PAISBOA Meetings Connect Sustainability Professionals Across Schools

Through ongoing, in-person connection, regional school sustainability leaders are finding inspiration and partnership to fortify their sometimes challenging, but always rewarding work. The group comprises the sustainability arm of PAISBOA: the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools Business Officers Association. 

The group’s March meeting at Germantown Friends School, led by GFS Director of Sustainability Francine Locke, featured a look back at the school’s long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship, an in-depth tour of the LEED gold-certified Wade Science Center, a walk through GFS’ Betty Cary Arboretum, a detailed download on crafting a strong sustainability plan, and teacher reflections on infusing sustainability across the curriculum. 

“Several times throughout the year, we gather at a member school to share, learn from each other, and network as a community,” said Locke, who shares her role as Director of Sustainability at GFS with the Westown School. 

Locke recently met with a fellow member to share learnings from GFS’ composting program, including her experiences with contractors. 

“It's a wonderful chance to see the world through the lens of another school's sustainability program, and it’s amazing how different each school is.”

Science Live

The cracks in the concrete floor of the lobby in Wade are of no concern, explained Middle School Science Department Head Susan Robinson as she led a tour. 

Science teachers were closely involved in the design of Wade and they knew both the benefits and the risks of concrete. The long-lasting, energy-efficient material was preferred, and the inevitable cracks would serve as an excellent materials science and civil engineering lesson. 

Robinson showed the group several more examples of the building’s student and science-first approach—including the green roof, thermal energy sensors, aquaponic garden, and waste water management system—before turning them over to GFS horticulturalist, Daniel Comley, for a walk through the Betty Cary Arboretum, which comprises the entire campus. The knowledgeable crowd readily understood the Latin names of the trees and plants Comley used, and shared about their own campus greenery. 

Well-planned

Back in the Dining Hall for a low-waste, plant-based dinner, Locke outlined how GFS developed its new Sustainability Plan, which she called “the most important part of a school’s sustainability program.” 

Because caring for the environment means so many different things to students, teachers, and individual school cultures, it’s important to spend time talking with the community about their definition of sustainability as well as their priorities for action. A well thought through plan will also build on past work, strongly frame actions needed, and measure and report on progress. 

Environmental Education

A key piece of any school sustainability plan is curriculum. Locke invited Lower School science teacher Tess Beckwith to share how environmental science and stewardship lives within a GFS education. 

In third grade, students learn about both weather and climate. By tracking rainfall and comparing the data from previous years, as well as historical sets, they tune in to the patterns of a changing climate. The Mars project in fourth grade challenges students to think about what it would take to sustain life on Mars. They are tasked with building projects that are well-researched and created through the lens of sustainability. In fifth grade, during an entire year dedicated to the study of water, students examine Philadelphia’s water systems, and then zoom out to learn about the global water crisis and the part humans play in it all. 

Knowing that the LS sustainability curriculum is one piece of the whole at GFS, Beckwith surveyed other faculty and staff and shared their reflections with the PAISBOA members. 

“We know that sustainability cannot just live in the curriculum,” she said. “It lives in our culture, and from watching our faculty role model this value, students become empowered. Caring for the more-than-human world through actions large and small becomes something students are given the space for.” 

Her colleagues’ feedback validates this approach:

The fifth grade Stewardship Club is a space where students explore what it means to care for our school, our community, and the planet. Students engage in hands-on, age appropriate projects that build awareness and inspire action. By connecting everyday choices to larger environmental systems, students are discovering that stewardship is not just a concept, it is something they can practice in real and practical ways.
-Daisy Curtin, Assistant to the Director of Lower School

When we cover the digestive system, I address food waste and how to be mindful of wasting food. We also donate our previously-dissected specimens to other students at GFS so that they are being used multiple times. We recycle the plastic wrap and we share and clean instruments to dissect instead of using disposable ones.  
-Caroline Fosnot, Upper School Science Faculty

“The PAISBOA Sustainability Group is a fantastic way for educators and administrators who care deeply about the environment to connect and collaborate,” said MaryAnn Boyer, group member, former science teacher, and co-founder of Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants. 

“The meetings highlight real-world sustainability practices, and provide practical ideas—from integrating sustainability into the curriculum to offering hands-on learning experiences like school gardens, pollinator habitats, composting programs, and outdoor education trips,” Boyer said. 

Through the open sharing of successes as well as lessons learned, members are better equipped to implement their individual school’s sustainability initiatives, as well as navigate the inevitable challenges that arise. Most importantly, they have a community of professionals cheering them on in a collective pursuit of robust sustainability education and practices.