GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

I have written extensively about improving the food served in our schools, but what if your school doesn’t have a fully equipped kitchen, which is the case for most New York City schools? What do you do then? Below, Helen Martineau, a parent serving on the Wellness Committee at the Neighborhood School in the East (more…)

With Earth Day just over a week away on April 22, I invited environmental writer and PS 166 parent Emily Fano to share ideas for what schools can do to celebrate. While Earth Day falls during New York City’s school recess this year, schools can still make a difference by taking on one or two (more…)

Last July I wrote about Dennis Kitchen’s amazing non-profit organization, Getting Tools to City Schools, which provides free school supplies to low-income New York City students by selling recycled, reusable binders to schools.  I thought I’d check in with Dennis to see how sales of his eco-friendly binders were going and to learn more about (more…)

I met James Subudhi, the environmental policy and advocacy coordinator at WE ACT for Environmental Justice in Harlem, last month at the City Council hearing on the Department of Education’s school food policies. I was shocked to learn during James’ testimony that through a simple Google search he had accessed a portion of the Office (more…)

PS 276, also known as the Battery Park City School, opened in 2009 to alleviate overcrowding in its Lower Manhattan neighborhood and serves children in prekindergarten through eighth grade. It is also the first public school in New York City specifically designed and built to be a green school.
Entering PS 276
The discreet glass solar panels that (more…)

So many parents and activists showed up for a City Council hearing on school food last week that the hearing room overflowed.
The hearing, called by Robert Jackson, chair of the council’s Education Committee, and Darlene Mealy, chair of The Contracts Committee, specifically focused on the policies and contracts of the Department of Education’s Office of (more…)

If you take a close look at your school’s lunch menu this month, you’ll see a few entrees marked with a curious little “v,” such as Black Bean Casserole and North African Gumbo.
The “v” stands for “vegetarian,” and these two options are plant-based meals that have been developed by a non-profit organization, the New York (more…)

Last year we wrote about Debby Lee Cohen, a public school parent and founder of the organization Styrofoam Out of Schools (SOS) who worked tirelessly with the Department of Education to bring Trayless Tuesday to city schools. Because of her, every Tuesday all city schools are served lunch on paper “boats,” thereby eliminating the use (more…)

We’re all guilty of it — leaving lights on in a room we’re not using, tossing the plastic water bottle we bought into a non-recyclable-trash bin. No matter how many books, articles, and documentaries are made about the environmental crisis facing our planet, we still frequently fail to do what would be in the best (more…)

Last week we spent a morning at Validus Preparatory Academy in the Bronx speaking with student leaders at the school about the health crisis that exists among today’s youth and how eating more plant-based foods can decrease their risk for obesity and other chronic diseases.
The visit was part of NYC Green Schools’ official launch of (more…)