Go Green Initiative

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Go Green Initiative

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The Go Green Initiative provides continuing education for districts, schools, and communities across the United States and around the world.

The Go Green Initiative works to advance environmental justice by partnering with district leadership, school staff, and students to improve environmental factors at school, protect human health, and conserve natural resources. Through our five free programs, we work in partnership with district leaders, school staff, teachers, and students to integrate environmental education into existing curriculum and implement high-impact conservation measures. Learn more at gogreeninitiative.org

10/20/2026

Tag a school board member, principal, or district leader who should see this! 👇

Healthy classrooms help kids show up and stay ready to learn, and they help teachers and staff thrive, too. This November, we’re sharing how two districts are making it happen.

Join the Go Green Initiative, Boston Public Schools, and Bibb County School District on November 10 for a virtual version of our CUBE 2026 session, “Better Attendance, Stronger Outcomes, Smarter Investments: The School Board’s Role in Healthy Schools.”

You’ll hear real examples of air quality monitoring, energy management, and cross-department collaboration, plus practical tools for making healthy schools a districtwide priority.

📅 Tuesday, November 10
🕑 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET
💻 Virtual webinar
👉 Register here: bit.ly/NovGGIWebinar

Healthier air. Healthier schools. Healthier futures.
👉 Learn more at GoGreenInitiative.org/IAQ

👉 Explore the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s IAQ Tools for Schools guidance at EPA.gov/IAQ-schools

10/19/2026

12 days left to apply for the 2027 Magna Awards! ⏰

These national awards from The National School Boards Association recognize school districts going above and beyond on indoor air quality and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. There are five ways to earn points toward it, including attending GGI training, joining our monthly webinars, and completing our free online courses.

Not sure where to begin? Our free courses are the easiest entry point, self-paced, no cost, and worth the most points of any category.

If your district has been doing this work, don’t let the next 12 days slip by without getting credit for it.

👉 Apply here: NSBA.org/resources/Magna-Awards

👉 Explore our free courses: GoGreenInitiative.org/IAQ

Healthier air. Healthier schools. Healthier futures.
👉 Learn more at GoGreenInitiative.org/IAQ

(We are proud to support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® on-demand training resources at EnergyStar.gov/buildings/training/recorded-webinars)

10/16/2026

Missed our October 13 webinar? You can still catch it. 🎥

Two school district leaders from The National School Boards Association's 2026 Magna Award-winning districts, Sheila Stevens of Prince George's County Public Schools and Sandi Brundage of City Central School District, shared how they approached their applications, what helped their districts succeed, and what they’d tell other districts about:

✅ Building a strong Indoor Air Quality Management Plan
✅ Developing an effective school board participation response
✅ Identifying areas where your submission may still be improved
✅ Q&A with our speakers and the GGI team on ways to strengthen your submission

A Magna Award is more than a title. It’s a way to celebrate your staff, lift up your district’s work, and build momentum. Magna Award applications are due October 31, so there is still time to put their lessons to work.

▶️ Watch the recording: YouTube.com/watch?v=xu1w6Zbl12M

🏅 Earn Magna Award points (certificate of completion): bit.ly/Oct2026Quiz

Healthier air. Healthier schools. Healthier futures.
👉 Learn more at GoGreenInitiative.org/IAQ

(This webinar is part of GGI's ongoing work under the .S. Environmental Protection Agency's IAQ Tools for Schools initiative: EPA.gov/IAQ-schools)

10/15/2026

Learning something new doesn’t have to take a whole afternoon.

ENERGY STAR®’s free Portfolio Manager® helps school districts track energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and its demo videos teach it one task at a time.

→ Set up a property.
→ Understand energy use intensity.
→ Pull a report.

Your team can fit each one in between meetings.

Why it matters: EPA found that buildings that benchmark consistently save an average of 2.4% on energy every year. For a district with 800,000 square feet of buildings, three years at that pace adds up to $140,000, or the salary of 1.2 teachers each year. That is money that can go back to classrooms.

Our new blog maps out a suggested viewing path. Facilities staff can begin with setup, while business officers can jump straight to reports.

Watch the ENERGY STAR® demo videos:
👉 EnergyStar.gov/buildings/training/demo-videos

Read the full guide:
👉 GoGreenInitiative.org/blog/Energy-Star-Portfolio-Manager-School-Districts

Healthier air. Healthier schools. Healthier futures.
👉 Learn more at GoGreenInitiative.org/IAQ

(We are proud to support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s ENERGY STAR® training resources at EnergyStar.gov/buildings/training)

10/14/2026

The blog is live!

If your district has been meaning to get a clearer picture of its energy use and emissions, our new guide is a good place to begin.

It walks through ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® and the free, bite-sized demos that make getting started easy.

Read the blog:
👉 GoGreenInitiative.org/blog/Energy-Star-Portfolio-Manager-School-Districts

Watch the ENERGY STAR® demo videos:
👉 EnergyStar.gov/buildings/training/demo-videos

Healthier air. Healthier schools. Healthier futures.
👉 Learn more at GoGreenInitiative.org/IAQ

(This content supports GGI’s work under an EPA grant and draws on ENERGY STAR® training resources, including the ENERGY STAR® webinar series at EnergyStar.gov/buildings/training)

10/13/2026

Every absence is a missed day of learning. Could cleaner air help?

Research says it might.

On the newest Go Green Radio, David Carel of Inspired Air talks with GGI’s Jill Buck about studies linking classroom air quality to attendance, focus, and test scores.

Teachers and parents will want to hear this one:
✔ 12.5% fewer absences in a 95-classroom Milan trial
✔ Illness-related absences dropped 55% in a Swedish daycare study after air cleaners were installed
✔ Better air on test day meant better scores in studies from Israel and China

And the cost? Carel estimates about $30 per student for the purifiers in the Aliso Canyon study. He also shares where struggling districts can find funding.

🎧 Listen now: Youtube.com/live/HIop9pyp0Fo

Healthier air. Healthier schools. Healthier futures.
👉 Learn more at GoGreenInitiative.org/IAQ

(Proud to support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Tools for Schools framework: EPA.gov/IAQ-schools.)

10/12/2026

Tomorrow’s the day.

If your district is working on The National School Boards Association's 2027 Magna Award application, join the Go Green Initiative tomorrow for a free, one-hour webinar designed to help you strengthen your submission before the October 31 deadline.

You’ll hear from:

🎤 Sheila Stevens, Program Manager of Sustainability and Resilience, Prince George's County Public Schools
🎤 Sandra L. Brundage, MSEd, MPH, Grant Administration, Salamanca City Central School District

We’ll cover practical ways to strengthen your application, including:
✅ Building a strong Indoor Air Quality Management Plan
✅ Developing an effective school board participation response
✅ Identifying areas where your submission may still be improved
✅ Lessons from real school district experience
✅ Live Q&A with our speakers and the GGI team

Whether you’re nearly finished or still working through the details, there’s still time to make your application stronger.

📅 Tuesday, October 13
🕑 2:00–3:00 PM ET | 11:00 AM–12:00 PM PT
🔗 Register: bit.ly/OctGGIWebinar

Participation is free, and so are GGI’s resources and support.

Healthier air. Healthier schools. Healthier futures.
👉 Learn more at GoGreenInitiative.org/IAQ

(This webinar is part of GGI's ongoing work under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's IAQ Tools for Schools initiative: EPA.gov/IAQ-schools)

10/08/2026

A large district in Maryland. A small, rural district in western New York. Both earned The National School Boards Association's 2026 Magna Awards, and next Tuesday, both are sharing what they've learned.

GGI is hosting a free, one-hour webinar for districts working on their applications, with time for your questions. Magna Award applications are due October 31, so there is still time to make yours stronger.

Meet our guest speakers:
🎤 Sheila Stevens, Program Manager of Sustainability and Resilience, Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS)
🎤 Sandra L. Brundage, MSEd, MPH, Grant Administration, Salamanca City Central School District

We'll talk about what makes a strong IAQ Management Plan, how to write an effective school board participation response, and where points add up fastest. Nearly finished or just getting started, come with your questions.

📅 Tuesday, October 13
🕑 2:00 PM ET
👉 Register: GoGreenInitiative.org/webinars-IAQ

Every resource supporting this work is free, so districts of every size and budget can take part.

Healthier air. Healthier schools. Healthier futures.
👉 Learn more at GoGreenInitiative.org/IAQ

(This webinar is part of GGI's ongoing work under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's IAQ Tools for Schools initiative: EPA.gov/IAQ-schools)

10/07/2026

Sniffles, coughs, and fevers. Every fall, they seem to sweep through classrooms right on schedule. 🍂

There's a reason. Kids have narrower airways and immune systems that are still learning, and they spend hours a day sharing the same air. Last season, CDC rated the flu "high severity" for children, and it expects a similar peak this year.

The good news? The air in your child's classroom is something schools can measure and improve.

Last October, we hosted a webinar with Stanford Medicine pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Bonnie Maldonado, SafeTraces CEO Erik Malmstrom, and Lori Olson-Arzaga of Clark County School District. A year later, their advice matters more than ever. Lori put it simply: "You can't manage what you don't monitor."

That's why the first step is a baseline assessment: A simple check of how well a school's air is moving and being filtered today.

Parents and teachers, you can help by asking your school one question: "When was our building's air last checked?"

🎥 Watch the webinar: Youtube.com/watch?v=inyA8lj9K10

📖 Learn what an assessment looks at: GoGreenInitiative.org/blog/Baseline-and-Annual-IAQ-Assessments

Healthier air. Healthier schools. Healthier futures.
👉 Learn more at GoGreenInitiative.org/IAQ

(part of GGI’s ongoing work under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s IAQ Tools for Schools initiative: EPA.gov/IAQ-schools)

10/06/2026

There are 500 possible points in The National School Boards Association's 2027 NSBA Magna Awards. How many has your district earned?

Swipe through the five ways districts can earn points toward recognition for their indoor air quality work.

Some of this work may already be underway in your district. The key now is making sure you understand the scoring, have the right documentation, and complete your application before the October 31 deadline.

Have questions about your application? Join us next Tuesday, October 13, for a free webinar:

“Strengthen Your 2027 Magna Awards Application: Q&A and Application Support”

Two 2026 Magna Award-winning districts will share what worked for them and lessons they learned along the way.

👉 Register: bit.ly/OctGGIwebinar
👉 Learn more about the Magna Awards: GoGreenInitiative.org/2027-Magna-Awards

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4307 A Valley Avenue, Suite 2
Pleasanton, CA
94556

Telephone

+19252890145

Website

https://bit.ly/3yXLltU

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