Patrick County Public Schools received a 2016 Gold level Certified Green School Division award from the Virginia School Boards Association, school board officials announced at the school board’s December 8 meeting.
The VSBA Green Schools Challenge is an annual competition designed to encourage implementation of specific environmental policies and actions.
Patrick County is one of 29 school divisions across the state recognized as Green School Divisions; and one of nine at the Gold level. The levels run from Green Certification to Silver, Gold and Platinum. Three challenge winners are also selected.
The challenge consists of 12 categories and 30 actions items. School systems earn points for completing action items such as reducing energy consumption and establishing recycling programs.
School systems that rack up at least 100 points achieve Green Certification. Patrick County earned 160 Green Points for both its pre-2016 actions and actions taken this year. Energy efficiency was Patrick County’s highest-scoring area.
Patrick County also did well in the innovation category by using direct deposit; sharing academic information with parents through the online Parent Portal; going paperless with teacher evaluations and meeting agendas; and offering newsletters, handbooks and manuals online.
The Green Schools Challenge is part of the statewide Go Green Virginia initiative by the Virginia Municipal League, a statewide nonprofit coalition of city, town and county governments.
- Angela H. Hill