Haven Board of Education members have a chance of getting an A, but they will have to work for it.

They face tough grading from students involved in the New Haven Climate Movement. The students promise to dole out As only if the board spends $6.6 million in federal aid on climate education and upgrades.

The Board of Education is receiving a lot of federal money. We thought it would be pretty absurd not to prioritize climate justice and education,” said Cooperative Arts & Humanities senior Kiana Flores.

The youth activists held a press conference outside New Haven Public Schools’ headquarters on Tuesday afternoon to announce their plans to issue a report card on the board and to explain what kinds of behavior would elicit each grade. For example, a C‑grade board member is a hard worker but has difficulty staying on the task of protecting the future.”

The activists have put similar pressure on the city to set aside money in annual operating budgets and in the new influx of federal, pandemic-related aid.

District administrators and employees passed the event as they left 54 Meadow St. to head home.

Young In Kim, 16.

The high school members of the New Haven Climate Movement came up with the report card ideas themselves, based on websites that offer teachers example comments. They shared the ideas on a Google Doc. Their adult ally, Chris Schweitzer, printed the report cards out on colorful paper. Schweitzer often helps out with the movement as program director for the New Haven/Leon Sister City Project.

The board would receive a failing grade from New Haven Climate Movement (NHCM) if it spends no federal, Covid-19 relief dollars on combating climate change.

Those staging the demonstration turned out to be a crowd of three, including Flores, Schweitzer and Wilbur Cross sophomore Young In Kim. The sudden downpour of resources for New Haven Public Schools has happened quickly, as have the opportunities to shape what the district spends the money on.

The New Haven Climate Movement is targeting roughly $80 million in American Rescue Plan dollars set aside for New Haven Public Schools. The district has to submit a basic plan for how to spend that money by June 7, with the full application due mid-August.

It feels like winning a million dollars, only to have to spend that money in Walmart in 15 minutes, Schweitzer said, quoting a teacher friend.

Chris Schweitzer: This process feels like trying to spend $1M in Walmart in 15 minutes.

The timeline has been so fast that not all high schoolers involved in NHCM were able to attend the demonstration. Flores and Kim bravely represented their group on a trek into 54 Meadow St. with flyers and demands in hand. Another member of the group had designed the flyers, which highlighted horrifying climate projects in bright, cheerful colors.

A series of guards and custodians directed Flores and Kim up to Superintendent Iline Tracey’s office, where her secretary accepted the flyers and letters on Tracey’s behalf.

The letter includes the specific requests that would total $6.6 million. Kim said he is excited about the $70,000 a year that would support student involvement in clean ups, gardening and park care. He is also excited about the green jobs training program the group has proposed for the city.

Flores is most excited about using $3 million to upgrade the energy performance of New Haven schools. This is already something schools have started and could do more of, according to Flores.

Despite graduating soon, Flores does not plan to lose contact with the New Haven Climate Movement. She will remain in New Haven when she attends Yale in the fall.

Read the full list of demands below.

Proposed Climate Projects and Budget

Proposed Board of Education Project 2021 – 2024 (estimated for three years — $6,590,000)

Hire Energy and Climate Education Staff/Educator to support in school and community learning on climate change, energy transition, and sustainability; help develop programs to prepare students for energy/climate jobs; engage families. Staff/resources $200,000/yr — $600,000.

New Educational Projects:

Project Based Learning on Climate and Energy — develop programs to engage student teams in climate solutions projects that reduce GHG emissions and improve public health (including lowering asthma rates) in New Haven. $40,000/yr — $120,000

Public health education/programming: Expand public health education recognizing that climate solutions and improved public health are linked (food choices, biking/walking, exercise, etc). $50,000/yr — $150,000.

Professional Development: ensure that educators have the resources they need and sufficient support and professional development to engage students in and engage in meaningful learning experiences to help youth build their knowledge and skills. (Example: Washington State Clime Time). $40,000/yr — $120,000

Family Education on Climate Change, Energy Savings, Transportation, and Public Health Actions (ideally student led with teacher support), with webinars, take home fliers and activities, climate fairs, student-parent environmental service opportunities, field trips. $70,000/yr — $210,000

New Energy Projects:
Hire Energy Technician/Staff Person to lead energy/solar work at buildings, reduce energy costs, electrification to reduce GHG pollution, improve health conditions in buildings. Improve building resilience in face of climate threats. 

Coordinate work on building envelopes, HVAC, energy automation, daylighting, measuring and tracking energy use, energy efficiency, and solar energy (source). Also need to improve building resiliency and prepare for changing heat and rain patterns. $120,000/yr — $360,000

Energy Retrofits/ Energy efficiency work: working with consultants invest in energy efficiency projects prioritizing those with short payback period; possibly establish revolving fund where savings are returned for future energy investments. $3 million total.

Note: Use local businesses to do work; build New Haven sustainable/clean energy business capacity.

Transition to Electric Vehicles, both BoE vehicles and school bus fleet — invest in transition, infrastructure and new BoE vehicles. Consultants to develop plan — $50,000.

Other Projects:

Invest in Safe Routes to Schools Coordination, walking and biking buses”, and Bike Education to create more affordable and sustainable options for students to travel to school. $90,000/yr — $270,000.

Provide CTtransit free bus passes (or U Pass) for all upper middle and high school students who could use the existing bus lines to support increased use of public transit, help transition away from car use, reduce air pollution, and increase student use of sustainable transportation. Estimate $200/student/yr x 2000 — $400,000/yr — $1.2 million.

Waste Reduction/Transition to Zero Waste Schools (increase recycling and composting). Coordinator $100,000/yr — $300,000.

Support student involvement in gardening, park care, tree planting activities (possibly with local nonprofits), field trips. $70,000/yr — $210,000.

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