EXECUTIVE MESSAGE 

U.S. students rank near the bottom of all industrialized countries in math and science skills. And the gap for poor and minority students is even greater. There are many reasons for this dismal performance, but one thing I can say with certainty: it isn’t the kids’ fault.

For the past two years, I have had the privilege of serving on the Board of Environmental Charter High School, a high-performing public charter school. Through a ‘no excuses’ culture of hard work and high expectations, students who come from the traditional public schools two or three grade levels behind, not only catch up but also excel. They are prepared to succeed in college and in society.  Graduates already attend some of the finest colleges and universities in the country.  Beginning next year, admittance to a four-year college or university will be a requirement for graduation.

ECHS’ rigorous academic curriculum is built around environmental service learning projects.  Long before it became fashionable, ECHS students were refining their own biodiesel fuel, building boats of recycled plastic bottles and reducing the energy and environmental footprints of their school and communities.  Through the award-winning Green Ambassadors program, ECHS students disseminate these practices to other schools and communities.

At ECHS, we are cultivating a generation of leaders prepared to meet the challenges of our nation and planet.  I encourage you to come for a student-led tour and to become a supporter of this inspiring school. 

Ken Deemer is on ECHS’ Board of Directors.  He is a founding partner and Chairman of Los Angeles Social Venture Partners.

TOP STORY

Chevron Pumps Up Environmental Charter High School Again 

Chevron supports K-12, vocational, college and adult education to help children and adults acquire the skills needed to compete in a more global economy. 

Over the last eight years, Chevron’s contributions to ECHS have helped grow and improve many of our programs. 

Chevron’s long-standing commitment to ECHS has supported our outdoor learning space, gardening and sustainability class, textbook purchases for math and science, the development of our Plastics Are Forever Environmental Science curriculum, and our capital fund.  

This year, Chevron pitched in yet again, with $5,000 for our math and science enrichment programs. Thanks to Chevron, ECHS students will have a better program in math – an academic subject for which test scores show our students need extra support.  The donation will fund equipment and instructional supplies, including lab materials, calculators, a laptop computer, software, and a projector for interactive lessons and student presentations.

ECHS’ Green Curriculum Goes Statewide

Earlier this year, the State of California tapped ECHS as a model school for its innovative instructional model, awarding the school a grant to share or ‘disseminate’ its ‘best practices’ throughout California.

Now, after delivering over 20 external presentations and reviewing scores of applications, ECHS has announced its selection of 10 California public schools to participate in its Green Action Curriculum Project: Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco; Cypress Charter High School in Santa Cruz; SAVA High School in Sacramento; Will Rogers Middle School in Fair Oaks; Chino Hills High School; Crosswalk High School in Hesperia; Santa Monica, Venice and Thomas Jefferson High Schools in Los Angeles; and Santiago High School in Corona.

The project will disseminate effective “green curriculum” practices such as ECHS’ Green Ambassadors, an innovative program in which high school students first become experts in specific sustainability issues and solutions, and then go out into their community to promote and help implement the solutions.

“When you set out to solve real world problems, the subjects that are usually studied separately in school are all mixed together.   When students have that kind of curriculum experience in school, they get a much better understanding of why every subject is an essential element of a complete education,” said Alison Diaz-Suffet, ECHS’ Instructional Leader/Founder.  In addition to the Green Ambassadors curriculum, participant schools will receive professional development and resources that support interdisciplinary instruction, another hallmark of ECHS’ program.

GREEN AMBASSADORS

Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour!  Plastic water bottles are just one of the ‘convenient’ single-use plastics that are used for just minutes, only to wind up in a landfill for a lifetime.

Green Ambassadors students are partnering with the Surfrider Foundation and Algalita Marine Research Foundation to tour L.A. and speak about the impact of plastic on our lives and the environment. The program, Rise Above Plastics, is part of a Student Speaker Series, a collaboration of youth leaders from across the city and nation organized to inspire, create, and share solutions for a healthy planet.

The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans and beaches, and has over 50,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide.  The Algalita Marine Research Foundation is dedicated to the protection of the marine environment and its watersheds through research, education, and restoration.

ECHS’ award-winning Green Ambassadors program exemplifies our service-learning philosophy.

It creates opportunities for youth to build leadership skills and address critical environmental issues facing our planet.

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STAFF SPOTLIGHT 

Rachel Ruffalo

Job: Consultant.   Former Assistant Principal.  Former Social Studies Teacher.  8 years at ECHS.

Educational Background: B.A. History, Stanford University; M.Ed. (Teaching and Curriculum), Harvard University. Teaching Credentials & Certifications:  Clear Single Subject, Social Science.

Before ECHS: Developed two charter high schools in northern California as Director of Charter School Development for the Mexican American Community Services Agency, Inc.   Taught History, Social Science, and Spanish at Gilroy and Hillsdale High Schools for 5 years. 

On ECHS:  “Seeing the first graduating class in 2005, and now  seeing how far the school has come in 8 years, has given me a huge appreciation for the work of the teachers, staff members, and students who have stepped up to lead the school in continuous improvement,” says Ruffalo, who has worked with ECHS since its founding.

She believes passionately in its mission to become a model school for communities throughout the state and nation.  “ECHS,” says Ruffalo, “is proving that academic achievements are greater and more meaningful when the students learn through a real-world lens with issues that are relevant to their lives.  The ECHS model is unique in that its academic and stewardship goals are complementary to one another,” she adds.    

When School's Out:   Three new babies born in the past four years keep Rachel and her husband Robb very busy.   When not pushing strollers, she and Robb love cheering for the Stanford basketball and football teams, camping, hiking, and playing at the beach.

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College Match Hookups by ECHS Making a Difference 

Fact:   In the U.S. only 3% of students at the 146 most selective colleges come from low-income families.    

College Match is an organization that helps to change this situation.   It finds low-income high school sophomores with strong academic records and provides each of them (on an individualized basis) with an intensive array of services comparable to what affluent students receive at elite private schools.  These services include intensive SAT prep classes, help writing essays and filling out college admissions and financial aid applications, and help raising funds - so low-income students can join their more affluent peers in visiting colleges throughout the country.

ECHS’ College Counselor Mandy Breuer spearheads the school’s involvement with the College Match organization.  Thanks to her efforts and the program, 3  seniors and 5 juniors are in the program and have collectively secured over $100,000 in scholarships to attend college.

INSPIRED STUDENTS

Honor Roll Student Esmerelda Garcia Earns Awards

Her parents never went to college and they only speak Spanish. Entering first grade she only spoke Spanish. But Honor-Roll student Esmerelda Garcia is poised to graduate ECHS this year as valedictorian, with the highest grades in her class.  She plans to attend Dickinson College, a selective private liberal arts college in Carlisle, PA. The College Match Program helped her find the opportunity, and ECHS’ unique curriculum enabled her to discover her talents beyond the classroom walls.

Garcia won an award from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation for her Environmental Science research paper. “Based on samples taken from the beach, we calculated the % of debris that comes from plastics, and how it affected the ocean - because plastic does not biodegrade,” explains Garcia of her report.  She also won another award, the first of its kind given to a high school student, for her History Paper about Death Valley. 

Garcia was elected for a Green Ambassador community service summer program to Costa Rica, where she researched the impact of imported fast food, such as McDonalds, on urban diets compared to traditional rural diets.  She also studied Costa Rican organic farming methods. She then presented her findings at a public event in L.A.

Garcia credits ECHS with pushing her to develop leadership and communication skills. “A lot of the activities emphasize leadership,” she says. “We have to deliver presentations every single week at school.  Green Ambassadors makes us lead and teach others. I’m a shy person by nature, but because of all the presentations, it has helped me develop these skills,” she says. “For example, for our senior thesis we must pick a topic we are passionate about and then make a presentation to over 50 people and a panel, and try to persuade them to take action.”

Personally moved by a film, Invisible Children, Garcia also co-launched a very successful local fundraising effort for poor children in Africa with AIDS.

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OTHER NEWS – CELEBRATING SUCCESS

81% of ECHS 2009 Graduating Class Already Admitted to College!

Walker Talent Group Gets Recruited to Help ECHS

Walker Talent Group helps transform companies by finding and recruiting superior leadership and other talent. And now, it is helping to transform our school, thanks to a generous $5,000 grant supporting our many innovative projects, including a Seaonal Stream running through our campus.

The stream will help transform our patchy campus grounds into a more beautiful, park-like place for learning.  Remakably, it will do so without requiring a traditional irrigation and watering system that inefficiently consumes tons of water. Instead of rushing into the street and storm drains, rainwater will collect and percolate into the ground, recharging the local aquifer, and fostering a sustainable and thriving green belt throughout the dry season.  We’re getting Greener!  

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OUR PARTNERS – A BIG GREEN THANK YOU

We thank our corporate, professional, and community partners for supporting ECHS.  From generous financial and in-kind assistance, to time and expertise, your support is helping us inspire and educate like never before.

Our many sponsors and partners . . .

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EVENTS

ECHS Students and Teachers are also participating in these
upcoming local and national events!