The State University of New York Board of Trustees approved the charter application last week for the New Roots Charter School, an innovative new high school that will be one of the first fully integrated models of education for sustainability at the secondary level in the nation. Students in my spring 2007 “Teaching Sustainability” course contributed to the development of the initial school concept paper, which provided the foundation for the charter application submitted in June.  

Why this school, why here and why now? New Roots Charter School answers the call of the U.N. Decade for Education for Sustainable Development for the rethinking of education necessary to address the problems of the 21st century.  Gov. David Paterson was quoted as saying, “Global warming presents each of us with a question. Do we continue with the status quo or are we ready to make significant cultural and lifestyle alterations?”

Consider our energy crisis, expanding poverty and the degradation of essential ecosystem services, and Paterson’s conclusion becomes even more urgent. “Future actions will require a fundamental change of philosophy in how we live our lives,” he said.

Sustainability studies offer us the knowledge and skills we’ll need if we’re willing to make this change. We must acquire the abilities needed to “green” our economy and create just, vigorous communities that support a high quality of life for all people. New Roots will reshape curriculum, teaching and even learning spaces to integrate the ecological, social and economic facets of sustainability into a whole-school model, drawing on nationally recognized models of education proven to raise academic achievement and engagement for all students. Environmental studies at our school will drive real social and economic youth leadership initiatives in the community. Learning will be inquiry-based, driven by the questions that emerge as we grapple with real problems in our community and bioregion. Our interdisciplinary “whole Earth” curriculum that illuminates the interdependence of human and natural systems is an innovation in the field of sustainability education. Our emphasis on systems thinking, a unique approach to problem solving, across the curriculum will support students in developing a sophisticated, multifaceted understanding of the world they live in.

New Roots will not serve only those inspired by the sustainability curriculum. Education for sustainability, by definition, can’t be a luxury for an elite few.  Rather, we will serve a broad, diverse student population, particularly those who have struggled in a large school environment and require individual attention to flourish.  Too many of our students have talents, interests and abilities that go unrecognized and unsupported in traditional high schools.  New Roots is inspired by research-based, nationally recognized educational models that support high achievement for every student.  And working in problem-solving teams, students will develop common visions, goals and relationships of mutual respect across boundaries of race and class.  This experience will directly address racial tensions that can develop among youth from different backgrounds, offering a model of how people from diverse backgrounds can co-create just, democratic, sustainable communities.  

Ithaca College’s Partnerships in Sustainability Education program was a catalyst for the school’s development, and many college faculty and administrators are serving on the school’s founding board. The mission of PSE is “to foster sustainability thinking and practice at [Ithaca College] ... and in the surrounding region.”

For more information about New Roots Charter School, visit www.newrootsschool.org.

Tina Nilsen-Hodges is a lecturer of biology. E-mail her at knilsenhodges@ithaca.edu.