EXECUTIVES MESSAGE

L-Bruce Bruce D. Greenspon

“To make our way, we must have firm resolve, persistence, tenacity. We must gear ourselves to work hard all the way. We can never let up.”

Ralph Bunche, Los Angeles public high school graduate and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Visit our campus to see these principles put to action. But we cannot achieve our goals without your continued help. 

Environmental Charter High School (ECHS) is a unique place of learning. Our graduates studying at NYU, Berkeley, UCLA and many other universities would not be there, were it not for the firm resolve and hard work of our teachers, administrators and volunteers who prepare them for success.

Please consider donating your time, funding, or other resources to help us continue closing the achievement gap - and get our students into college!’

You have our promise: your help will be met with persistence and tenacity - so that together we will enable ECHS students succeed.

Bruce D. Greenspon is the current President of ECHS’s Board of Directors.

TOP STORY

L-Jack O’Connel, California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction.

CALIFORNIA TAPS ECHS’ INNOVATIVE APPROACH AS A MODEL FOR STATE SCHOOLS

Board of Education grants ECHS $200,000 to share its instructional modules statewide

ECHS was selected to help charter schools improve academic performance and reduce achievement-gaps in California's K-12 public education system, along with six other schools.

In announcing the award, Jack O’Connel, Superintendent of Public Instruction said, “I applaud these seven charter schools for developing wonderful programs that will serve as models of innovation for the development of even more charter schools.  The grants will help these schools share the effective practices that made them successful in terms of governance, instruction, accountability, rigorous college preparation, collaboration, and leadership."

GREEN AMBASSADORS

Composting Workshop Keeps it Clean and Green

This month 150 ECHS students in the Green Ambassador program got their hands dirty outside the classroom walls.  They led two smashingly successful workshops on the benefits and "how-to's" of home composting.    

ECHS students taught 200 workshop attendees from the local community about the value of composting, such as how it can reduce dependency on landfills.     

Students demonstrated how to implement 'green' awareness at home, and how to turn household waste into nutrient-rich, organic fertilizer for the home and garden.  Our 10th-grade entrepreneurs also sold over $500 worth of composting tools.  

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 

Megan Hill

Before ECHS: English Teacher and Girls’ Basketball Coach, Forman School in Litchfield, CT.  Special Education teacher and coach at Community Charter School of Cambridge, Mass.

Best ECHS Experience: “The backpacking trip is always a highlight of every year,” says Hill.  “It’s incredible to see students be transformed by the outdoors.”   The confessed sports-lover's absolute best experience at ECHS: “Starting the basketball teams and getting the athletics programs going." 

On ECHS: “My students and their achievements are my best resume,” says Hill, as she proudly ticks off a long list of students’ names, their awards, their achievements, and their college admissions. “I would like to think I had a small part in their journeys.”

When Extracurricular: When not spearheading ECHS sports activities as Athletic Director and a coach, she loves hiking, Yoga, reading, traveling, and social activities.
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Chase Orton

Job:  Math Teacher since 2005.  Founded and runs Math Literacy Lab.  Boy’s Basketball Coach.
Environmental Hero Award, April 2007.  MathMovesU Award (see article below).

Before ECHS: Taught math, rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, outdoor leadership skills, and boy’s basketball for five years at The Forman School, a college-prep boarding school for students with learning disabilities.  One year teaching at the Eagle Rock School, Estes Park, Colorado.  AmeriCorps volunteer. 

Best ECHS Experience: “Seeing kids get math for the first time! Watching kids tutor math to their peers and watching them develop their communication, leadership, and teaching skills”.    It has also been incredibly rewarding,” says Orton, “to see graduates come back to ECHS to share stories of success at college.”

On ECHS:  Orton’s ambition for ECHS is that it become a leader in how to teach quantitative reasoning and numerical literacy skills.  “I would like ECHS to be a model school for math curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices,” he says.   According to Orton, ECHS is also “great resource for college students to gain valuable work experience by volunteering in the afterschool program.”

When Extracurricular: Orton loves being with his girlfriend, and whitewater kayaking.  His passion for the outdoors is beyond question:  he is among the elite few who have hiked 2,200 miles – and five million steps - from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail.
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Environmental Charter High School Teacher Wins “Math Hero Award”
 

Orton is a Math Teacher at Environmental Charter High School (ECHS) and founder of the school’s Math Literacy Lab after-school program.  Raytheon’s MathMovesU program grants $1 million annually to students, teachers and schools, and is part of the company's commitment to developing math and science skills in tomorrow's technology work force. Raytheon is a technology leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets.  

MathMovesU rewards outstanding teachers for promoting math to students in a fun and challenging learning environment.  “A true Math Hero demonstrates an enthusiastic and creative approach to math, often utilizing new and innovative ideas in working with their students,” according to MathMovesU.   

ECHS said of Mr. Orton in nominating him for the award “He has almost single-handedly revolutionized the way our students think of math, leading students to voluntarily seek out additional math instruction every day after school.”

ECHS’ Math Hero can be found daily after school at the Math Literacy Lab working with students.  “He’ll do extra things to keep us going, and motivates us incessantly,” says one of Orton's students.  “He makes math enjoyable because he takes math beyond the classroom and makes it connect to the real world,” adds another.   

What’s his secret formula? “Just love them,” says Orton, “Everything else is secondary”
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INSPIRED STUDENTS

Scholarship Sends ECHS Sophomore to India

Since she was little, 11th-grade honor roll student Tracy Alvarez dreamt of traveling the world and helping to combat poverty.

Thanks to ECHS’ support, and her academic performance at the top 10% of her class, she received a full scholarship to visit India with a unique summer program called Studies Abroad Global Education (SAGE).

 
She marveled at the Taj Mahal and other sights in India, but one experience deeply moved her.   In Madla, a remote mountain village, she had the chance to teach young kids.   “I saw people living in mud huts, and kids without shoes. It was heartbreaking to see these children struggling.  But at the same time I wanted to help them,” says Alvarez.

“This was my first shot at traveling and getting a glimpse of what I want to do with my life,” she adds.  Alvarez wants to help people in the poorest places in the world, and is considering journalism as a career. 

Tracey Alvarez credits ECHS with inspiring her and giving her the tools to pursue her dreams.  “A big part of our school is learning outside the classroom walls. Because we do lots of presentations at ECHS, I feel comfortable reaching out and presenting.”     She recently spearheaded a campaign that raised support for kids in Africa - including 1,500 books - from local church and community groups.   
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OTHER NEWS – CELEBRATING SUCCESS

ECHS Executive Director Kennedy Hilario Wins $5,000 “Social Entrepreneur” Award for ECHS

At the first Social Innovation Fast Pitch and Showcase at USC on October 29th, Environmental Charter High School’s Executive Director, Kennedy Hilario, won a $5,000 competitive award for his “Fast-Pitch” presentation on the school’s programs.

The event was held by the Social Enterprise Institute and the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation to build awareness and reward innovative non-profits tackling some of Los Angeles’ toughest social problems.  It focused on “social entrepreneurs” – entrepreneurs who apply their skills to social problems with the same energy and commitment typically found in a startup company.    

For the “Fast Pitch” competition, non-profit entrepreneurs each had less than 3 minutes to describe the mission, promise and model of their organization to an audience and a panel of expert judges from business, philanthropy and investing.  Hilario’s award will be used to support ECHS’ college-prep curriculum.

Student Ambassadors Meet Real Ambassador of the European Union

Three ECHS Juniors were invited to Beverly Hills City hall to meet the European Union Ambassador to the U.S, the Honorable John Bruton, and attend his lecture on Europe-U.S. relations.
Ambassador Bruton was delighted to hear about Environmental Charter High School and to meet with some of its future ‘green’ leaders, said participants.

L-ECHS students meet E.U Ambassador John Bruton

Youth Policy Institute (YPI) Grant:  ECHS received an annual grant of  $350,000 per year for 5 years with the Youth Policy Institute (YPI) for our after-school program.   Activities include:  Homework Club, Math and English Literacy Labs, Applied Physics, Green Ambassador Productions, Mock Trial, Gardening, Sports, and more.

Steinmetz Family Foundation: ECHS received an extremely generous $27,000 Steinmetz Family Foundation grant to implement computer-based instructional and testing technologies. 

Our 9th grade participated in another annual Catalina Island Environmental Leadership Field Trip.   Each year they get to attend CELP: The Catalina Environmental Leadership Program, a unique outdoor education program for students in grades four through twelve, developed by Catalina Island Camps and Ocean Futures Society, led by Jean-Michel Cousteau.   
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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

EVENTS

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