Grayslake High School District 127 and Legat Architects use Arc dashboard to establish sustainability baseline and benchmark waste and energy reduction efforts
Most Illinois school districts have the same board policy manual fed by state and federal laws and regulations. In particular, Policy 4:70 “Resource Conservation” encourages districts to reduce solid waste and adhere to energy conservation measures.
In response to this policy, Grayslake Community High School District 127 (D127), working with Legat Architects, has adopted Arc, an online tool developed by Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). D127 will use the platform’s reports to assess the sustainable performance of its two high schools, incorporating established benchmarks and standards to track its energy usage and progress over time.
“For school districts to reduce solid waste or conserve, they have to know their baseline,” said D127 Associate Superintendent/CSBO Dr. Abe Singh. “The Arc dashboard helps ascertain that baseline so districts can then make changes based on the findings.”
Sample data for Grayslake High School District 127 generated via Arc dashboard. The dashboard enables districts to compare annual and month-over-month performance. Graphic courtesy GBCI.
Student Initiative Fuels Districtwide Progress
The enterprising students in D127’s sustainability club introduced Arc to district administrators. Working with Dr. Singh and others, the students began uploading preliminary data and getting a feel for how the dashboard works. Those students then graduated, leaving administrators with the difficult decision of how to sustain the program.
“Sustainability is important to D127, but our staff resources are limited — we just didn’t have the bandwidth to take on another project this year,” said Singh. “Therefore, we contracted Legat to pilot the dashboard and document the initial data. Next year, we’ll get the appropriate training and take over the dashboard.”
For school districts to reduce solid waste or conserve, they have to know their baseline. The Arc dashboard helps ascertain that baseline so districts can then make changes based on the findings.
Dr. Abe Singh, Associate Superintendent/CSBO, Grayslake Community High School District 127
Legat streamlined the setup of the project profile, outlined what needed to be tracked, and coordinated with the district’s facilities personnel how to acquire the required data. D127 sent Legat its data such as utility bills, energy readings from three solar arrays, total waste (by weight), and air quality samplings. Legat uploaded the data to the Arc dashboard, then sent the district quarterly reports and a more detailed annual report.
For the latter report, Legat also coordinated faculty and student surveys built into the Arc platform to assess transportation data and get feedback on occupant satisfaction. The surveys gathered responses from 25% of total occupancy (200 to 300 respondents for each school) per Arc requirements.
“Starting a data heavy project like this can be challenging,” said Legat’s Noelle Ridley. “We created a plan that can be extended to other districts facing similar hurdles.”
Districts can use data generated by the Arc dashboard to support classroom discussions.
Operate By Example: An Educational Tie-In
Dr. Singh values the symbiotic relationship between students, educators, and administrators when it comes to advancing sustainability in school districts. Last year, for instance, students expressed concern that D127 was not composting. The district responded with a composting program involving special bins placed in cafeterias and food rooms. Similarly, when students asked about how their schools’ solar panels were performing, teachers integrated related energy savings data into their courses.
The Arc dashboard offers districts another easy and cost-effective way to boost curricula while promoting sustainability.
“I think it’s important that school business officials operate by example,” said Singh. “In relation to the environment and carbon footprint, that means teaching students and by extension community members not just through textbooks and theory but also by incorporating measurement tools that they can see.”
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