News
GREEN SCENE: Preparing the Future
April 30, 2010
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| As the green movement grows, so do careers—and we'll need experts to fill those positions. Enter The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, the nation's first high school dedicated to prepping students for college and “green collar†jobs. (Reading, writing, and 'rithmetic are still taught to the tune of hickory stick. But the hickory tree is felled using sustainable practices.) We met with Urban Assembly founder Richard Kahan, principal Alexandra Rathmann-Noonan, partnership coordinator Liza Potter, and director of development Yvonne Ervin (not pictured) at the Brandeis Educational Campus on W. 84th, where its first freshman class is finishing up. In addition to the NYC public HS core curriculum, UAGC preps students from under-resourced neighborhoods to enter environmental-related fields through hands-on experience in green building design, construction, and operations, as well as open space design, horticulture, and brownfield remediation. |
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| Robinson Hernandez tests water at Swindlers Cove Park during a field trip, while classmate Amalis Fermin videotapes. They're part of a class of 100 freshman that will eventually increase to 450 overall students, Alexandra says. Richard tells us the idea for the school came about after a discussion with Jonathan Rose Cos. president Jonathan Rose. With help from real estate companies like JRCo,Thornton Tomasetti, and TDX Construction Corp, the students will use their education to green the Brandeis building, operations, and maintenance programs (NYSERDA already gave it a grant for solar roof panels), and every student will participate in an apprenticeship this summer. Interested in hosting students for a summer green internship? E-mail [email protected]. |
