Sustainability Literacy is “the knowledge, skills and mindsets that allow individuals to become deeply committed to building a sustainable future and assisting in making informed and effective decisions to this end.”
–UN Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform
Sustainability Literacy is “the knowledge, skills and mindsets that allow individuals to become deeply committed to building a sustainable future and assisting in making informed and effective decisions to this end.”1 This report recommends four sustainability literacy initiatives for my client De La Salle Academy (DLSA); 1. Schedule a Celebration, 2. Spend Time in Nature, 3. Launch a Resource Hub and 4. Collaborate on Designs. DLSA’s Three Year Strategic Plan was carefully considered to better understand the direction programming will take in the near future. The financial model of the school as well as the existing roles and designated meeting times for all faculty and staff were examined to understand how the four initiatives can be introduced with the most ease and highest emotional impact, while leaving room to scale up with any appropriate future funder A three year process outline for scaling programming is provided for teams to use when matching programming initiatives with specific funders who have a similar vision for sustainability literacy DLSA is an independent middle school for academically talented and economically disadvantaged students. Students are living in environmental justice areas of NYC and their ancestors represent indigenous and colonized communities all over the world. The IPCC Physical Science Working Group I Report, Community Board 4 2023 Fiscal Year Requests and the Environmental Justice NYC project goals were all reviewed to demonstrate what issues the school’s hyperlocal neighborhood faces as well as the places that current students, families and close to 2,000 alums are connected to. The school’s mission and pedagogy is centered on love, equity and meeting each child where they are at developmentally and culturally. These central ideas that founded the Lasallian Educational Mission are explored and placed into the modern context of increasing sustainability literacy by consulting the peer reviewed findings on what factors help young people cope with their increased awareness of climate change in positive ways and by articulating the research based characteristics of early adolescents and what engages them emotionally.
1 United Nations (2022) Raising awareness and assessing sustainability literacy on SDG 7 Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform https://sustainabledevelopment un org/sdinaction/hesi/literacy#:~:text=%22Sustainability%20Literacy%22% 20is%20the%20knowledge,effective%20decisions%20to%20this%20end
How can sustainability literacy goals be integrated into the existing mission and planning structures of an independent middle school in order to support the empowerment and increased capacity of faculty and students to respond meaningfully to the current and future challenges presented by climate change?
Image source: dlsanyc org
To offer academically talented, economically less advantaged children of diverse backgrounds a life-changing educational experience in grades 6-8, where they are empowered to reach their full potential. With the support of caring and dedicated teachers, students are introduced to an innovative yet challenging academic curriculum, strong core values, character development, and they learn to foster a sense of community. Upon graduation, our youngsters are well-equipped to become the leaders of tomorrow. De La Salle believes in a need-blind admissions process to ensure that students are evaluated based solely on their merits and not on their families’ ability to pay.
–De La Salle Academy Mission Statement
De La Salle Academy (DLSA) is an independent school, meaning it is a school governed by a board of trustees and financially sustained by tuition payments, charitable contributions and endowment revenue The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) states that an independent school education is characterized by an emphasis on intellectual curiosity, personal growth, critical thinking and a lifelong love of learning. This is achieved through high academic standards, small classes and hiring teachers who will teach in their area of expertise instead of in accordance with any state mandates on curriculum, textbooks, and testing.2
Independent schools are mission-driven by their own curated philosophy, values, and approach to teaching De La Salle Academy in particular was founded in 1984 by Brother Brian Carty3 as part of a much larger international movement known as the Lasallian educational mission, which can be traced back to 1679 when John Baptise de La Salle founded two schools in Reims, France, and
Data source: DLSA Development Office created a community of educators who would come to be known as the Brothers of Christian schools or “the Christian Brothers ” The goal was to provide a free education to "the children of the
2 National Association of Independent Schools (2022) What Makes Independent Schools Special? National Association of Independent Schools https://parents nais org/learn/the-independent-school-advantage/
3 Anderson, J (2010, October 24) Tough as Nails, but Always Ready for a Bearhug New York Times
artisans and the poor" and to do so in French, not Latin, which intentionally made their educational experience more equitable 4
Flash forward to Fall 2022 at the center of New York City and you can find a six-story walk up with big red doors on W 43rd street between 8th and 9th ave Inside you’re introduced to 160 individuals ranging in age from 10-14 years old. These ambitious students travel into Times Square daily, with commutes as long or longer than any given adult working in midtown. There are twenty seven faculty/staff and twenty six trustees who are committed to act in association towards supporting students academically and spiritually, providing a counter cultural education centered on love5 and meeting each student exactly where they are at Below, I dig into the specifics about the DLSA financial model, student population
In order to uphold the mission of the school, which is to provide equitable access to low-middle income families, 100% of students receive financial aid which is mostly supported by charitable contributions from individuals or families who want to sponsor a child’s access to education. Less revenue comes from the school’s endowment which needs to be carefully sustained to ensure the future of the school. DLSA has operated this way as a not-for-profit organization for 38 years but doing so requires a great deal of creativity and effort from the Board of Trustees and Development Team to raise funds for each new year.
Data source: DLSA Development Office
4 Brothers of the Christian Schools (2020) DECLARATION ON THE LASALLIAN EDUCATIONAL MISSION: CHALLENGES, CONVICTIONS AND HOPES Brothers of the Christian Schools https://www lasalle org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/La Declaracio%CC%81n ENG 26 10 2020 web-1 p df
5 McKim, K (2022, February 9) Feelings of belonging at school are important for student success And mental health Forbes
When thinking about what sustainability literacy initiatives are a good fit for DLSA, it is important to acknowledge this financial model. In the typical private school model, tuition is covered 100% by families, the cost of tuition is set higher and additional revenue can be allocated towards programming and facilities. In the typical public school model, schools are supported by government and city agencies and the programming and facilities priorities are responsive to directives, budgets and initiatives set by the Department of Education and related city policies.
DLSA is in a precarious situation when it comes to identifying resources that can expand programming or upgrade facilities. Gathering resources to support sustainability literacy initiatives will require mining the existing network for alums or donors with a shared vision as well as forming new partnerships. There are countless fantastic examples of CBO’s that deliver environmental education programming, but often the grants that fund these are written to serve public school students. While DLSA students are living in the same underserved communities, as a private school DLSA is usually not eligible for such examples of free environmental education themed enrichment programming.
Therefore, my recommended initiatives must be examples of what DLSA could do right away with no extra time, money or staff Each initiative can be scaled up with the right funder and so I have also included a table of recommendations for expanding each initiative as a reference for future conversations between school leadership and potential funders.
Students commute from neighborhoods all over New York City, which creates a diverse and enriching student body and a unique opportunity for students to learn from each other and expand their worldview.
According to the National Association of Independent Schools Data Analyses for Leadership Fast Facts sheet, during the 2020-2021 school year, students of color were 30.9% of independent school enrollment nationally, 2.3% of students were from other countries and the median percent of Students on Financial Aid was 26.7%. 6
6 National Association of Independent Schools (2022) Facts at a Glance 2021-2022 National Association of Independent Schools Data and Analysis for School Leadership https://www nais org/getmedia/74a53dfc-a4b2-4f80-816e-d101c4e2b21e/NAIS Independent School Fact s at a Glance 2022 Facts pdf
DLSA is an exceptional independent middle school when compared to the US standard because 100% of the students receive financial aid, 92% are students of color, 92% of students are first generation Americans and 6% of students are immigrants born outside the United States.
DLSA is located in an Environmental Justice area and most of DLSA students are living in Environmental Justice areas.
This diversity is a strength and made me wonder about what environmental issues students might be might inform programming. An environmental area, determined by US census data. By taking a closer look at the student zip codes and an interactive draft of the census tracts considered environmental justice areas, which are shown on the next page7 I estimate that 64% of the student body lives in environmental justice areas and 24% live in potential environmental justice areas.
The NYC Office of Climate and Environmental Justice defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all persons, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, policies and activities and with respect to the distribution of environmental benefits.” 8
7 NYC Department of Mental Health and Hygiene (2022) Environmental Justice Areas NYC Department of Mental Health and Hygiene https://www arcgis com/apps/dashboards/f857952c536840f3ba312d15591710f3
8 NYC Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (2022) Environmental Justice NYC Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice
While defining climate justice as “the recognition that it is these same historically-overburdened communities that most vulnerable rapidly changing Disparities that persistent in our from social, to and health inequities, be exacerbated of climate change extreme heat, flooding, and catastrophic events. The pursuit of climate justice also means holding those with the most responsibility for the climate crisis accountable.” 8
In 2017, New York City passed Local Laws 60 and 64 which require the City to develop resources that will help decision makers and now there is a report and web portal environmental justice communities vulnerability. This report is scheduled
Beyond the zipcodes students live in, as first generation Americans, students are connected to communities all over the world. As a starting point, I have mapped out the birthplaces of parents born outside the United States for the 2022-2023 study body and investigated observable climate change and projections for these regions.
https://climate cityofnewyork us/topic/environmental-justice/#:~:text=The%20Mayor's%20Office%20of%20C limate,equitable%20protection%20from%20environmental%20and
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has 195 countries as members and is the United Nations official team for reviewing and communicating the science of climate change. The panel was established with the exact purpose of summarizing the evidence, risks and scenarios that policy makers should consider when implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation plans for their regions.9 The IPCC is made up of three working groups that take time to communicate the agreements coming from the global scientific community.10 for of the climate ange
On the following page, you will find a table that summarizes the observations and projections described by the IPCC Working Group I. This information has been adapted based on the fact sheets published for each region. 12 The intended audience for this table is faculty and staff to help build a targeted awareness of how climate change is interacting with the places our students hold dear.
12 IPCC (2021) Regional Fact Sheets Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report Working Group I The Physical Basis https://www ipcc ch/report/ar6/wg1/resources/factsheets/
East Asia
● Increase in daily precipitation extremes, drought and rate of intensification of tropical storms
Caribbean
Western Africa
Tibetan Plateau
South East Asia
● Increase in droughts, fire weather
● Decrease in monsoon precipitation
● Increase in drying, agricultural droughts and river flooding
● Snow cover has reduced
● Glaciers retreat or lose mass
● Observed mean rainfall trends are not spatially coherent or consistent across datasets and seasons
● Fewer but more extreme tropical cyclones have affected the region
South Asia
Northern South America
Northern Central America
South Eastern South America
South American Monsoon
Sahara including parts of the Sahel
North Western South America
● Increases in mean and extreme precipitation are observed since the 1960s
● Increase in landslides
● Warming will be the same as global average
● Permafrost is thawing
● Increased droughts
● Increased mean wind speed
● Increased pluvial flooding
● Future warming will be slightly less than global average
● Higher flood levels
● Prolonged inundation in the Mekong Delta
● Future warming will be slightly less than the global average
● Rainfall will increase in northern parts and decrease in the Maritime Continent
● Heatwaves and humid heat stress will be more intense
● Both annual and summer monsoon precipitation will increase
● Intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation and pluvial floods are projected to increase
● Increase in the number of dry days and drought frequency
● Projected temperature increases will be similar to the global mean
● Mean annual and summer precipitation is likely to decrease
● Anticipated decrease in monsoon precipitation
● Increased fire weather
● Increased heat waves and humidity
● Intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation and pluvial floods are projected to increase
● South American monsoon will be delayed during the 21st century
● Intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation and pluvial floods
● Increased agricultural and ecological drought
● Increases in aridity and fire weather
● Increases in
● heavy precipitation and pluvial flooding
● Decreases in snow and ice
● Increases in pluvial/river flooding
When observing the current locations (2022) of alums graduating between 1986-2021, I notice that alums are living and working in major cities. While cities are actually much more sustainable in terms of energy consumption, there are specific environmental changes alums will encounter living in cities. Due to characteristics like heat retention in materials, human activity, lack of vegetation and water, the built urban environment has always been warmer, particularly at night, and dryer than surrounding suburban or rural areas.13 Complications resulting from climate change for alums will include increased air pollution and smog, increased heat waves and sea level rise for coastal cities.13
Observing the maps of where parents have emigrated from and noticing that alums are generally not returning to live and work in those regions, begs the question - are any of the DLSA families directly or indirectly climate migrants? 14 There are lived climate stories here in the DLSA community. Capturing and sharing these climate stories can help current students to honor and celebrate the connections their families and ancestors have to the Earth and become advocates for climate justice in these places.
At the moment, DLSA is located in Manhattan Community Board 4, which covers the west side between 14th and 59th street. One of the most pressing environmental issues for this neighborhood is the disproportionate amount of traffic which results in poorer air quality. 15
“According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, this community suffers the second highest incidents of chronic lung disease of any community in Manhattan south of Harlem.” 15
– Statements of Community District Needs and Community Board Budget Requests. Fiscal Year 2023
This is attributed to the neighborhood’s proximity to the Lincoln Tunnel and Port Authority Bus Terminal along with the use of vehicles for hire to reach transportation hubs like Penn Station, the Farley Building/United States Postal Service and Moynihan Train Hall. Additionally, the west side is home to major truck delivery
Image source: Manhattan Board Co. 4 facilities including UPS and FedEx. It is also the case that some rent regulated buildings are not paying to convert to cleaner heating/cooling technology and are continuing to burn heating oil #4 and #6. 15
15 Manhattan Community Board 4 (2022) Statements of Community District Needs and Community Board Budget Requests Fiscal Year 2023 Manhattan Community Board 4 https://cbmanhattan cityofnewyork us/cb4/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/22-MCB4-SDN-and-Budg et-Requests-FY2023 pdf
The New York City Community Air Survey has been tracking air quality since 2008 and the images below show us that DLSA is exposed to some of the highest levels of PM2 5 in the entire city. This is emphasized further by the dramatic observable change in amounts of particulate matter during 2020 when traffic was significantly less.16
Another pressing environmental this neighborhood is the increase weather and flooding. The entir categorized as a high-risk flood the outdated combined sewer storm water during a rain event, directed into waterways, streets, building basements. Without updating system, in the short term, green a reliable way to mitigate some of the impacts of combined sewer overflow by capturing storm water and diverting it away from the sewer. Examples of typical green infrastructure typologies include rain gardens, rain barrels, bioswales, green roofs and tree pits. Overall the goal surface area, healthy soil and vegetation. Green infrastructur and vegetation has the added benefits of lowering air island effect and filtering air, improving air quality.
16 NYC Health (2020) The New York City Community Air Survey: Neighborhood Air Quality 2008-2020 NYC Health https://nyccas cityofnewyork us/nyccas2022/report/3
17 NYC Planning (2022) NYC Flood Hazard Mapper NYC Planning https://www nyc gov/site/planning/data-maps/flood-hazard-mapper page
Manhattan Community Board 4 Requests
Fiscal Year 2023 15
● Renovate McCaffrey Playground, including new play equipment, spray shower, greenery and drainage lines
● Evaluate public locations/properties for green infrastructure
● Design, construct and maintain a variety of sustainable green infrastructure practices
● Provide more frequent organics/recycling collection service for schools and institutions
City Agency
Department of Parks and Recreation
Department of Environmental Protection
New York City Economic Development Corporation
Department of Sanitation
The table above features examples of the community board requests that I found to be most relevant to operations at DLSA. McCaffrey Playground mentioned in the table, is the playground DLSA students spend the daily recess in all year around, weather permitting. This renovation request is a ripe opportunity to facilitate participatory planning with students. If McCaffrey Park were to be included in DEP’s evaluation for green infrastructure, this would create a perfect study site for teaching students about green infrastructure. The organics collection is also an exciting request for DLSA to support as it would be an educational opportunity for students to separate food waste from other solid waste.
Video stills: (2022). Andrea Bergart Public Work. Andrea Bergart. https://www andreabergart com
When we commit to teaching about climate change, we need to commit to understanding how our students perceive and experience climate change. The Public Matters: How Americans View Education, Psychology and Health, is a public-survey project at Columbia University Teacher College. During 2017, this project surveyed a national sample of 3,117 adults over the age 18 and found that most participants do support teaching about climate change in primary and secondary schools. People of color are more likely to rate teaching about climate change as important. Younger people and those living in urban areas are also more likely to rate teaching climate change as important.18
Researchers are busy working out the predictors for whether or not youth perceive climate change as a threat to the world’s future. In 2021 a study comparing 8th graders in 22 countries' responses to a survey, found that factors such trusting institutions, trusting the government and having more experience participating in environmental or civics clubs influenced whether or not a student perceived climate change as a threat to the world’s future.19
18 Pizmony-Levy, O. and Pallas, A. (2019). Americans endo Teachers College, Columbia University
19 Kessler, E (2021) Climate change concern among youth trust across 22 countries Education Policy Analysis Archive https://doi org/10 14507/epaa 29 4849
Researchers are also looking at what considerations should be made when delivering content about climate change. The media that children are exposed to has created the illusion that whether or not the climate is changing is a debate, yet there is scientific consensus that the climate is changing and the change is attributable to human activity.20 When teaching about climate change it is important not to use fear to convince students but to affirm the science and share information and evidence of consensus with students.21
But what should students do with that information? What skills are needed? One framework developed for academic programs separates the skills into five competencies: systems-thinking, anticipatory, normative, interpersonal, and strategic. The definitions of each are quoted below:
● Systems-thinking competence is “the ability to collectively analyze complex systems across different domains (society, environment, economy, etc.) and across different scales (local to global), thereby considering cascading effects, inertia, feedback loops and other systemic features related to sustainability issues and sustainability problem-solving frameworks.”
● Anticipatory competence is “the ability to collectively analyze, evaluate, and craft rich pictures of the future related to sustainability issues and sustainability problem-solving frameworks.”
● Normative competence is “the ability to collectively map, specify, apply, reconcile, and negotiate sustainability values, principles, goals, and targets.”
● Strategic competence is “the ability to collectively design and implement interventions, transitions, and transformative governance strategies toward sustainability.”
● Interpersonal competence is “the ability to motivate, enable, and facilitate collaborative and partici-patory sustainability research and problem solving.”
The Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education (MECCE) Project is an international team of researchers and scholars representing over 100 agencies and universities working to track and improve the quality of climate change communication and education (CCE) worldwide.22 In the United States, New Jersey became the first state to explicitly name climate change in learning standards across all K-12 grade levels as well as
20 Harris, R (2021, June 9) Climate explained: How the IPCC reaches scientific consensus on climate change The Conversation
21 Lewandowsky S (2021) Climate Change Disinformation and How to Combat It Annual Review of Public Health 42: 1–21 https://doi org/10 1146/annurev-publhealth-090419-102409
22 The Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education Project (2022) THE PROJECT THE MECCE PROJECT https://mecce ca/
subject areas.23 In 2022, a partnership between the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) and the MECCE Project, supported by the WakaWaka Foundation, published a report titled Mapping the Landscape of K–12 Climate Change Education Policy in the United States which analyzed the inclusion of climate change communication and education in strategic plans, learning standards, facilities projects and community partnerships in schools.23 Key findings are directly quoted below:
● “All states had policies that mentioned climate change at least once; extent of inclusion was usually very low.”
● “When looking across policy types, climate change content was most commonly included in sustainability-specific operations plans and environmental literacy plans; although many environmental literacy plans are dated.”
● “When looking at the domain of policy types, climate change content was most commonly included in teaching and learning policies (i.e., environmental literacy plans, state standards, curriculum frameworks, or teaching and learning plans).”
● “Within state standards and curriculum frameworks, climate change content was found most often in environment/climate change-specific and science subjects, rarely in social studies or language arts, and never in mathematics.”
● “State standards and curriculum frameworks that used or were influenced by the Next Generation Science Standards were more likely to include climate change content.”
● “The majority of state standards and curriculum frameworks did not include holistic approaches to climate change education; when climate change content was included, it tended to focus on cognitive learning and on the ends (i.e., outcomes) not the means (i.e., process) of education.”
● “Discussions of energy were often in relation to fossil fuel, and there was little mention of key topics and initiatives such as climate action, justice, mitigation, or adaptation, Indigenous knowledge, or the United Nations, in the policies analyzed.”
● “State political affiliation, presence of a climate change plan, and whether or not a state had made a broader commitment to climate change correlated with to what extent climate change content was included in the policies.”
23 MECCE, NAAEE. (2022). Mapping the Landscape of K–12 Climate Change Education Policy in the United States. The Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education Project and North American Association for Environmental Education
Solastalgia refers to the distress that is produced by environmental change impacting on people while they are directly connected to their home environment This feeling of despair is being studied in populations affected by drought, flood and most recently wildfires This is a new term, used in 2003 by philosopher Glenn Albrecht, but the feelings are not new These types of feelings can be traced to experiences of indigenous populations throughout history whose relationship to place was man activity like colonization and stainability competencies at DLSA, ice adaptive coping? Understanding ed eco-anxiety either directly, ng programming so as not to
Below, two lists are organized to show what factors make a young person more vulnerable to eco-anxiety and what factors help them endure the depression associated with increased awareness of climate change These vulnerability and protective factors listed below are collections of observations made in a scoping review published this year in Environmental Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology.25
24 Albrecht G, Sartore G-M, Connor L, et al Solastalgia: The Distress Caused by Environmental Change Australasian Psychiatry 2007;15(1 suppl):S95-S98 doi:10 1080/10398560701701288
25 Léger-Goodes T, Malboeuf-Hurtubise C, Mastine T, Généreux M, Paradis P-O and Camden C (2022) Eco-anxiety in children: A scoping review of the mental health impacts of the awareness of climate change Front Psychol 13:872544 doi: 10 3389/fpsyg 2022 872544
● inaction of government
● problem focused coping
● indigenous identity
● connection to land
● lack of understanding in science
● fear without the possibility of action
● taking action
● constructive optimism
● positive images of the future with achievable actions
● seeing institution’s values align with actions
● validation, feeling heard, feeling respected
● having agency
● meaning focused coping
● trust in technology
Developmentally, middle school aged students are experiencing a complete explosion of brain activity in their amygdalae which creates a total reorganization of the neural networks that guide the relevance of every social stimulus in their lives.26 This is the part of the brain responsible for the biggest emotions and for setting off physiological responses to any Adolescent Psychiatry summariz following: decrease in rational risk-taking, exploration and ability of a cohesive sense of identity shown above summarizes the
26 Scherf KS, Smyth JM, Delgado M Horm Behav 2013 Jul;64(2):298-31 23756154; PMCID: PMC3781589
27 AACAP (2017) Adolescent Develo https://www aacap org/AACAP/Fam opment-Part-I-057 aspx
providewhileyoungpeoplenavigateextremeemotions Whendeveloping meaning-focusedprogrammingaboutteachingclimatechangeandbuildingsustainability competenciesitisimportanttoalwaysrevisitwhatisageappropriate.Harmoniously, adaptingtoandmitigatingclimatechangeisanambitiousprojectforhumanstoundertake butinmiddleschoolstudentsareaskingbigquestionsandsculptingtheirunderstanding oftheroletheymighthaveintheworld,sowhatbetterwaytosatiatethisage-appropriate curiositythantosharewiththemthetechnicalskills,researchskills,interpersonalskillsand systemsthinkingcompetenciesthathelplandthemcarvetheirownsenseofagencyand purpose.
DLSAisalreadyinvestedinthesocialandemotionalwellnessofthestudents.Thisiswhy thesustainabilityinitiativesIrecommendinthenextsectionofthisreportaregroundedin thepracticesthathelpstudentscopewitheco-anxietyandareresponsivetotheirbrain developmentatthisage.DLSAhasbeenfortunatetoworkdirectlywithDr.GessLeBlanc, ProfessorofDevelopmentalandEducationalPsychologyandChairoftheDepartmentof EducationalFoundationsandCounselingProgramsatHunterCollegeSchoolof Education.LeBlancsharedtheextensivelyresearchedrecommendations28 listedbelow DLSAwithfacultyinaseriesofprofessionaldevelopmentsessionsheledduringthe 2019-2020schoolyear. 29
● “Leveragewhoyourstudentsarewhendesigningyourlessons”
● “Provideopportunitiesforhands-onprojectswherestudentshavetosolvea realworldproblemanddemonstratemastery(eg.Makerspaces)”
● “Provideopportunitiesforstudentstodrawontheirknowledgeofacademic contentfrommultipledisciplinestosolveproblems”
● “Provideopportunitiesforstudentstoworkinteams”
● “Provideopportunitiesformovementwithinlessons”
● “Promoteselfawareness,self-management,socialawareness,responsible decision-making,andrelationshipskills”
28 LeBlanc,G,&Fredrick,T (2021) Who's in My Classroom?: Building Developmentally and Culturally Responsive School Communities JohnWiley&Sons
29 LeBlanc,G (2020,June1) Ways To Support Students What are our Strengths and What Needs Strengthening? [PowerPointslides]
LeBlancalsosharedkeyfindingsfromhisfocusgroupresearchwithDLSAstudentsand parents,quotedbelow30:
● “Studentsfeelsasenseofcommunity”
● “Studentsexperiencecaringrelationshipswithteachersand administrators”
● “Studentsneedphysicalactivity”
● “Studentsneedforsupportwithtimemanagement,notetaking,and organizationalskills”
● “Studentsvalueofreal-worldconnectionswithinlessons”
● “Studentsneeddifferentiatedinstruction”
● “Studentsvalueinstructionalclarity”
● “Parentsneedhelptosupporttheirchildren”
ThesefindingsarecentraltothesustainabilityinitiativesIrecommend.AsDLSAforges forwardwithanewstrategicplan,thereisaclearandripeopportunitytoinfuse sustainabilityliteracyintothispathforward.
30 LeBlanc,G,Dr (2020,June1) Summary of Findings: Key Themes [PowerPointSlides]
A set of Four Recommended Sustainability Initiatives aligning with Strategic Plan Aspirations.
“In the months and years ahead, I will call on all of us to ask the question that philosopher Roman Krznaric has posed: “What does it mean to be a good ancestor?” How will we leave behind a mission, culture, program, policies and resources that will not just move and embrace the current students, families and faculty, but how will we ensure that this mission will move and support the many generations of community members to come? What will be our contributions and legacies to the continuity of De La Salle Academy? How will we keep the dream and vision alive?”
–Angel Rubiel Gonzalez, PhD, Head of School, ‘99
Image source: dlsanyc.org
Between Fall 2021 and Fall 2022, Head of School Dr. Angel Gonzalez, supported by a grant from the Altman Foundation and in partnership with Nicole Brittingham Furlonge, Ph.D. co-founder of the LEARNS Collective facilitated a series of stakeholder interviews and surveys as a way to pause and reflect on the needs and strengths of the board, faculty, staff, students, families and alums. A process that would inform DLSA’s new three year strategic plan. Two essential questions shaped this planning process:
1. “What are the institutional mindsets, culture, systems and practices needed to maximize the talent, time, & expertise of the people leading and working on behalf of DLSA?”
2. “How will DLSA transform in service of its vision and viability?”
What emerged from this process were three strategic commitment areas:
The Learning commitment aspires to promote well-being by amplifying the fact that the student body is predominantly low-moderate income families and people of color, building partnerships to expand program offerings and by maintaining a learning environment that is responsive to the specific needs of middle schoolers.
The Leadership commitment aspires to help students build a set of ethics informed by their personal sense of identity and purpose. This commitment also invites expertise and input from a variety of stakeholders to play a role in decision making processes.
The Legacy commitment aspires to steward fiscally healthy operations in order to ensure that DLSA continues to have the financial stability to serve students well into the future. This includes identifying new donors and new programming opportunities that are financially sustainable.
My aim is to demonstrate how supporting the increase of sustainability literacy knowledge, skills and mindsets further the delivery and realization of DLSA’s three strategic commitment areas. Each of the four sustainability literacy initiatives I suggest encapsulates this DLSA spirit of learning, leadership and legacy by providing clear context for what types of experiences help students cope with eco-anxiety and what types of competencies are expected from future sustainability leaders. Each initiative comes with a three year checklist to guide DLSA’s social, academic, facilities and development teams in delegating responsibilities and imagining how to grow each initiative within a three year time frame.
I have selected specific aspirations within each commitment area that most directly make space for future opportunities presented by the four initiatives. The three year outline for each initiative connects back to the aspirations, indicated by the associated symbol and number
The suggested teams for each year are based on existing DLSA committee teams. Success indicators for the team’s are listed below. These indicators are observable measures that let the team know that sustainability literacy is being cultivated across DLSA stakeholders.
During April
La Science
e impr Celebr acknowledge anniversar how community Ear
E
g
lready existing celebration of c y a Community Meeting plus t discussion and reflection S e showcased as part of the a y p p p with their increased awareness around climate change is feeling that their voice is heard.
Oudoo spaces ke communitygardens,Hudson RiverParkandHighLinewill immersestudentsinnature Environmentaleducatorand authorDavidSobelwrites aboutthewaysgivingchildre withthenaturalworld Hewritesthat“Talkingtotreesandhidingintreesprecedessaving trees”Sobelcallsthesemomentsofimaginationandadventure“transcendent experiences”andbelievesthesearewhatleadayoungpersontodeveloptheirownsense ofenvironmentaladvocacy. 31
TripstoseegreeninfrastructureinactionatnearbyplacesliketheJavitsCenterandthe PS111publicplaygroundshowstudentspro-environmentalactionsthatarebeingtakenin theirschoolneighborhoodtomitigatestormwater,alocalissuethatisexacerbatedby climatechange.
31 LEDENDECKER,K M (2020) Childhood and Nature Design Principles for Educators by DAVID SOBEL OrionMagazine https://orionmagazineorg/review/childhood-and-nature/
In in per change not r per the t would sustainability literacy competencies in their curriculum.
Independent schools are characterized by brave, adventurous and motivated faculty who do not adhere to state standards or standardized testing constraints but who meet each child where they are at, so the resources in the efforts, capacities and strengths of current
Orienting faculty/staff to the resource hub professional development day. I estimate literacy is an asset for students and naming the ways DLSA is already teaching sustainability competencies plus 20-30 minutes hands-on practice using the hub in teams and capturing initial ideas for where and how sustainability literacy is being nurtured. Any adult in the community would be invited to navigate the google site based on their team: Social, Academic, Facilities or Development.
31 Megan Ennes, Danielle F Lawson, Kathryn T Stevenson, M Nils Peterson & M Gail Jones (2021) It’s about time: perceived barriers to in-service teacher climate change professional development, Environmental Education Research, 27:5, 762-778, DOI: 10 1080/13504622 2021 1909708
DLSA with series biophilic or Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Tenetia Mack. This workshop model can be replicated with a variety of expert professionals to help students step out of problem re-imagining the places they ar
A 2017 green roof proposal for DLSA board member Facilities engaged in. This idea, referred physical space a student is in, facilities projects can start on a conducting an energy audit.
Design practices can live in the curriculum, activities and clubs but it would also be possible to connect externally with local organizations like Clinton Housing Development Company or Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association who partner with city agencies, the community board and and other not for profits like Design Trust for Public Space or The Trust for Public Land to make environmentally informed changes in the neighborhood.
DLSA students can play a role in how McCaffrey Park functions by seeking out grants like the ones given out by Partnership for Parks to become caretakers of the park. Students can also build a sense of responsibility by becoming official stewards of the NYC Street Trees on the school block.
DLSA faculty and staff are already teaching sustainability literacy competencies, but these aren’t being explicitly named yet in the curriculum or in proposals for potential funders open to growing DLSA’s STEM program offerings, specifically sustainability literacy and meaning focused responses to the increased awareness students and faculty experience around climate change. Facilities upgrades are made complicated by decisions around where DLSA will be physically located when the current lease is up. However, the initiatives (in order of both urgency and accessibility) to celebrate, be in nature, build resources and collaborate are all things DLSA can start doing today because these ideas already complement the mission and strategic plan aspirations of this unique middle school built on equity and love. NYC is thriving with organizations already grounded in their commitment to equitable environmental education and with consistent financial support, DLSA students can access these riches both on and off site. By collecting evidence throughout implementation of the year 1 outline, documenting faculty and student engagement around initiatives, a case can be made for future funders who are interested in much larger scale facilities projects such as science classroom renovations and green roof outdoor classroom space. The graphic organizer and work bank below offers current teams a place to nail down their ideas and connect each opportunity they identify back into the language used when talking about sustainability literacy initiatives internally or externally.
AACAP(2017). Adolescent Development Part 1. AmericanAcademyofChildandAdolescent Psychiatryhttps://wwwaacaporg/AACAP/Families and Youth/Facts for Families/FFF-Guide/Normal-Adole scent-Development-Part-I-057aspx
AlbrechtG,SartoreG-M,ConnorL,etal Solastalgia: The Distress Caused by Environmental Change AustralasianPsychiatry 2007;15(1 suppl):S95-S98 doi:101080/10398560701701288
Anderson,J.(2010,October24).ToughasNails,butAlwaysReadyforaBearhug. New York Times.
AndreaBergart (2022) Andrea Bergart Public Work AndreaBergart https://wwwandreabergartcom
BrothersoftheChristianSchools (2020) DECLARATION ON THE LASALLIAN EDUCATIONAL MISSION: CHALLENGES, CONVICTIONS AND HOPES BrothersoftheChristianSchools https://www.lasalle.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/La Declaracio%CC%81n ENG 26 10 2020 web-1.p df
Harris,R.(2021,June9).Climateexplained:HowtheIPCCreachesscientificconsensusonclimatechange. The Conversation.
IPCC(2021) Regional fact sheet - Urban Areas IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC)Sixth AssessmentReportWorkingGroupIThePhysicalBasis.
https://wwwipccch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/factsheets/IPCC AR6 WGI Regional Fact Sheet Urban ar easpdf
IPCC(2021) Regional Fact Sheets IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC)SixthAssessment ReportWorkingGroupIThePhysicalBasis https://wwwipccch/report/ar6/wg1/resources/factsheets/
IPCC(2022). About the IPCC. IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC). https://wwwipccch/about/
IPCC(2022). Reports. IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC).https://www.ipcc.ch/
IPCC(2022) Working Group I The Physical Science Basis IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange (IPCC).https://www.ipcc.ch/working-group/wg1/
Kessler,E (2021) Climate change concern among youth: Examining the role of civics and institutional trust across 22 countries. EducationPolicyAnalysisArchives,29(124).https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.29.4849
LeBlanc,G (2020,June1) Summary of Findings: Key Themes [PowerPointSlides]
LeBlanc,G.(2020,June1). Ways To Support Students. What are our Strengths and What Needs Strengthening? [PowerPointSlides]
LeBlanc,G.,&Fredrick,T.(2021). Who's in My Classroom?: Building Developmentally and Culturally Responsive School Communities JohnWiley&Sons
LEDENDECKER,K M (2020) Childhood and Nature Design Principles for Educators by DAVID SOBEL OrionMagazine.https://orionmagazine.org/review/childhood-and-nature/
Léger-GoodesT,Malboeuf-HurtubiseC,MastineT,GénéreuxM,ParadisP-OandCamdenC(2022) Eco-anxiety in children: A scoping review of the mental health impacts of the awareness of climate change. Front Psychol 13:872544doi:103389/fpsyg2022872544
Lewandowsky.S(2021) Climate Change Disinformation and How to Combat It. AnnualReviewofPublic Health42:1–21 https://doiorg/101146/annurev-publhealth-090419-102409
Lustgarten,A,&Kohut,M (2020,July23) TheGreatClimateMigrationHasBegun The New York Times
ManhattanCommunityBoard4(2022) Statements of Community District Needs and Community Board Budget Requests Fiscal Year 2023 ManhattanCommunityBoard4 https://cbmanhattan.cityofnewyork.us/cb4/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/22-MCB4-SDN-and-Budg et-Requests-FY2023pdf
McKim,K.(2022,February9).Feelingsofbelongingatschoolareimportantforstudentsuccess And mentalhealth Forbes
MECCE,NAAEE (2022) Mapping the Landscape of K–12 Climate Change Education Policy in the United States. TheMonitoringandEvaluatingClimateCommunicationandEducationProjectandNorthAmerican AssociationforEnvironmentalEducation
MeganEnnes,DanielleF.Lawson,KathrynT.Stevenson,M.NilsPeterson&M.GailJones(2021) It’s about time: perceived barriers to in-service teacher climate change professional development, Environmental EducationResearch,27:5,762-778,DOI:101080/1350462220211909708
NationalAssociationofIndependentSchools(2022) Facts at a Glance 2021-2022 NationalAssociationof IndependentSchoolsDataandAnalysisforSchoolLeadership https://wwwnaisorg/getmedia/74a53dfc-a4b2-4f80-816e-d101c4e2b21e/NAIS Independent School Fact s at a Glance 2022 Facts.pdf
NationalAssociationofIndependentSchools(2022) What Makes Independent Schools Special? National AssociationofIndependentSchools.https://parents.nais.org/learn/the-independent-school-advantage/
NYCDepartmentofMentalHealthandHygiene(2022). Environmental Justice Areas. NYCDepartmentof MentalHealthandHygiene
https://wwwarcgiscom/apps/dashboards/f857952c536840f3ba312d15591710f3
NYCHealth(2020) The New York City Community Air Survey: Neighborhood Air Quality 2008-2020 NYC Health https://nyccascityofnewyorkus/nyccas2022/report/3
NYCMayor'sOfficeofClimateandEnvironmentalJustice.(2022). Environmental Justice. NYCMayor's OfficeofClimateandEnvironmentalJustice
https://climatecityofnewyorkus/topic/environmental-justice/#:~:text=The%20Mayor's%20Office% 20of%20Climate,equitable%20protection%20from%20environmental%20and
NYCPlanning(2022) NYC Flood Hazard Mapper NYCPlanning https://www.nyc.gov/site/planning/data-maps/flood-hazard-mapper.page
Pizmony-Levy,O andPallas,A (2019) Americans endorse climate change education NewYork:Teachers College,ColumbiaUniversity
ScherfKS,SmythJM,DelgadoMR The amygdala: an agent of change in adolescent neural networks Horm Behav 2013Jul;64(2):298-313 doi:101016/jyhbeh201305011 Epub2013Jun10 PMID:23756154; PMCID:PMC3781589.
TheMonitoringandEvaluatingClimateCommunicationandEducationProject(2022) THE PROJECT THE MECCEPROJECT.https://mecce.ca/
UnitedNations(2022) Raising awareness and assessing sustainability literacy on SDG 7 Sustainable DevelopmentGoalsKnowledgePlatform
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdinaction/hesi/literacy#: :text=%22Sustainability%20Literacy%22% 20is%20the%20knowledge,effective%20decisions%20to%20this%20end