River Falls Teachers Use School Building to Bring Energy Education into Classroom

River Falls students now have an opportunity to use their school as a means to learn more about energy because their teachers have seen the energy systems hard at work within their building. Twenty teachers participated in a university-credited school building energy efficiency course through the Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP). Charlie Schneider, an adjunct faculty member of the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point (UWSP), as well as Focus on Energy Program Manager, taught the course at River Falls High School on February 27, March 5, 10, and 12, 2008.

The KEEP school building energy efficiency course is designed for teachers who want to incorporate energy efficiency and conservation teaching opportunities in their classroom using their school as a real world example. Teachers learn how students can make a difference when it comes to energy use at school, a valuable lesson that will be carried over into their homes. During this course, teachers participated in an energy audit of River Falls High School, led by Focus on Program Manager Charlie Schneider, where they learned about the schools’ building energy systems and how they can use the school itself as a teaching resource. According to Melissa Rickert, Outreach Specialist for KEEP, “The energy audit provides teachers with a behind the scenes look at how their school uses energy. They also learn why energy costs are often the most expensive school budget item next to personnel. Teachers can use both of these newfound learning experiences to enrich their curriculum and promote student energy literacy—and help their school save energy and money.”

Dr. Elaine Baumann, High School Principal for River Falls School District, shared information about the district’s energy plan and how teachers can make a difference in lowering school utility bills. Weston Arndt, Energy Services Representative for Wisconsin Public Power Incorporated, explained what influences the utility business, how they get and generate power, and what options for future generation look like. He also explained the school’s energy bill and how it differs from a residential bill.

Teacher professional development in energy education is a top priority for River Falls Municipal Utilities. By providing scholarships to help offset course tuition costs, the company expresses support of teachers within their service area. River Falls Municipal Utilities provided the professional development scholarships for teachers to use for this course.

Kari Owens, an elementary teacher from River Falls said, “The River Falls elementary teachers were amazed how much we learned from this course. We hadn't realized to what extent our staff and students are able to impact our energy consumption. We are anxious to apply what we have learned and monitor the change.”

KEEP is the result of a collaborative effort between the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education (WCEE) and Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program, the statewide energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative. The WCEE is a nonprofit organization, located in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, which works to improve environmental education throughout Wisconsin.

Together, KEEP, WCEE and Focus on Energy have worked with over 3,300 educators and energy professionals to improve and increase energy education in Wisconsin’s public and private K-12 classrooms. Collaborative efforts have developed, implemented and evaluated energy education projects that address professional development, curriculum resources, networking and outreach and student involvement.

KEEP also offers courses on general energy concepts, renewable energy and online courses of various topics. For more information on KEEP, visit www.uwsp.edu/keep and for more information on the Focus on Energy program, call 800.762.7077 or visit www.focusonenergy.com.