The Patrick Henry Post

Special Edition: National Green Ribbon School Announcement

The Patrick HenryPostSpecial Edition: National Green Ribbon SchoolAnnouncement

Congratulations, Patrick Henry!

zoom_out_map

Patrick Henry Named a US Department of Education NATIONAL GREEN RIBBON SCHOOL!

Earth Day, 2023 came with a very special announcement for the students, staff, and community members of Patrick Henry Elementary in St. Louis Public Schools: We have been named the first school in St. Louis City history to be a Green Ribbon School!!! This is a national recognition that comes from the United States Department of Education, and it is a lifetime achievement award, meaning our school can only win it once and we will always be a National Green Ribbon School.


Patrick Henry won this recognition because of achievement in three categories:

  1. Sustainability - We not only have to be a sustainable school building and system in our community, but we also have to educate our students on sustainability practices that they can take with them into their futures.
  2. Environmentalism - We have to reduce harmful practices to our environment and change the way our school runs through internal and external improvements and environmentally-sound practices in our utilities, buildings and grounds practices, and school practices.
  3. Healthy Initiatives - We have to provide the healthiest school community for our students, staff, families, and neighbors both for physical and mental well-being.


Take a look below at Secretary of Education Cardona's explanation of what it means to be a National Green Ribbon School!


Secretary Cardona Announces the 2023 ED Green Ribbon Schools
zoom_out_map

History of the Green Ribbon School Award

Since 2012, only 16 schools and 2 school districts have been awarded the National Green Ribbon School recogition from the state of Missouri. A few fun facts:


  • Patrick Henry is the 19th school from Missouri to ever win this award
  • Patrick Henry is the only school to win this award from the state of Missouri in 2023
  • Patrick Henry is the first school in St. Louis City to ever win the award
  • Patrick Henry is the first urban school from the state of Missouri to ever win this award
  • In 2023, only 41 schools or districts won this award across the entire country, and Patrick Henry is one of them!

How Did Patrick Henry Become a National Green Ribbon School?

Pillar 1: Reduced Environmental Impact and Costs

Patrick Henry has added several measures to decrease our impact on the environment. Our physical structure is 116 years old, and we are an historic building of St. Louis, so we have many challenges in upgrading our building to meet higher environmental standards while protecting the historical value of our building, which was designed by Architect William Ittner. Since 2020, Patrick Henry has used Energy Star Portfolio Manager and utility websites to track gas, water, and electricity usage for the building. The following measures have preserved the integrity of the design of the school while decreasing our impact on the environment:

zoom_out_map

Reducing Energy and Greenhouse Gases

Utility incentive rebate programs through Ameren Missouri and Spire funded occupancy sensors, LED lighting, building controls, HVAC retro-commissioning, and new HVAC equipment to reduce energy use.

zoom_out_map

100% LED Lighting

Our new LED lighting saves 100,471 kwh, which significantly lowers our utility consumption and our utility costs!
zoom_out_map

HVAC Cleaning Crew

An 8-week cleaning process provided a deep cleaning of all duct work and ventilation systems, decreasing the energy usage and providing much cleaner air for students and staff!
zoom_out_map

Water Consumption

All original water fountains were replaced with water bottle filling stations, and all students received water bottles, reducing disposable, plastic water bottles by 100%.
zoom_out_map

Garden Water Run-Off

Water run-off was diverted in the school garden to make sure that no flooding occurred and disrupted the growth of the garden beds. This was also addressed during the Concrete Project of 2022-2023 to make sure the water diversion was permanent.
zoom_out_map

Recycling and Waste Disposal

St. Louis Public Schools participates in waste disposal programs that ensure a streamlined recycling process is followed at every school and all electronics and light materials are disposed of properly so as to avoid landfills.
zoom_out_map

Neighborhood School

80% of our students walk to school, reducing car usage and carbon emissions significantly. We love being a neighborhood school, and our families make this an environmentally friendly school every day just by walking!
zoom_out_map

Walking Field Trips

Patrick Henry takes full advantage of the downtown location and takes numerous walking field trips every year rather than riding a bus - some classes even have a weekly walking pilgrimage to the downtown branch of the St. Louis Public Library!
zoom_out_map

Energy Star Qualified Products

All St. Louis Public Schools utilize the Energy Star Portfolio and Energy Star Qualified products to ensure facility equipment is up to the highest environmental standard.

Pillar 2: Improved Health and Wellness of Students and Staff

Over the past two school years, Patrick Henry Downtown Academy has been nationally recognized as one of America’s Healthiest Schools by The Alliance for a Healthier Generation because of our efforts in this area. The 63106 zip code has a high occurrence of public health concerns, and our students are not immune to these difficulties. We have our students for at least 7 hours every day, and we make a concentrated effort to make those hours as healthy as possible within the confines of our control.
zoom_out_map

Healthy Food Access

All students receive breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack that is a part of our Free and Reduced Lunch program and our Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program. Students also have access to the only source of fresh fruits and vegetables in the 63106 food desert at our Patrick Henry garden!
zoom_out_map

AIM Zones

Academics In Motion (AIM) Zones provide movement breaks for students in every classroom so that they can take a break but stay in the classroom and continue learning. We have increased our movement minutes significantly and reduced office referrals that remove children from the classroom when they simply need a movement break to get their wiggles out.
zoom_out_map

Non-Food Rewards for Students

We recognize academic achievement, excellent attendance, and great behavior every week and month at Patrick Henry, but we stopped providing food as a reward because it was rarely healthy for our students. Instead, our community partners help us provide books, art materials, and educational toys to motivate our students with rewards! Our classroom teachers offer extra physical movement as a reward like extra recess.
zoom_out_map

Environmental Health

St. Louis Public Schools Buildings & Grounds coordinates efforts across many teams to maintain a physically healthy school environment through cleaning processes, air filtration systems, and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) improvements with environmental consultants who support us throughout the year to ensure we have a healthy space.
zoom_out_map

Coordination of Services for Students

Our school has an incredible number of community partners who provide regular services to our students to improve physical and mental health and wellness: clean clothes and shoes that fit, washer and dryer free for use by families and staff, winter coat drive sized correctly to each student for a brand new coat (even in the color of their choice!), and outside counseling for trauma therapy.
zoom_out_map

The Parent Resource Room

40% of our families are in transition, meaning they do not have a stable place to stay each night. 40% of our students will move at least once this school year, and of that 40%, the majority of them will move more than once in the same school year. This creates instability and uncertainty of resources, so our Parent Resource Room is available for all families in need of non-perishable food, hygiene kits, and supplies for their children.

Pillar 3: Effective Environmental and Sustainability Education and Initiatives

Starting in 2018, Patrick Henry students have been involved in environmental, sustainability, nutrition, and garden education. These classes come in several forms and at many times throughout the year, including Physical Education and Health class, nutrition classes through the University of Missouri Extension Program, Garden Class, and Harvest Festival. Our efforts to educate our students are listed below:

zoom_out_map

Garden Education

Teachers utilize Science, Physical Education, Health and Nutrition, and even Math and Reading standards to create lessons that give students hands on learning experiences in the garden. These lessons also include guest speakers and guest teachers such as local farmers, partner teachers from Seed St. Louis, and volunteers from our neighborhood Elderly Community Center who bring generational knowledge and wisdom that cannot be quantified.
zoom_out_map

Smoothie Program

Patrick Henry was able to be a part of the pilot program of fresh fruit smoothies this year, and even got to have our students make the smoothies themselves by powering the smoothie bike blender!
zoom_out_map

Expanding Nutrition Understanding

Our youngest students received weekly lessons this year from The University of Missouri Extension Program on nutrition and wellness at school and at home, and several classes received lessons throughout the year from local chefs and gardeners on how to prepare healthy snacks for themselves at home.
zoom_out_map

Outdoor Learning Toolkit

Our Partnership with Healthy Schools' Healthy Communities and BJC Health has granted us an incredible outdoor learning kit that teachers can use as often as they like. The Outdoor Learning Kit is a science, math, and environmental studies curriculum that follows Missouri State Standards for all grade levels in Science and Physical Education. It includes tasks that require physical movement as well as activities that create the opportunity for hands-on learning. Getting kids outside and using the earth itself as a science lab is one of the easiest ways to engage children in learning about the world around them.

zoom_out_map

Job-Embedded Professional Development

BJC Health representatives and Seed St. Louis staff and volunteer come during the school day to give teachers and students job-embedded, hands-on training of how to care for plants in the garden, and how to teach their students safe handling and harvesting.

zoom_out_map

ADA Accessibility

One of our most expensive accomplishments was making our school garden ADA accessible and educating our students about why ADA accessibility matters. Our garden was extremely uneven and was inaccessible to all students and volunteers who had walking needs. The Construction Forum and the Local Concrete Union of St. Louis donated concrete, labor, and installation - a projected $60,000 project that was 100% free for Patrick Henry! During the construction project, teachers used this real life scenario to teach students not only about ADA accessibility, but also about the science, technology, engineering, and math that was necessary for the concrete to be added to the garden. Students studied the concepts in their classrooms and observed the process with the construction team – and even got the chance to don a hard hat and work with the concrete hands on!

What's Next for Patrick Henry?

Celebration #1: Earth Day in Forest Park, April 22nd

Come join us in Forest Park where we will be presented with our award by Mayor Tishaura Jones during the Forest Park Earth Day Festival! Our award will be presented on the main stage at 1:40pm.

Celebration #2: Mayor Jones at Patrick Henry, May 3rd

Come join us behind the school in our garden for a celebration of our students' and staff members' achievements from 1:00-2:30pm. Mayor Tishaura Jones will come to Patrick Henry and meet the students in person - what a thrill for our students to meet the first female, Black Mayor of St. Louis! We will present our students with trophies, snacks, and fun activities to celebrate their accomplishments and give them a fantastic, fun-filled afternoon!

All parents and community partners are welcome to attend!

CONGRATULATIONS, PATRICK HENRY STUDENTS, STAFF, AND COMMUNITY!

Kool & The Gang - Celebration