Green Ribbon Schools Application Template

Thank you for your interest in completing the New Hampshire Department of Education application for nomination to U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS). In order to complete this application, you will need to collect data about your school's facility, health and safety policies; food service; and environmental and sustainability curriculum.

ED-GRS recognizes schools taking a comprehensive approach to greening their school. A comprehensive approach incorporates environmental learning with improving environmental and health impacts. Becoming a U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School is a two-step process. The first step is to complete and submit this form. The second step of the process will be selection of the New Hampshire nominees and submission of the nominee package to the U.S. Department of Education (ED).

ED selects honorees from those presented by eligible nominating authorities nationwide. Selection will be based on documentation of the applicant's high achievement in all three ED-GRS Pillars:

Pillar I: Reduce environmental impact and costs.

Pillar II: Improve the health and wellness of students and staff.

Pillar III: Provide effective environmental and sustainability education, incorporating STEM, civic skills and green career pathways.

Schools demonstrating exemplary achievement in all three Pillars will receive highest rankings. It is important to document concrete achievement. Applications that lack exemplary achievement in all three Pillars will not be considered.

It will help you to assemble a team to complete the application. This team might include: a facilities manager, physical education director, food services director, curriculum director, finance department representatives, teachers and students. You should consult the ED-GRS resources page for standards, programs and grants related to each Pillar, Element and question. This is an excellent clearinghouse of resources for all schools, not just those who apply.

The questions in this application will help you demonstrate your high achievement in these Pillars as well as provide space for you to include pertinent documentation. You will receive points when you provide documentation for your answers. Applications are due by 4:00 PM, December 10, 2012.

Applications must be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format and must not exceed 17 pages. Submit applications to Judith.Fillion@doe.nh.gov.

Note that if selected for nomination to ED-GRS, the school principal and district superintendent must be prepared to certify that each of the statements below concerning the school’s eligibility and compliance with the following requirements is true; however, in no case is a private school required to make any certification with regard to the public school district in which it is located.

1. The school has some configuration that includes one or more of grades K-12. (Schools on the same campus with one principal, even a K-12 school, must apply as an entire school.)

2. The school has been evaluated and selected from among schools within New Hampshire as highest achieving in the three ED-GRS Pillars: 1) reduced environmental impact and costs; 2) improved health and wellness; and 3) effective environmental and sustainability education.

3. Neither the nominated public school nor its public school district is refusing the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a district wide compliance review.

4. OCR has not issued a violation letter of findings to the public school district concluding that the nominated public school or the public school district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes. A violation letter of findings will not be considered outstanding if OCR has accepted a corrective action plan to remedy the violation.

5. The U.S. Department of Justice does not have a pending suit alleging that the public school or the public school district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes or the Constitution’s equal protection clause.

6. There are no findings of violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in a U.S. Department of Education monitoring report that apply to the public school or public school district in question; or if there are such findings, the state or public school district has corrected, or agreed to correct, the findings.

7. The school meets all applicable federal, state, local and tribal health, environmental and safety requirements in law, regulations and policy and is willing to undergo EPA on-site verification.

Application Outline

Green Ribbon Schools NH application

Microsoft Word format. You can download a free reader from Microsoft.