This project teams faculty and graduate-student researchers from Arizona State University?s School of Sustainability with high-school teachers, students, and administrators to address the challenge of becoming a ?sustainable school.? Fellows, guided by faculty members, will help teachers and students use scientific methods and tools to collect data on sustainability indicators on food, energy, water, waste, landscaping, and quality of life at their schools. Students will collect, analyze, and graphically represent scientific data and then communicate their findings and solutions at community forums and science fairs. ?Sustainable Schools? will influence the curriculum and practices of three large school districts in Greater Phoenix. School districts, teachers, and students across many city boundaries will gain access to original research in a new and exploding field of inquiry of sustainability science. In turn, the K-12 community will greatly assist graduate students in the world?s first School of Sustainability. The project will: 1) enhance graduate training and career trajectories; 2) sharpen collaboration, problem-solving, and interdisciplinary skills in real-world contexts; 3) empower Fellows to be better teachers by training them in curriculum and science-based instruction; 4) help school districts integrate sustainability research into curriculum and operations; 5) improve teachers? ability to integrate sustainability concepts into their teaching; 6) expand teachers? ability to develop interdisciplinary curriculum; 7) increase awareness of high-school students about global and local sustainability challenges and encourage them to pursue careers in science, engineering, math, and technology.
