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Lights, jeans, action: McKinney middle school gains national attention for energy, clothing programs
Photo courtesy of Kimberly Church - Evans Middle School eighth-grader Avery Hall posts a "Watt Watchers" notice for a teacher who didn't turn out the lights when no one was in the classroom. This is just one energy-conscious measure taken by the school that last year was recognized by DoSomething.org as the "Most Energy-Saving School in America."
By Chris Beattie, cbeattie@starlocalnews.com
The lights have come on again at Evans Middle School. But only in students' heads, of course.
After last year gathering 4,700 pairs of jeans for Aéropostale's and DoSomething.org's Teens for Jeans contest - second most out of 12,000 schools in three nations - and being named the "Most Energy-Saving School in America," the school is back on the national map, again for green initiatives.
Evans' "Green Our School" team was selected Monday as one of 16 teams nationwide to win the $10,000 Lexus Eco Challenge grant, despite applying for the challenge two days before the deadline. The team will now compete for the $30,000 Grand Prize.
Meeting with team leader, NJHS sponsor Kimberly Church, on Wednesday, the six-student team focused their energy-conscious mission and brainstormed how they'll expand an already-recognized campaign outside school, into the community.
DoSomething.org, an organization dedicated to spurring America's youth into action, selected Evans as the top energy saver out of 7,000 schools in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, long before the Eco Challenge accolade.
Recognition has stemmed from the school's attention to wattage. The Evans team promotes schoolwide "Half-Watt Wednesdays" during which classrooms operate using half their lights - mini light bulb signs next to light switches remind teachers and students.
And, Watt-Watchers are just around the corner, Evans staff has come to find out. If a teacher leaves his or her classroom lights on when not there, they'll likely receive a notice on their door: "Uh-oh! Please help us conserve energy and turn your light off when not in your room. We'll be watt-ching!"
"Some of the teachers hate those," Church said. "They'll say, 'But I was only gone one minute.'"
If all 1,116 McKinney ISD teachers had that attitude, she said, over 189 school days they could waste close to enough kilowatts of energy to power three elementary schools for an entire school year. "That's if it's just one minute," she said, "but it's always more."
"We have reduced our kilowatt-hour energy usage from 2011. We are also down in month-to-month comparisons from last year, and feel that our programs to reduce energy consumption are working," she said. "Now that we're reducing our energy consumption, we're looking to start creating our own "off-grid" energy. We just need the prize money to fulfill the amount we lack, to make it happen."
Evans' energy programs spread to 14 other McKinney ISD schools, an expansion the team included in its two-minute video presentation for the Eco Challenge. Also highlighted was the team's intended use of the prize money: Pavegen Energy Tiles, which would use students' footsteps and kinetic energy to power hallway lights.
Principal Todd Young has expressed his support for the tiles, but only with the Grand Prize winnings. The tiles would save the school money and advance its recognition to an international level. "We'd be the first school on this continent to be using the tiles, to be generating our own electricity for low-wattage lights," said Church, after confirming with Pavegen.
Eighth-graders Ethan Maliskas and Crystal Chavira, the team's designated Spanish spokespersons, have researched the tiles and are tasked with spreading the watt-friendly message to McKinney's Spanish-speaking community.
All team members agree the message would be well-received by their Evans Panther peers.
"There's never really been an opportunity like this for students to get excited about saving energy," said Johnny Millar, co-NJHS president. "Bringing in the tiles would be a really good way of incorporating that into the school."
As for incorporating awareness of fossil fuel usage and renewable energy beyond school doors, there's an app for that - or will be soon, at least. Team members are creating a smartphone/Apple device-oriented application that will allow family and community members to monitor their at-home wattage levels, by keeping track of the lights turned on and off throughout the day.
"We're not asking anyone to buy anything; we're asking them just to participate at home, in their own lives," Church said. "Maybe it will make them want to do more and continue it after the challenge."
The team has three weeks to roll out their energy programs, document their success and form a presentation, before the challenge ends Feb. 18.
Meanwhile, as students save energy, they're once again calling for jeans. Evans looks to jump over its own bar for this year's Teens for Jeans contest, which fosters jeans donations to give to area homeless shelters.
Evans began collecting last week and thus far has close to 500 pairs. It has until Feb. 10 - twice as long as it did last year - to collect its goal of 10,000 pairs.
"Last year was a real success," Maliskas said. "Now that we know what we're capable of, I think we'll do really well this time."
Church said the school intends to "not just clothe our county shelter (The Samaritan Inn), but to clothe the entire Metroplex for years to come." Such hopes could be met through weekly contests that award prizes from area businesses like Chipotle and Chick-fil-A to students, classes and community members who bring in the most pairs. One prize is a free hot-air balloon ride.
Team members say they're just happy to compete, as both projects help the school and those around it. Their ultimate prize, though, is winning.
And at this point, their school is only half the battle.
"We need the community this year," Church said. "We got on the map last year. This year we want a nod from the White House."
To view Evans Middle School's Eco Challenge video submission, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiBrfqdoSmY.
For more information on its nationally-recognized missions, visit the school's Facebook fan pages for the Eco Challenge ("McKinney Watt Watchers") and Teens for Jeans contest ("Evans Middle School Teens for Jeans").
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