Other Partnership Programs

Santa Cruz County Public Schools Resource Conservation Program
The Santa Cruz County Public Schools Resource Conservation Program was created in 1997 through a cooperative effort of local government, local schools, and community nonprofit organizations. The County Office of Education administers the program and works with each school district to make sure the program achievements are recognized and cost savings from reduced disposal charges are properly acknowledged and channeled back to the individual schools.

Service-Learning Waste Reduction Project
The Alameda County Office of Education and the Alameda County Waste Management Authority collaborated with five Bay Area school districts in the development of a “Service-Learning Waste Reduction Project” to implement sustainable waste reduction systems using the service-learning teaching method. The participating districts were Berkeley, Hayward, New Haven, Oakland and San Leandro. 

The goal of the project is to connect teaching content standards with waste reduction practices at school sites. As an example: In 3rd grade social studies, students study Native American nations in their local region long ago and in the recent past. Students study traditional waste management systems and contrast them with historical and current practices. Students examine their school’s waste trends and develop systems to reduce campus waste. 

To obtain a copy of the Evaluation of the Service-Learning Waste Reduction Project, contact Evan Goldberg at (510) 670-4233. For more information about the Alameda County Office of Education and Alameda County Waste Management Authority involvement, contact Roberta Rankin.

Resource Conservation Management Program
Resource Conservation Management (RCM) programs are usually offered through local utility companies and establish self-sustaining mechanisms in schools designed to conserve on all resources, i.e., energy, water, garbage, sewer, etc. Resource conservation is achieved by creating a “resource conservation manager” position in the school district that is responsible to implement behavioral and retrofit efficiency measures that save on all utilities.

Currently, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is partnering with a number of school districts in the implementation of their RCM program. The participating school districts include San Juan Unified School District, Folsom Cordova Unified School District, Elk Grove Unified School District, Sacramento City Unified School District, Rio Linda Union School District, and Los Rios Community College District.

• Energy and Resource Conservation Plan (Adobe PDF, 39 KB) by the San Juan Unified School District.
• Class Specification (Adobe PDF, 8 KB) for a Resource Conservation Manager from the Folsom Cordova Unified School District.

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Last updated: April 04, 2008