Sustainability
The District is committed to operating in a way that promotes sustainability and encourages activities that promote the efficient use of resources. As part of its extensive facilities modernization, the district added considerable solar power that generated well over a third of the district's electrical needs. The district is also engaged in numerous other sustainability initiatives in the areas of water use, recycling, and hazardous materials.
We believe that sustainability efforts help us achieve four important things. First, they mean that we use our financial resources more efficiently. Second sustainability helps us reduce our carbon footprint. Third, we can educate our students on how to save their own money and that of their families through appropriate use of resources, and finally, we provide an example of how to act sustainable to our students through our actions and activities.
2024-2025 Sustainability News
January 2025: Thanks to Students and Staff, Sustainability is a Year-Long Effort Across the District
School sites across the district, organized by student and staff members who serve on the SMUHSD Sustainability Committee, hosted various events at their sites in recognition of SMUHSD Sustainability Week, November 18-22, 2024.
Climate Literacy
Burlingame High Student and environmental advocate Jayden Wan and Nueva School student Anjuli Mishra collaborated with community-led electricity provider Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE) and youth-led nonprofit Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action (SVYCA) to partner with SMUHSD schools to deliver Climate Literacy Assemblies across its schools. Jayden is also a Co-Leader of San Mateo Youth Climate Action. The assemblies covered topics of climate science, green jobs, electrification solutions through Peninsula Clean Energy, and student empowerment.
Plastic Water Bottle Ban
Lead by students Jayden Wan and Sydney Chen, who both serve on the District’s Sustainability Committee, with staff support, drafted and posted a petition, Ban the Sale of Plastic Bottles at SMUHSD, to ban the sale of plastic water bottles in the cafeteria and in vending machines.
Sustainability Week and Beyond
Aragon High hosted a speaker event during lunch with San Mateo City Council member (and AHS Alum) Adam Lorraine who sits on the city’s Sustainability Infrastructure Committee. During the week, the cafeteria replaced plastic utensils with fully compostable bamboo utensils and that Friday, students who eco-commuted (carpooled, biked, walked, took public transportation, etc) to school received prizes.
Burlingame High Student Sustainability Committee Member Sydney Chen organized a field trip for students (above photo) to ReThink Waste and a recap from the trip was broadcast to BHS students on BTV.
At Capuchino High, Sustainability Facilitator and Facilities Manager Don Ahuna created various signage around campus to bring awareness about single-use plastics, landfill, composting and recycling. Additionally, Don is working to create a tri-bin prototype (see photo) which is much cheaper to build than purchasing from third-party vendors.
The CHS Environmental Club, with local nonprofit Life Moves, hosted a drive for homeless communities in San Mateo County who will be impacted by extreme weather. They are collecting umbrellas, hats/beanies, rain ponchos, and gloves.
At Hillsdale High, Environmental Club students with the Districtwide Sustainability Coordinator and teacher Dave Emanuel organized the following events to build awareness around sustainability issues:
- Meatless Monday - students and faculty prepared a plant-based lunch for students
- The HHS Bike Club hosted a Two-wheel Tuesday event with teachers and students racing bikes in the Great Court
- Wasteless Wednesday - A waste sorting competition
- Thrifting Thursday - Students organized a fashion show with teachers serving as judges
- Friday for Future - Distributed reusable water bottles to promote the plastic water bottle ban petition
On November 16, Mills High student and San Mateo Youth Climate Action member Charlotte Liang (pictured above) presented at the San Mateo County Office of Education’s Youth Summit. Charlotte, along with representatives from Peninsula Clean Energy, discussed the power of the youth voice in fighting for climate action.
Mills student Stephen Rong, a 2023-2024 Youth Climate Ambassador, has worked on several environmental projects recently, including his pitch for implementing rain barrels at school sites.
Stephen identified the issue of the community using 50% of water on landscaping and sought to address this issue. As an ambassador Stephen’s capstone project was to work with a local elementary school to install rain barrels on their campus. Rain barrels can be used to collect rainwater for landscaping, rain barrels are also of benefit because they reduce runoff rainwater which is a potential flood mitigation. Additionally, rain barrels are relatively cheap to install and can help lessen water bills. The Sustainability Committee will discuss the feasibility of this project at district schools in 2025.
The San Mateo High School Green Team and SMHS Sustainability Facilitator and Career Coordinator Nancy Kane hosted three weeks of Sustainable opportunities for students to learn more about what they can do to support the environment! Students got involved, were engaged, and learned about what they can do as individuals to improve the environment they live in.
Events included in lunch time Sustainability Expo (see above photo) where students were invited - to learn about services, resources and volunteer opportunities from eco-friendly and sustainable organizations in San Mateo County, including SMCOE’s Safe Routes to Schools, ReThink Waste, Youth and Young Adult Outdoor Education and the City of San Mateo, and the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability.
SMHS also hosted a school-wide e-waste week where students and staff were asked to drop off old cell phones, tablets and laptops for e-waste. CEWS, a R2v3 Certified Electronics Recycler, securely destroyed all data on all e-wasted items. Refurbished devices were donated to San Mateo County non-profit organizations. Recycled e-waste protects the environment by reducing pollution and keeping hazardous substances out of landfills and the soil and groundwater.
SMUHSD is incredibly proud of the collective efforts of students and staff across the District who advocate for the environment.
December 2024: Mills and Burlingame Recognized in Sustainability Challenge
During Fall 2024, high schools across California participated in the SEI's People and Planet Challenge, inspiring change in their communities by creating sustainability campaigns. The winning campaigns focused on improving local air and water quality, as well as engaging their school communities in sustainability education, and earned well-deserved prizes.
The Mills High School Innovations in Green Technology class, led by teacher Anthony DiLemme, carried out a variety of campaigns to educate about air pollution, impacts of climate change, air quality, and water conservation. The creativity, engagement, and impact of these student-run campaigns secured Mills the grand prize of this year’s People and Planet Challenge!
This is the 2nd year in a row that Mills has produced winner(s) for SEI's challenges.
And congratulations to Burlingame High School Service Commission Class, led by teacher Bethany Li - they were announced as winners of the Proposal category! The class proposed a campaign to carry out in the spring, with the “goal to help improve the air quality in our community.” The students aim to do this by encouraging students and teachers to walk, bike, carpool, or take public transportation to school through a “Clean Commute” spirit day. Students plan to share through their school TV program, social media, word of mouth, posters, and by providing prizes!
Learn more about the competition.
October 2024: SMUHSD Test Drives New Electric Buses and Van
On Friday, October 4, SMUHSD Executive Transportation Officer Kelly Hubbard invited District staff and board members on a test drive in the District’s ever-growing fleet of Electric Vehicles. Staff met with District Shop Foreperson Michael Bumanlag who is the point person on all of the grant applications which made this fleet possible. Bus drivers Joanne Nieder, Rosendo Contreras, and Frank Lee took staff and Board President Ligia Andrade Zuniga and Board Trustee Teri Chavez on the test drive. Watch a video recap of the test drive.
In 2021 SMUHSD applied for and received grants in the amount of $4.4M from the Carl Moyer Program for electric buses and for electric charging infrastructure. This includes full funding (of $400,000 each), for eight electric buses and associated infrastructure of $1.2 million.
In 2023, to continue electrifying the bus fleet, the District applied for additional funding through a second round of the Bay Area Quality Management District (BAAQMD) Carl Moyer Grant program and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean School Bus Rebate Program.
The District was awarded $2,749,666 through the BAAQMD Carl Moyer Grant Agreement ($2,487,177 for 8 buses and $262,489 for infrastructure costs) and up to $950,000 through the EPA Clean School Bus Rebate program (in 2024).
The District is funding the remainder of the infrastructure costs through its Facilities funding.
SMUHSD is incredibly fortunate for this grant funding and the ongoing support of our community and taxpayers.
August 2024: Hillsdale High Student Receives Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition Award
Congratulations to Hillsdale High School 12th grader Anya Lin - she recently was the recipient of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition Youth Leader Award, presented at the August 29 14th Annual Silicon Valley Bicycle Summit. Anya was honored for her efforts to create a bike-friendly community in and around her school. Anya also spoke at the 14th Annual Silicon Valley Bicycle Summit about her club's efforts to improve the communities inside and outside of Hillsdale High School.
Anya serves as the co-president of Hillsdale High School Bike Club (with 12th grader Miles Kim) and her goals are to make biking more accessible, fun, and safe for everyone at school. The HHS Bike Club runs a bike lending program where they receive bikes from the local police department, refurbish them, and lend them out to students for free, ensuring that anyone who wants to ride a bike, will be able to have one. The Club also promotes biking through events like “Two-Wheel Tuesday”, where students and teachers have bike races in the courtyard, and “Ride for Pancakes Day”, which encourages green transportation.
Additionally, as partners with the San Mateo Transportation Department and Alta Planning, the Bike Club has been actively making roads safer around campus. From participating in walk audits and planning sessions with city planners to assisting in project implementation, club members have successfully increased safety at key areas of congestion around the school.
2023-2024 Sustainability News
May 2024: Waste Audit at Laurel Creek
AP Environmental Science students in Chris Stallings and Nina Abdelnaby’s classes participated in a waste audit on May 14 with the guidance of Annalise Eder, San Mateo County Office of Education’s Green Facilities and Operations Analyst. On May 15, students participated in a cleanup at Laurel Creek! We are so proud of these students who are making a difference for our planet!
April 2024: Hillsdale High School Teacher Dave Emanuel Takes 10 students to Sacramento to Lobby for Climate Bill
On April 29, Hillsdale High School Teacher / Districtwide Sustainability Coordinator Dave Emanuel took eight HHS Environmental Club students to Sacramento. Students lobbied for a bill to amend the California Constitution to include protections for clean air and water and a health environment (ACA 16) and a budget request to eliminate a tax break for fossil fuel companies. They visited the offices of five different Assembly members and one State Senator, including Assemblyman Damon Connolly (Marin), and Kenneth Cruz, legislative director for Assemblyman Isaac Bryan (Los Angeles).
April 30, 2024: SMCOE Climate Ready School Awards
The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) recently announced that several SMUHSD affiliated groups and students were recognized at the Climate Ready Schools Symposium on April 30.
- The Burlingame High School Service Commission was recently honored as a Sustainable and Climate Ready Schools (SCRS) Challenge Standout Leader for the 2023-24 school year by the San Mateo County Office of Education.
- Aragon High’s Brandon Lin was recognized as a Standout Award Winner for his ReCap Project. The ReCap Project takes clean syringe needle caps and other clean small medical plastic waste and process them into useful products such as clipboards.
- And the San Mateo County Youth Commission's Environmental Justice Subcommittee (which includes SMUHSD students) was recognized for their plastic waste reduction project. This group of students has been advocating for compostable or reusable food ware since the beginning of the school year. They have created a petition, hosted waste-awareness events, and presented at the April 25 SMUHSD Board meeting.
- Green Hills Elementary School was recognized for Reducing Food Waste and their Hot Composting System. Green Hills expanded on previous waste management efforts this year by introducing a food share table and installing a three-bin composting system. They were able to complete the project with the help of Eagle Scout / Mills High School student Clarissa Louie.
- The SCRS Challenge identifies students, teachers, administrators, and community members who are driving environmentally sustainable transformation across their school community’s Campus, Curriculum, and Community engagement programs.
- District Capital Facilities Manager Jose Quintana and District Sustainability Coordinator / Hillsdale High Teacher Dave Emanuel spoke on panels at the symposium as well.
April 25, 2024: San Mateo Youth Commission Environmental Justice SubCommittee Presents at Board Meeting
Thank you to SMC Youth Commission Environmental Justice Subcommittee members Zayne Abraham (Aragon), Matthew Lau (Aragon), Alina Shah (San Mateo High School) and Anjuli Mishra (Nueva School) who gave an impactful presentation to the board on April 25 where they spoke about their proposals for our District:
- To replace plastic foodware with reusable or biodegradable foodware
- To create an improved waste sorting system
- Mandate the proper disposal of waste to proper facilities
March 28, 2024: SMUHSD Teachers Complete Environmental Solutionary Teacher Fellowship
The San Mateo County Office of Education’s 9th Cohort of the Environmental Solutionary Teacher Fellowship shared the amazing work they have done over the last 10 months at their Capstone Celebration on March 28.
Congratulations to the 38 educators from San Mateo and San Francisco Counties, including three from San Mateo Union High School District, who integrated environmental literacy and solutionary thinking into their teaching practice this year:
- Julie Stock, Art Teacher, San Mateo High School
- Bethany Li, English Teacher, Burlingame High School
- Anna Liu, Architecture Teacher, Burlingame High School
Check out the spotlight on Anna.
March 2024: Youth Climate Ambassador Program Wins Award
The Youth Climate Ambassadors (YCA) Leadership Program, a joint effort between the County of San Mateo’s Sustainability Department and the County Office of Education is being honored with a Sustainable San Mateo County Sustainability Award that celebrates innovative efforts in environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic vitality.
The YCA Leadership Program, the first of its kind in California, engages 9th to 12th grade students across San Mateo County in a highly selective seven-month program that focuses on climate science, community action, and leadership development. YCA prompts students to deeply explore local and global climate issues and pursue opportunities for climate action in their communities. Through a combination of workshops, retreats, and projects, participants gain knowledge, skills, and experience to address the local and global climate crisis.
For the past five years, the Sustainability Department (formerly the Office of Sustainability) has partnered with the San Mateo County Office of Education, Peninsula Clean Energy, Citizens Environmental Council, and Acterra to create a dynamic program for nurturing emerging climate leaders across San Mateo County.
A total of 273 students have participated since its inception, including 13 SMUHSD students who are participating in the current cohort:
- Brandon Lin, 9th grade, Aragon High School
- Charlotte Graham, 10th grade, Aragon High School
- Marcus Finke, 11th grade, Aragon High School
- Spencer Coral, 11th grade, Aragon High School
- Arin Gurung, 11th grade, Burlingame High School
- Catherine Kwong, 10th grade, Burlingame High School
- Evelyn Du, 10th grade, Burlingame High School
- Kai Shah, 10th grade, Burlingame High School
- Kairah Maqsood, 10th grade, Burlingame High School
- Rowan Kelly, 10th grade, Burlingame High School
- Antonio Gorriceta, 9th grade, Mills High School
- Stephen Rong, 10th grade, Mills High School
- Trisha Sabadra, 11th grade, San Mateo High School
Carly Peters, a Burlingame High School student who participated in the 2023 YCA program, said that the program empowered her “to be a leader and advocate for the environment” and that “the young people in our community are so lucky to have the opportunity to be a part of this program. It really does empower youth to be a part of the sustainable future.”
Read the San Mateo County Office of Education press release.
August 2023: San Mateo Teen Among 2023 International Young Eco-Hero Award Winners
Aragon High School student Ethan Hua is one of seventeen young environmental activists from across the globe to receive a 2023 International Young Eco-Hero Award, announced Action For Nature today. This award honors eco-conscious youth ages 8 to 16 who are taking crucial steps to solve tough environmental problems.
Ethan won Third Place in this year’s competition. Winners of the International Young Eco-Hero Award are selected by a panel of independent judges, including experts in environmental science, biology, and education.
Ethan launched the H.O.P.E. (Help Our Planet Earth) Uniforms Program to address the issue of textile waste and to provide a solution for students in need. By collecting gently-used school uniforms and redistributing them to students, H.O.P.E. creates an eco-friendly cycle, reducing landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions. So far, Ethan has implemented H.O.P.E. in several schools, has collected 4,700 donated clothing articles and has provided free uniforms to more than 550 families.
Learn more about the HOPE Uniform Program: https://www.
October 12, 2023: SMUHSD Announces Launch of Sustainability Dashboard
SMUHSD has partnered with the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) to create a campus facilities and operations dashboard and ecological footprint calculator. The core purpose of the dashboard is to make facilities and operations data - energy, water, waste, procurement, etc. - transparent and accessible for use by multiple stakeholders for awareness, advocacy, and action. By making utilities data easy to read, a dashboard becomes a comprehensive tool that reinforces the goals of utilizing the facilities as a living laboratory and reducing a site’s ecological footprint.
SMUHSD Associate Superintendent and Chief Business Officer Yancy Hawkins provided an overview of the Sustainability Dashboard at the October 12, 2023 Board meeting.
The dashboard was made possible through a SMCOE Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative Grant funded by Peninsula Clean Energy.
A special thank you to San Mateo County Office of Education’s Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Coordinator Julie Hilborn and Green Facilities Analyst Brandon Draper and to Hillsdale High Teacher Dave Emanuel who also serves as the District’s Sustainability Coordinator; as well as Cynthia Chu and Andrea Hadley in Maintenance and Operations, who all helped with the launch of the dashboard.
For more information about the dashboard, contact Yancy Hawkins at yhawkins@smuhsd.org.
2022-2023 Sustainability News
June 2023: SMCOE Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative Highlights Hillsdale and Bridge Program's Communtiy Gardens
May was Living Schoolyard Month! The San Mateo County Office of Education’s Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative recently highlighted the recipients of its Living Schoolyard Grant program - including our very own Bridge Biodiversity and Sustainability Garden and Hillsdale High School’s Community Garden (in support of HHS Peace Pantry) projects.
The grant program was established to recognize that supporting the development of living schoolyards is an equitable way to provide regular access to high quality green spaces for every student at a school site.
Living Schoolyard Month is an annual celebration of green school grounds that was first established in 2014 as part of a California state resolution to promote the design and construction of outdoor green spaces for all students in K-12 public schools. A living schoolyard allows students and educators to spend restorative time in nature and engage in place-based learning. Additionally, living schoolyard elements can increase local biodiversity, benefit natural habitats, and integrate natural systems into the built environment. Learn more about the 2022-23 Living Schoolyard Grant Program.
Read the highlights below about each of the gardens:
Bridge Program
The Bridge Garden Project is designed, built, and maintained by students. The garden has become the cornerstone of the English Learner Introduction to Science class at the Bridge English Language Development Program, a program of Peninsula High School. Much of the curriculum around the garden this year focused on the role of healthy soils in climate resilience. Next year, the school hopes to expand impact and curricular ties to the garden in the areas of ecosystem ecology, cycling of matter and energy, and other sustainability topics. This grant allowed them to purchase two iPads that are being used to document building the garden and for delivering the garden-based curriculum.
Hillsdale High School
The Hillsdale High School Community Garden contributes fruits and vegetables to their Peace Pantry that feeds 130 school families every week. Through partnership with Each Green Corner, Second Harvest Food Bank, Empowerment Through Action, and community volunteers, they have expanded the garden to grow seasonal vegetables and maximize their yield. With the grant money, they have also put benches in the garden under the shade of an oak tree for students or staff to enjoy during class or break time.
May 2023: SMCOE Sustainable and Climate Resilient Schools Recognize Hillsdale with Award
Hillsdale High School’s Peace Pantry and Community Garden were recently recognized by San Mateo COunty Office of Education’s Sustainable and Climate Resilient Schools (SCRS) program with a Standout Award which recognizes a project that addresses one or more sustainability goals. The Peace Pantry and Community Garden are projects of Hillsdale’s Empowerment Through Action Program, an award-winning program established in Spring 2019.
ETA’s mission is to empower historically underserved students through a series of actions: weekly restorative meetings, community resource center, enrichment classes, career and job training, parent education, and family support to develop inner capital, resiliency, a sense of belonging and purpose.
Learn more.
October 2022: San Mateo Union High School District's Waste Management Efforts
Over the last several years, the District has made multiple efforts to improve its waste management; schools across the district are making efforts to boost sustainability. Here are some examples:
- Installed 20 tri-bin waste stations at four public high schools, and improved the labels/designs of additional stations at all seven public high schools. SMUHSD purchased and installed 800 waste bin labels across SMUHSD.
- Developed and held waste assessments at four public high schools, and consolidated that into a 4R’s Waste Assessment Report. At Burlingame High School, the Advanced Placement Statistics Class gathered pre and post data on student littering with the label intervention and found that labels helped reduce the quantity of trash in the quad areas: Survey Results
- Developed and administered a survey on zero waste and sorting practices which received 714 responses and informed the Sustainability Committee on their action steps.
At San Mateo High School, students on the green team have organized a series of lunch activities designed to raise awareness about sustainable sorting in an entertaining way. During Earth Week (the week before Earth Day in April), students set up a competitive game where students from various grades compete to see who can properly sort and dispose of waste through recycling, composting, or garbage. The event attracted hundreds of students and raised awareness about sustainable sorting.
At Hillsdale High School, the Environmental Club has spearheaded a Sort your Waste campaign involving videos and monitoring of Tri-bins. The videos feature various teachers showing how to dispose of waste properly; these videos have been shown in many of the school’s Advisory classes and have definitely increased student awareness about proper sorting. The club has also started a regular Tri-bin monitoring system, where teams of students station themselves at the five tri-bins on campus and “coach” other students on sorting. Club members plan to continue this kind of monitoring every other week and create more videos featuring student messaging on waste. The Environmental Club also plans to organize a lunch-time waste competition along the lines of San Mateo High School's.
At Burlingame High School (and several other schools), students from the Green team worked with staff from the county Office of Sustainability to do a waste assessment Students examined the amount of waste in various bins to determine if students are properly disposing of waste. The information gathered from this activity can be used a baseline to measure the effectiveness of each school’s waste management.
September 2022: SMUHSD Receives $4.4 Million Grant for Eight Electric Buses
SMUHSD applied for grants from the Carl Moyer Program for replacement buses (electric) and for electric charging infrastructure. The District’s application was approved for $4.4 million which includes full funding of $400,000, each, for eight electric buses and associated infrastructure of $1.2 million.
At its September 15 Meeting, the SMUHSD Board of Trustees approved an agreement for zero emission planning infrastructure support to Sage Energy Consulting to begin to transition its bus fleet to electric buses. .
The California Air Resource Board (CARB)’s Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment (Carl Moyer) Program provides incentive grants for cleaner-than-required engines, equipment, and other sources of pollution providing early or extra emission reductions.
The District seeks to transition most of the bus fleet over the next 15 years.
2021-2022 Sustainability News
June 2022: SMCOE Announces Sustainable and Climate Resilient Schools Challenge Award Recipients
The San Mateo County Office of Education announced the 24 standout leaders who received 2021-22 Sustainable and Climate Resilient Schools (SCRS) Challenge awards for their efforts to create sustainable school communities during the 2021-22 school year.
The awards recognize students, administrators, teachers, and community members who have organized projects that address one or more sustainability goals drawn from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and One Planet Living Framework. Each project also focuses on increasing the sustainability of campus facilities and operations sustainability, creating curriculum that addresses environmental topics, and/or building community environmental awareness.
Despite a challenging year, participants submitted a wide variety of projects such as district-wide efforts to institutionalize sustainability efforts, living schoolyards, zero waste initiatives, and environmental-based solutionary teaching and learning. These standout leaders are being recognized across ten (10) of the public school districts, in addition to private schools and community organizations, from across San Mateo County.
The District as a whole and several SMUHSD students were recognized as Standout Leaders:
- San Mateo Union High School District: Climate Action Plan
- Youth Climate Ambassadors: Hillsdale High School Students and Meadow Heights Elementary School
- Youth Climate Ambassadors: BHS Students
- Youth Climate Ambassadors: HHS Waste and Consumption
Read about all the award recipients.
May 2022: San Mateo County Office of Education Features SMUHSD and Bronze Level Green Ribbon Recognition
SMCOE's Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative recently featured SMUHSD for receiving California Green Ribbon School Bronze Level Recognition.
The California Green Ribbon award is given for school communities that have demonstrated progress towards reaching the goals of each of three Pillars, which are:
- Pillar I: Reduce environmental impact and costs
- Pillar II: Improve the health and wellness of schools, students, and staff
- Pillar III: Provide effective environmental education, which teaches many disciplines, and is especially good at effectively incorporating STEM, civic skills, and green career pathways
SMUHSD Sustainability Committee members who supported the Green Ribbon application and are sustainability leaders in the District were interviewed: student Maram Ahmed, Mills High School senior; Bethany Li, SMUHSD Sustainability Coordinator/Burlingame High School English teacher; Associate Superintendent/Chief Business Officer Yancy Hawkins; and Superintendent Dr. Kevin Skelly. Read some of their stories in the SMUHSD Green Ribbon Changemaker Interview article.
You can also watch the short video interview (5 minutes) or the full video interview (20 minutes).
Learn more.
April 2022: SMUHSD Named a 2022 California Green Ribbon School District Sustainability Awardee
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond recently announced that 18 schools, two school districts, and one county office of education earned 2022 California Green Ribbon Schools awards. San Mateo Union High School District was named a 2022 California Green Ribbon School District Sustainability Awardee.
The U.S. Department of Education's Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) recognition award honors schools, school districts, and Institutes of Higher Education for excellence in resource efficiency, health and wellness, and environmental and sustainability education. The recognition award is part of a larger U.S. Department of Education (ED) effort to identify and communicate practices that result in improved student engagement, academic achievement, graduation rates, and workforce preparedness; and reinforces federal efforts to increase energy independence and economic security.
Read the California Department of Education press release.
Visit the California Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Award Program web page to learn more.
January 2022: North Central Bike Lane Project
The Sustainability Committee of the San Mateo Unified High School District (SMUHSD) recommends that the City of San Mateo approve and implement the North Central Bike Lane Project.
November 2021: San Mateo County Youth Commissioners Recognized for Climate Action
The Environmental Justice Subcommittee of the San Mateo County Youth Commission were recently honored with a 2021 Green California Schools Leadership Award for its role in catalyzing a movement in San Mateo County for youth-led climate emergency declarations. Mills High School student Maram Ahmed is vice chair of the San Mateo Youth Commission and the Chair of the Environmental Justice Subcommittee. Additional current and former students involved with this subcommittee include San Mateo High School student Alina Shah and graduates Lilian Chang and Atiya Shah.
The subcommittee assisted three school districts — San Mateo Union High School District, Cabrillo Unified School District, and Sequoia Union High School District — in passing climate emergency declarations which help them make strides toward improved sustainability and resiliency in their facilities and operations.
Read the press release.
August 2021: Hillsdale High School Secures Safe Routes to School Grant
The San Mateo County Office of Education, the City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG) of San Mateo and the Safe Routes to School Program recently announced that Hillsdale High School received a Safe Routes to School grant to be used during the 2021-2022 school year.
The mission of San Mateo County Safe Routes to School is to encourage and enable school children to walk and bicycle to school by implementing projects and activities that improve the health, well-being, and safety of children. This would also result in less traffic congestion and emissions caused by school-related travel.
Hillsdale High School Teacher and Sustainability Coordinator Dave Emanuel submitted the grant application which included the Hillsdale Bike Project - a program to promote bike ridership across the entire school and community.
Components of the project include:
- Bike Repair and Share: Take donated bikes, repair them and distribute to students/families who are financially insecure
- The bike mechanic is a recent HHS grad who will share his bike mechanical skills with HHS students participating in the program
- A series of Community Bike days (one in the fall, two in the spring) where local families can bring their bikes to HHS on a Saturday morning for minor repairs and fun, kid-oriented bike activities
- A Pilot Program including about 1/3 of the Senior Class where they develop a series of Safe Commuting Guidelines (including bike and bus route maps) and encourage seniors to do a green commute every Friday.
- Bike Sustainability Project: A group of HHS Seniors will survey students about green commuting, analyze the San Mateo Bike Master Plan, and make a presentation about how to increase bike ridership/green commuting to a panel of educators, community members, and transportation planners from the City of San Mateo.
2020-2021 Sustainability News
June 21, 2021: SMUHSD Recognized with SMCOE 2021 Sustainable and Climate Resilient Schools (SCRS) Challenge Award
The San Mateo County Office of Education recently announced in June 2021 that SMUHSD was one of 20 stand-out leaders who received a Sustainable and Climate Resilient Schools (SCRS) Challenge award for innovative sustainability efforts during the 2020-21 school year. In 2020-21, SMUHSD took action to build community and collaboration on sustainability issues, ensuring that all schools incrementally incorporate the environment into the whole school (campus, curriculum, community, and culture).
This year's actions build upon the district-wide action on zero waste led by Mills High School student Lilian Chang and Independent Studies Teacher Aiko Michot. Together with Superintendent Dr. Skelly, and many other green champions, the district launched a Sustainability Committee. This committee has several outcomes this year:
Successful advocacy campaign and unanimous passage of SMUHSD Declaration of Climate Emergency by SMUHSD Board of Trustees. The resolution addresses green buildings, operations and transportation, food service, climate literacy, waste management, and goals for net-zero. This campaign was led by SMUHSD students (also Youth Commissioners): Atiya Shah, Maram Ahmed, and Lillian Chang.
Implementation of a district-wide model for sustainability leadership to support communication and bridging the divide between student action items and district priorities. This included the identification of a District Sustainability Coordinator and the hiring of Site Sustainability Facilitators at each school.
SMUHSD partnered with San Mateo County Office of Education's Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative to complete a comprehensive Sustainable and Climate Resilient (SCRS) Baseline Assessment. This process involved synthesizing the current status of sustainability efforts in campus, curriculum, and community engagement at all school sites. This assessment has helped build a common language for sustainability efforts, and is a launching point for further strategic planning efforts.
Learn more about SMUHSD's efforts.
Read the SMCOE press release.
May 4, 2021: Meet the Students Who Got San Mateo County High Schools to Declare a Climate Emergency
"Atiya Shah, a senior at San Mateo High School and chair of the youth commission's Environmental Justice Committee, lives in City of Foster City, where residents in 2018 voted to tax themselves in order to reengineer an eight-mile earthen wall, the only thing standing between them and San Francisco Bay.
Shah says she was motivated by the threat. “This is how climate change is showing up in my life. Time is of the essence," she said. "If we don't take action now, things are moving at such a fast rate that it's really going to affect our future. And people don't recognize that.”
Read the May 4, 2021 KQED article.
April 1, 2021: Declaration of Climate Emergency
After months of writing and perfecting a Climate Emergency Declaration, SMUHSD students presented the resolution to the Board of Trustees on April 1. It was approved unanimously.
What does this mean: As per the resolution, the District will create a climate action plan tackling areas including:
- Green Buildings
- Transportation, and
- Clean Energy
This creates a myriad of opportunities to drive sustainable change and keep SMUHSD accountable for its actions. Our District will serve as an example for others across the county and state!
Stay Connected - Instagram
-
Burlingame High Environmental Club
-
Mills High School Environmental Action Team
-
Capuchino Environmental Club
-
San Mateo Adult School Green Team
-
San Mateo High School Green Team
-
San Mateo Waste Awareness
Sustainability Assessment Report
In January 2021, SMUHSD partnered with the SMCOE’s Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative (ELSI) to conduct a comprehensive baseline assessment of the district's existing efforts to become an environmentally sustainable institution. The intention of this assessment is to provide a synthesis of the current status of efforts to date and build a shared understanding and common language for these efforts. Furthermore, it is recommended that SMUHSD stakeholders use this baseline assessment as the foundation for a comprehensive strategic planning process.
Read the Sustainable and Climate Resilient Schools Baseline Assessment Report.