From Head of School Eric Niles:

I am pleased and proud to announce that Athenian was one of 78 schools (private and public) nationwide to be a named a federal Green Ribbon School. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made the announcement in D.C. this morning and a delegation of 2 will travel to Washington in early June to accept the award. This is the first year of the program so Athenian is an inaugural winner. Kudos to our students for their leadership; to Bob, John, Megan, Meg, Will, and so many other adults for their vision; and to the board for supporting these efforts for all these years. We are proof that a commitment to the environment enhances education, is the ethical choice for a school to make, and creates measurable benefits for the bottom line.

From the Department of Education:

Dear Colleague,

Congratulations!  I write to inform you that your school has been selected one of the first-ever U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools. Today, at 10:30 am Eastern Time, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will announce the winners have been selected and you will be able to see the full list on our website http://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-ribbon-schools/2012-schools.doc.  You can watch the Secretary’s announcement live here (skip to 4:15 for start of presentation): http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/22071533

More information will be forthcoming regarding the recognition ceremony for winning schools in Washington, D.C., in June.  While I wish we could invite your entire school community, you should plan to send no more than two representatives from your school to attend the ceremony, which will begin June 3rd in the evening and conclude June 4th in the afternoon.

Again, our congratulations for your innovative efforts to reduce your school’s environmental impact, improve its health and provide effective environmental education.  We were extremely impressed with your comprehensive school greening.  I look forward to working with you to share your success story with other schools, so that all may learn from your example.

Sincerely,
Andrea Suarez Falken
Director
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools

Students from Athenian were recently featured on Biz Kid$, a national series for public TV, in an episode called ‘Businesses Going Green’. The Emmy Award-winning show teaches kids about money and business and is produced by the same team who created Bill Nye the Science Guy. The episode with Athenian School aired in mid-April, 2012.

Eco Company TV featured The Athenian School’s efforts in 2009 with this video.

To learn more about the Green Ribbon Schools, go here.

To see Athenian’s official press release, go here.

See more about the 2012 nomination here.