Marin Voice: School of Environmental Leadership an inspirational accomplishment

Shining rays of hope are especially welcome in these days when we are bombarded with depressing news. There are few exciting and inspirational discoveries worth the attention of all Marin County school leaders.

Terra Linda High’s Marin School of Environmental Leadership is a primary example.

MarinSEL was founded in 2010 by Cyane Dandridge and a group of local parents while their children were in middle school. They saw an opportunity to bring environmental literacy and leadership into the classroom.

Being a believer in public education, she met with the Terra Linda High School principal and they decided that this would be a great place to pilot this program, with an emphasis on project-based learning and community service.

Approximately 30-33 students enter the program each year as freshmen and stay with their cohort of students for all four years. Each year, the number of students applying has increased. Applicants now roughly triple the number of spots available. Every student that applies is invited to “Exploration Day,” where staff observe how they interact with peers through several projects, activities, interviews and case studies.

All acceptances are made collectively as a staff. Diversity of race, gender, socio-economic status, personality type and personal interests are highly valued. This screening process results in a group of students who are, in many ways, exceptional in their interest in climate change related learning and action.

The program is built around leadership and the environment. Both of these are incorporated into all content areas and classes, but the program also allows students the freedom to choose other electives such as advanced placement classes. Students take five MarinSEL classes as freshmen, three as sophomores and juniors, then two as seniors.

In ninth and 10th grade, students take environmental leadership seminars where they work on semester-long projects through the program partners of companies, groups and nonprofits in the community.

Students take an environmental business class their junior year in which they incorporate sustainability and social equity into business practices. Seniors cap off the program by completing a year-long internship with various partners in the community.

Having spoken with a number of students and faculty, including faculty leader Ray McClintock, I’m very impressed by the dedication, passion and leadership savvy of the students.

To get a good sense of the student leaders, please look at the wonderful student blogs on the program website at thesel.org.

SEL is presently engaged in an exciting project. With McClintock’s assistance, six students, including my key contact Emilee Rosenstein, are working to create an event to get youth perspectives on environmental or climatic challenges and solutions. The goal is to create policy-related action across the county on the most harmful issue that students have identified.

A survey was sent to collect information from students in high schools across Marin. This includes the Tamalpais Union, San Rafael and Novato district high schools, Marin Academy and Marin Catholic. So far they’ve received about 500 responses from San Rafael High, Terra Linda, Marin Academy and Tamalpais High.

The purpose of sending this survey is to understand what high school students believe the most pressing current issue is concerning climate change. So far, they’ve found that students think emissions from transportation and greenhouse gases are the leading causes of climate change.
They plan to hold the countywide event, possibly in April, to accomplish the goal of networking across climate change activists and developing mutual goals derived from the survey.

The event will include any students who have taken the survey and are interested in participating.

“We plan to have the event create a convergence where youth can share their ideas on a new policy surrounding climate change, specifically in terms of transportation related emissions,” Rosenstein said.

The concept of a “school within a school” is a model that should be seriously considered by everyone. MarinSEL provides a great model. Schools could also offer ways of integrating science, social studies and English in curriculum units focused on climate change, thus providing some of what SEL includes.

Right now climate change activism is a perfect focus for Marin county youth.