Green School: Nashville

What is a Green School? Established in Bali, Indonesia in 2008 by John Hardy the Green School aims to be the #1 model of sustainability in education in the world. After only two years of operation, Green School is already shaking up the thinking of more conventional organizations and institutions around the world. Its teachers, students and their parents are proud to be part of this pioneering ‘work in progress’. The Green School hopes to turn its students into responsible global citizens that respect all people and things. And while traditional subjects like math, language arts, social studies, science, a second language, and the arts still remain the focus, students can also spread their entrepreneurial wings in courses like gourmet chocolate production, organic farming, and new methods of sustainable building. The school hopes to enroll students from both the local and global community. Teachers will also be from a wide spectrum of backgrounds both Balinese and other cultures. Within a few years the whole campus will be a year-round community of summer camps and symposia. The campus will host environmentalists and change makers from all over the globe giving students the opportunity to learn about the importance of respecting the planet year round.

What the Green School Teaches

We provide a curriculum that combines holistic, hands-on experiential learning with academic rigor. There are three main drivers to the GS Curriculum

• The essential subjects of English, Mathematics and Science – recognizing the importance of continuity and progression.

• Green Studies – a hands on - study that evolves from Nature Study to Study of Ecology to Environment Studies to Studies of Sustainability.

• Creative Arts – embracing Art, Crafts, Music, Drama, Story-telling, and so much more.

“The conditions are ripe for risk and classroom innovation, and some outperform their regular public school peers. Their founders can do that because they have the base of public funding, just like traditional schools, but with private boards and little bureaucracy. They can pick their hours, curriculum, teaching style and location — in short, try almost anything they think will work with the population they attract.” -The Tennessean, November 28, 2010

Idea: Bring the recently acclaimed and proven concept of a Green School from Bali to Nashville with the intention providing students a comprehensive education while exemplifying environmental leadership in education for the rest of the United States.

December 30th, 2010

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Why Nashville? As read in the widely publicized education statistics, Tennessee is lagging the nation in education. The state has recently ranked 48th in the country on several education related issues. As a result of these challenges, Nashville has been on the forefront of trying to reform education with successful charter schools such as KIPP and LEAD. In addition, Nashville has a unique pool of talent with several leading academic institutions as well as strong Teach for America and Nashville Teaching Fellows. Also, Nashville also has a phenomenal park system in the heart of Nashville, which could be easily utilized by the school. How would it work? The K-8 school would enroll approximately thirty students per grade the first year and would be located in an area adjacent to a public park or private property that features the surroundings to create a sustainable outdoor classroom. Project Timeline 6 months - research in TN and on-site in Bali August 2011-May 2012: Charter School Research either as part of a “fellowship or independently” August 2012: Green School: Nashville opens for the first Pilot year. Funding: If the school receives a charter license that will provide $10,000 per students totaling $2,700,000 annually. This should leave the annual projected operating budget with a shortfall (KIPP’s is ~$500,000), which will need to be raised through private donations. In addition to the ongoing costs there will be a one time startup cost of $3-5M for the construction of the school, hiring of teachers, developing of brand, marketing materials, bus system, etc. The sources of the startup capital include: Private Donors and Foundations, Government Grants, and Corporations. Founding Team Mary Katherine Stone. Executive Director – TBD, someone with Charter School Experience to run operations. We plan to enlist project work from Peabody, The Owen Graduate School of Management, and potentially pro-bono work form a consulting firm such as Bain or McKinsey.

Board of Advisors: Current Advisors: Jim Cooper, Potential Advisors: Al Gore, Karl Dean, Phil Bredeson,

“Barack Obama has pledged to make clean energy and green infrastructure a cornerstone of America’s economic recovery. In his first radio address of 2009, the president-elect said "to put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on foreign oil tomorrow, we will double renewable energy production and renovate public buildings to make them more energy efficient.”

Tony Wagner, the Harvard-based education expert and author of “The Global Achievement Gap,” explains it this way.

“There are three basic skills that students need if they want to thrive in a knowledge economy: the ability to do critical thinking and problem solving; the ability to communicate effectively; and the ability to collaborate.”

– Thomas Friedman, December 2010

Green School: Nashville