Active DPS Engagement and Environmental Justice Initiatives
DPS GOAL:
All students and staff are engaged in sustainability.
Map Highlight | Heat and Air Quality Vulnerability
The maps below show heat and air quality vulnerability. Use the buttons in the blue toolbar at the top to switch between the heat and air quality vulnerability maps.
Explore How We’ll Get There
Environmental Justice
Equitable Environmental Prioritization
5-Year Goal: 100% of schools have an action-based pledge toward continuously addressing Environmental Justice.
Learn How
Community Engagement and Events
Eco-Schools Certification
Each census tract in the map is assigned a heat vulnerability score based on measures of health, demographics, and the built environment. The higher the score, the more vulnerable the population within that census tract is to negative impacts of extreme heat. DPS schools with and without air conditioning are shown over the heat vulnerability layer. Schools without air conditioning and in areas with high heat vulnerability may be more susceptible to negative impacts of heat.
Air quality vulnerability rankings in the map are based on respiratory health data and demographic information. Tracts with the lowest rankings are the most vulnerable to negative impacts of poor air quality. Several DPS schools have partnered with the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment’s Love My Air program to monitor air quality at schools. Click on the schools marked by the blue heart icon for a link to a live air quality dashboard at the selected school.
Active DPS Engagement Initiatives
Active DPS Engagement Initiatives
Environmental Justice | Engagement Events | ECO Certification
Connect Sustainability with Environmental Justice – Equitable Environmental Prioritization
5-Year Goal: 100% school has an action-based pledge toward continuously addressing EJ
The district strives to foster a more equitable future for all our kids. To uphold our value of equity, DPS will ensure that environemntal justice is built into every aspect of the Climate Action Plan while identifying and prioritizing places and groups that can best benefit from sustainability improvements.
Stedman Elementary
Community Engagement and Events – Celebrate Good Times
5-Year Goal: 1 district-wide sustainability event per quarter.
With sustainability events across the district, everyone has a chance to get involved and learn. DPS will create an “Earth Month” with climate action activities. Science fairs will encourage environmental and sustainability themes to keep focus and excitement high. Existing events will add sustainability engagement pieces as well!
Newlon Elementary
Eco-Schools Certification – Becoming A Certified Eco-School
5-Year Goal: 25 schools have and maintain certification.
There are many certification programs out there that DPS intends to research and participate in. Certification involves forming a student-led action team and following a seven step framework to go from initial environmental audits all the way through community engagement and an eco code. This generates a call-to-action which harnesses everyone in the school to work towards environmentally friendly actions.
Recent Environmental Justice Headlines
Spring Updates & Events
Read the spring Sustainability newsletter here, and learn about: DPS students featured in an Education Week...
Winter Sustainability Newsletter
The Winter 2022 Sustainability Newsletter is out. Our team manages utilities for the district, works to reduce our resource consumption by...
Sometimes I Don’t Breathe
Dec. 7th, 2022 by Mariah Rosensweig Sometimes I don’t breathe. I hold my breath, hoping that by the time I run out of oxygen, we will have figured...
Read the 2021-2022 Sustainability Annual Report
DPS Sustainability has been working hard to have an impact on our schools, community and beyond. Conserving resources, saving the district and...
Cory Elementary Embraces the Whole Child, Whole Chicken and Whole Food!
by Skeeter Buck For the past several years, Cory Elementary — its students, teachers, and parents have collaborated utilizing a school-based...
Fall 2021 Sustainability Newsletter
Welcome to the return of the DPS Sustainability Newsletter! Our team manages utilities for the district, works to reduce our resource consumption by...
Read the 2020-2021 Sustainability Annual Report
DPS Sustainability has been working hard to have an impact on our schools, community and beyond. Conserving resources, saving the district and...
powerED: Students Leading the Charge for Energy Conservation
by Eric Punkay – Sustainability Analyst – Oct. 19, 2021 As part of the Energy Performance Contract (EPC) that DPS is engaged in with McKinstry,...
Garden of Youth Marks it’s 10th Anniversary
Interns at Maxwell ES tend the garden while learning job skills. After cancelling all summer programming in 2020 due to COVID-19, Garden of...
Westerly Creek Elementary Celebrates Earth Day with “From Creek to the Lake” Community Clean Up
by Christina Foust, Associate Professor – Department of Communication Studies, April 24th, 2021 The Westerly Creek Elementary School Green Team...