At the Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, Sept. 26 the Board heard an update on their sustainability practices from the past year and for the future. The Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Committee shared their highlights from the 2023 – 2024 school year. Recently, they won the Green Ribbon Schools Bronze Awards which commemorates the sustainable qualities the District has incorporated into the facilities, operations, and environmental literacy. They also made an amazing resource called the Campus Sustainability Dashboard which shows data on water, electrical, and gas usage across District sites. Ashmitha Kumaran, a Sophomore at Wilcox High School, did a summer internship with the Santa Clara Schools Foundation where she worked on the dashboard. Notably, Kumaran created an algorithm to populate the dashboard with Silicon Valley Power data which saves them hundreds of hours of work, said Michal Healy, Co-Chair of the committee and Director of Facility Development and Planning. The committee has also set up guidelines for teaching and maintaining school gardens as well as lessons tailored for TK – 5th grade. They raised awareness around zero waste and started the annual Earth Day celebration.