Clean Air Schools Champions Forum

Over the last few years we’ve observed great teamwork at Clean Air Schools.  Teamwork not only facilitates shared responsibility, it creates the kind of energy and commitment you want to infuse in your school community. 

As we begin the 2011 school year, we want to know – who’s on your team? Teachers? Parents? Students? Administrators?

What are your team members’ roles and responsibilities? 

How do you make sure everyone is on the same page, so you can avoid this?

Our highways are peppered with billboards, especially between state and country borders.  Non-sign II, an art installation commissioned by the US government's Arts in Architecture program, directs attention to what is right in front of us - our immediate surroundings. 

Non-Sign II in Blaine, Washington

Non-Sign II graces the border of the United States and Canada along the highway between Blaine, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia.  In August, the installation, created by Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo of Seattle-based art collective Lead Pencil Studio, was recognized as a top project for the Americans for Art 2011 Year in Review.

Air is so basic, so vast and often invisible that it can be hard to grasp as a concept. How do you make it come alive for students?  What are your favorite images?  We'll continue to post ours.  We want to see yours, too!

Looking for new lesson plans on transportation and sustainability?  Check out Earth Day Network’s Transportation Sustainability: An Educator’s Guide.  It includes 25 lesson plans, the majority of which are geared towards middle and high school students.  Our own Gretchen Gigley wrote the introduction to this guide and some Clean Air Schools lesson plans have been included in the collection.  

The varied subject matter covered in this guide suggests that a cross-curricular approach is most effective for transportation education.  In addition to science lesson plans, there are materials for health, language arts, social studies, geography, economics, and civics classes.   

Here are a few lesson plan titles to give you a sense of what’s inside the guide:

• The Rise of the Automobile
• An Analysis of the Human Lung
• Major Types of Air Pollution and Their Global Distribution
• Corn: Fuel or Food?
• The Green Teen Driver
• Signed, Sealed, Delivered: A History of the Postal Service

Let us know what you think about the guide and which lesson plans you are working with for your classes!

We created a new calendar for the program to help you align your program with Clean Air Schools activities, national initiatives, and strategic partner events.  You can find it in interactive form on the Champions Forum and as a printed version here.

Schools tell us that starting early in the school year and sending consistent messages about clean air actions in the fall and spring semesters help to create consistent behavior and establish a strong culture of personal responsibility for air quality.

This year’s big events are:

Clean Commute Week - October 24-28

Kick off your education campaign during this first annual event!  Resources coming in September!

Young Lungs at Work Art Competition - details released February 1, deadline April 2

Engage your students’ air quality knowledge, creativity, and competitive spirit!

Air Quality Awareness Week - Late spring, TBD

Celebrate your air pollution and traffic reduction results during Air Quality Awareness Week! 

We’ll also have cool incentives throughout the year.  Our first is a BAIR visit for your school.  Register your school by September 16 for a chance to win!