EXECUTIVE MESSAGE

Last year, it was still just a vision: to create a middle school that extends our award-winning Environmental Charter School educational model to younger students.

We would do this by creating a public charter school designed to help students develop the academic skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to succeed in a college preparatory high school. On top of academic rigor, the high-performance school would use projects and service-based learning techniques that connect subjects with the real world and inspire students. It would focus on the whole child – social, emotional, creative and physical – and celebrate the beauty of nature.

Thanks to your support, we did it: introducing Environmental Charter Middle School (ECMS)! This month the dream becomes a reality. ECMS welcomes 100 students in its first 6th grade class. We will expand to 330 6th-to-8th-graders in the next two years.

We’re already off to a fantastic start. This summer our new community of students and their families came together to plant trees, paint, and help prepare the school for its first academic year!

It is only through efforts like this, and the generous financial and in-kind support of community members, parents, sponsors and partners like you, that we’ll be able to continue expanding this amazing educational model.

Kami Cotler is Founding Principal of Environmental Charter Middle School.

TOP STORIES

Get Out Your Calendar – We’ve Got a Lot Going on!

While our teachers ask students to make note of important dates for the new academic year, we also have a lot planned for you!

September 10

You’re Invited: Grand Opening of Environmental Charter Middle School

8:15 am, Concordia Church, 3600 West Imperial Highway, Inglewood.

Come learn about this new school, its innovative programs, and more! 

Emcee: TV host, writer and producer Sarah Backhouse. 

Guest speakers: Rachel Gutter, Director of the US Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools and Tom Feegel, Founder of Green My Parents. 

Click here for details.

October 24-26

Green Charter Schools National Conference & Workshop, Minneapolis, MN

Recognized nationally on PBS TV and by the President for our innovative approach and success in education, Environmental Charter Schools remains active on the national charter school scene...

Alison Suffet-Diaz, Founder & Executive Director of Environmental Charter Schools, and Sara Laimon, Founder & Director of our Green Ambassadors program will speak and lead workshops at this inaugural national conference.

The event focuses on improving school operations, teaching, and sustainability. Laimon also serves as Board Director of the Green Charter Schools Network, the event’s organizer. For more information, visit: www.greencharterschools.org or call: 1-800-280-6218.

November 1

New Science Lab Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

Join us as we open Environmental Charter High's New Indoor/Outdoor Science Center!

Thanks to grants from partners and sponsors, we are delighted to unveil our unique new science labs. Special new windows and lighting, movable state-of-the-art lab workspaces, a rain-catching cistern, a solar-powered oven, aquaculture tank, and other innovative features transform our campus into a palate of sustainable solutions from which our students learn.

November 6

RETHINK: GREEN Art Exhibit, Tasting and Charity Gala

Blackwelder, Culver City Arts District

Join us for an incredible event emceed by Ed Begley Jr. and hosted by Environmental Charter Schools (ECS) to celebrate its 10 years of success!

Rethink: Green will raise awareness and funds for ECS’ Green Ambassadors Institute, which will offer green education to teachers and students nationwide in 2011. We will also honor 10 ‘Green Leaders’ for their vision and innovation for a sustainable world.

Join 1,000 VIPs, celebrities, and public figures in a beautiful outdoor setting that will provide the backdrop for a Green Art Exhibition, Green Culture silent auction, organic wine and spirits tasting, interactive "learning installations" and more!

GREEN AMBASSADORS

Green Ambassadors Program Blossoms At Other Schools

The success of ECS’ innovative Green Ambassadors program has resulted in a growing demand from educators to adopt the program. Last year, ten public schools throughout California were trained to implement the program.

Thomas Jefferson High, a 90-year-old school in South Los Angeles whose notable alumni include Alvin Ailey, Ralph Bunche, Dorothy Dandridge, and Dexter Gordon, is the latest to implement the program. It has taken off under the enthusiastic direction of Kelley Budding, program coordinator at the school.

Earlier this year, Jefferson students planted fruit trees in the yards of neighbors to help beautify their surrounding community. They plan to help neighbors harvest their produce to cook and donate to the LA Food Bank.

“I LOVE the Green Ambassadors program,” raves Budding. “It offers an innovative way for students to put what they learn in the classroom into productive use and positive action in their community. The Green Ambassadors curriculum is very thorough and well-designed.”

Green Ambassadors Institute

Green Education to Grow Sustainable Schools and Communities

In partnership with UCLA Extension, Green Ambassadors Institute will be offering classes for teachers and administrators who want to make a difference at their school.

The first series of classes, “Green Ambassadors: Methods to Teach Sustainability & Create Active Citizens” will begin in October. For more information or to register, contact Lindsey Jurca or click here

Environmental Charter Schools’ award-winning Green Ambassadors program inspires students to continue their education after high school.

Students in the program quickly realize they are able to take action to improve their environment. Once they are inspired, their learning becomes more relevant. This sparks their desire to go on to college.

ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER WELCOMES NEW BOARD MEMBER 

Alma Coronado, Parent

Alma Coronado believes so strongly in an Environmental Charter School education that she is sending her own daughter to our new middle school.

Coronado researched many alternatives before choosing Environmental Charter for her daughter. “The management, methods of teaching, commitment to standards, the out of the box approach and commitment to excellence - plus Environmental Charter Schools’ diversity and well-rounded environment - all convinced me this was the best choice for my child,” says Coronado. “There were not ANY other private or public schools that served my community like the Environmental Charter option." 

In addition to becoming Environmental Charter Schools' newest board member, her active volunteerism and community service include 7 years as district chair of the Dr. Ralph J. Bunche Scholarship for UCLA. Ms. Coronado is the human resources and operations manager of a 150-employee corporate facility. She holds a BA in Sociology from UCLA, and has a certificate in Human Resources Management.