Mar 16De-risking Solar for SchoolsThe news about solar is all good these days. Falling prices, increasing tax breaks — all signs point to wide adoption across all sectors, including schools. While some U.S. school districts have installed solar panels on some of their buildings, these tend to be districts that have a combination of…6 min read6 min read
Jan 3If You Care About the Climate, You Should Love FFAI was a debater in high school, and that activity prepared me for many of the tasks I have have to do daily as a school leader today. I can quickly decide the pros and cons of an issue, I can make an extemporaneous speech when necessary, and I can…4 min read4 min read
Dec 13, 2022We Need an Army of Electricians and K-12 Schools are Failing to Prepare ThemCareer and college readiness is the buzzword of the last two decades for K-12 schools. The impulse to produce more workforce-ready students was behind No Child Left Behind and Common Core Standards. It is an ever-present drum beat from those who would like to see K-12 schools better align with…Climate Change5 min readClimate Change5 min read
Oct 10, 2022How Climate Change Will Affect Schools and What We Should Do About ItWhen schools shut down in March of 2020, a colleague of mine said, “Can you believe we will be closed for two weeks?” We were in a room full of principals, each one grappling with the immediate schedule disruptions — orchestra concerts, basketball games — that accompanied this news. Little…Education11 min readEducation11 min read
Jul 29, 2022What’s holding your state back from a clean energy future?Have you ever driven through another state and wondered why that state has so many more solar panels and wind turbines? You aren’t crazy. Some states make it much more attractive for companies to invest in solar than others. If you wish your state had better incentives for solar, but…Solar Energy3 min readSolar Energy3 min read
Jun 14, 2022How to talk to your school board about climate change…and have them listenWhy does anyone talk a school board meeting? Better yet, why would any sane person do it? Sure, the public comment period can have a few well-meaning (usually), but misguided (usually) citizens who wield a poster or a pocket-sized constitution, but is the public comment period a place for people…Climate Change6 min readClimate Change6 min read
Jun 12, 2022A Battery in Every SchoolNew Orleans Public Schools used to be the largest district in the state. Its 76 schools have reestablished and reinvented themselves since Lake Pontchartrain spilled through broken levees during Hurricane Katrina, when water reached the tops of school buses and filled auditoriums with polluted flood water. Families fled, and many…Climate Change6 min readClimate Change6 min read
