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PGCPS showcases energy efficient middle school

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Posted on: October 12, 2024

By LAURA USHER

A new Prince George’s County middle school in Landover Hills is a net-zero energy building.

On National Energy Efficiency Day, October 2, county school officials showed off Ellen Ochoa Middle School, which has geothermal heating and cooling and rooftop solar. Officials also showcased the school system’s new electric buses.

The middle school is part of a larger effort by the school system to address climate change. Eight new schools are in the planning pipeline; all will have solar panels, and seven of the eight will have geothermal heating and cooling, according to Shawn Matlock, PGCPS Director of the Office of Alternative Infrastructure Planning and Development.

A service room for geothermal heating and cooling at Ellen Ochoa Middle School. Photo: Laura Usher

Matlock also said that existing school buildings will be renovated. “We’re taking out the old oil and gas boiler systems and steam boilers that use fossil fuels, and putting in new electric boilers.” Some existing buildings will also get rooftop solar panels and solar canopies over parking lots.

Local advocates are hopeful that the rebuilt Hyattsville Middle School, which opened in 2023, will be outfitted with solar panels. The building was completed before Ellen Ochoa MS and it’s rooftop made solar-ready. “Speaking as an individual, I would like to see carbon neutral schools, but that priority needs to be balanced with the reality that there’s a set amount of funding for school construction,” said Daniel Broder, Chair of Hyattsville’s Educational Facilities Committee. 

School superintendent Millard House emphasized that Ellen Ochoa MS came in within budget, despite being built during the pandemic supply chain challenges. Matlock also said sustainability is affordable, noting that the middle school’s so lar array produces 111% of the energy that the building needs and the excess is sold back to the utility. 

The school design also mitigates flood risks. A stormwater cistern under the building can contain up to 98 percent of stormwater from a 100 year storm event, said Matlock. The building also features a rain garden with native plants, and a composting program.

Ellen Ochoa Middle School was named for the first Hispanic woman in space. Photo: Laura Usher

Other design elements seem designed to bring nature into the school. The library has a huge wall of windows, allowing for natural light. An outdoor classroom provides space for learning with a backdrop of native tree saplings. 

PGCPS’ Tony Spruill showing off an electric bus. Photo: Laura Usher

Tony Spruill, Senior Transportation and Central Garage Supervisor at PGCPS said the system has purchased 21 new electric school buses and is currently building 90 electric charging ports. Spruill said each bus cost $400,000, so there will be a slow transition of the entire 1250 diesel bus fleet. The electric bus charging lot will be powered by solar energy. 

Pamela Boozer-Strother, Board of Education District 2. Photo: Laura Usher

These innovations follow the recommendations laid out in PGCPS’s Climate Change Action Plan, developed in 2021-22 by a group of staff, parents, students, community partners and climate experts. District 3 Board of Education Member Pamela-Boozer Strother, who co-chaired the work group, thanked the students and parents who were involved. 

According to Superintendent House, PGCPS is the first school district in Maryland to adopt a climate action plan, and leads the state in certified green schools. Congressman Glenn Ivey (MD-04), as well as Joanna Freeman, Section Chief, Energy Efficiency and Low-to-Moderate Income at the Maryland Department of Energy, joined in on praising the school system’s leadership on addressing climate change. 

Mount Rainier parent Kate Wunderlich served on the PGCPS Climate Action Plan Focus Work Group and was enthusiastic about the system’s green energy efforts. “We’re making a lot of progress towards becoming a truly sustainable school system…and we’re doing it both from the ground up and the top down.” Wunderlich is helping design outdoor classrooms at César Chávez Elementary School, and described how important it is for students to learn about climate change and have access to nature. Wunderlich credited funding from non-profit Nature Sacred and the National Capital Strategic Economic Development Fund for the outdoor classroom project.  

Local organizer for Progressive Maryland, Anton Aluquin, agreed that partnerships are key to the success of the school system’s approach to climate change. “There were so many stakeholders that were necessary in getting this accomplished.”

 

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