Two new schools — one bearing the name of an acclaimed African-American educator and the other expanding its award-winning environmental curriculum — have galvanized hopes in the future of public education in South Los Angeles.

On Friday, Inglewood played host to the expansion of the environmental school movement — a curriculum that has been recognized by the Obama administration — with the grand opening of the Environmental Charter Middle School, located at 3600 West Imperial Highway.

The school, which opened its doors to 120 6th grade students for the 2010-2011 academic year, has a sister campus at the Environmental Charter High School, 16315 Grevillea Avenue, Lawndale.

The opening was attended by local council members Ralph Franklin and interim mayor-elect Danny Tabor, Gardena city council member  Dan Medina, state Assemblyman Steven Bradford and representatives from the offices of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

“Without a doubt this is an important event because our whole future is about renewable energy and environmental consciousness,” said Bradford.

“This school promotes that and this campus will be a proving ground and incubator for young folks who will be the future workforce in those disciplines.”

They joined the school’s founder and executive director Alison Suffet-Diaz and principal Kami Cotler for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Welcoming the inaugural class, Suffet-Diaz told the students they would become members of a special community where they will learn “to make magic happen.

“Last year the graduating class of ECHS made the impossible happen and captured the attention of the nation by putting together an application for “Obama’s Race to the Top” commencement competition. He agreed that ECHS was one of the best in the nation.”

Catering to a small school environment of 25-30 children per classroom, the curriculum is designed to help students develop academic skills, knowledge and attitudes to be effective in college preparatory high school and be good stewards  of their local environment.

“One way of integrating the environment into the learning for 6th graders is that they are at a huge transition themselves developmentally,” explained Cotler.

“This is an age when they are really beginning to understand that other people exist other than themselves. It’s their first step out of egotism of childhood and they are finally at a place where their critical thinking skills are coming into full bloom.

“Secondly, they are beginning to ask hard questions about what their parents do and what this world is doing so if you bring them information about different choices it will make sense to them because they’re already connected to what’s around them.”

Meanwhile, Sept. 13 saw the opening of 21 new schools throughout LAUSD, including the Dr. Owen Lloyd Knox Elementary School, located between 89th and 90th streets at Main Street.

The $85 million state-of-the-art campus, which boasts 42 classrooms and caters to six different grades for an overall enrollment of 1050 pupils, is named after the Louisiana-born former teacher, principal and local district assistant superintendent.

In a rare honor for a school to be named after a living person, Knox joined District 1 Board Member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, Dr. George McKenna, Local District 7 Superintendent, Principal Karen Ward, staff, parents and community members for the official opening.

“This is a day of celebration. When we told Dr. Knox that we were naming the school after him he cried,” revealed LaMotte.

“But they were the best tears we had ever seen. They were tears of joy from a man who’s worked extremely hard for the boys and girls of this city.”

LaMotte added: “So the teachers know what we expect from you. Our test scores are going to be off the chart and we don’t want anybody to have anything negative to say about Knox Elementary.”

According to a LAUSD factsheet, Knox Elementary will relieve crowding at four nearby elementary schools and two middle schools.

“It’s hard to describe just what an immense and amazing honor it is to have your name on a school that shapes the potential and future of young people,” Knox told The Wave.

“And then to come to the school and find it’s not just a new building, but a beautiful state-of-the-art facility. It’s almost unthinkable that anybody will be able to fail here.”

Photos: Dr. Knox reads to elementary pupils in the library and media center of the new school named in his honor and 6th graders at Inglewood's Environmental Charter Middle School tend to their garden. Credit: Olu Alemoru, Gary McCarthy