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Parents, students and advocates urge Lake Oswego schools to embed sustainability in strategic plan
Summary
Speakers at the Lake Oswego School District board meeting urged the district to keep sustainability central to its strategic plan, recommending curriculum integration K–12, measurable goals and facilities changes such as cafeteria composting.
Jessica Green, speaking as a parent and a member of the district'appointed sustainability advisory group, told the school board the Lake Oswego Sustainability Network Schools Action Team wants sustainability explicitly incorporated into the district's strategic plan and into the curriculum.
"We wanna support the importance of sustainability in the strategic plan and in the strategic planning process that's coming up," Green said, noting the group helped create a "sustainability lens" for decision-making and an integrated garden curriculum now used in elementary schools. She asked the board to consider "what actions, guidelines, resources, and curriculum can be implemented to teach and practice sustainability in classrooms from K through 12."
The superintendent, Dr. Shealy, acknowledged the district's existing efforts and described the strategic-plan outreach: over 3,000 students, parents and staff participated in the recent survey rounds and the district will host two community open sessions on Feb. 11 (5:00–6:30 p.m.) and Feb. 19 (6:00–7:30 p.m.) to review results. Shealy said staff will synthesize feedback and present proposed plan language back to the board.
Student members of the Lake Oswego High School Green Team illustrated how school-level projects feed district priorities. Millie, co-president of the Green Team, described programs such as cap-and-gown recycling and a campus clothes bin that funnel proceeds back to student projects; Norwei Vo emphasized food-waste work and urged a stable, district-led composting system so students have the infrastructure to make sustainable choices second nature.
"By adding composting systems where students can actually use them such as in the cafeteria dining hall, students will become immersed in this practice of composting," Norwei said, arguing that operations and curriculum should align so goals are measurable and long term.
Board members responded by noting policy and budget levers they control, including how the board can direct allocation decisions that make sustainable choices the default. The district plans to fold comments from the public sessions and the large survey sample into the next draft of the strategic plan before further board review.
