Global Green celebrates the completion and opening of its first New Orleans model green school by Beth Galante

Global Green USA is proud to announce the results of our three year partnership with the Recovery School District (RSD) and the Broadmoor Improvement Association (BIA) to develop the green design of the Andrew H. Wilson Elementary School -- making it one of the greenest schools in the nation that will have dramatically lower utility costs and substantially improve student health and performance.

National studies have shown the profound effects that learning in a green and energy efficient environment can have in classrooms. Green schools protect children and teacher health, increase student performance by as much as 25%, connect students to the natural world, increase average daily attendance, reduce operating costs, improve teacher satisfaction and retention, and reduce overall impact to the environment by reducing operating costs by 20% to 40%.

We are proud to be a part of the team that helped to create one of the greenest schools in the country and are thrilled to have worked with the RSD to ensure that this is just the first of many new schools that will help current and future generations learn in healthy energy-efficient schools.

As a showcase green school, the Wilson Elementary School building incorporates more than 40 specific green measures to enhance the building's energy efficiency and student performance. Among these green technologies are a solar hot water system that will provide 90% of the hot water for the school's kitchen as well as a 5.04 kW solar electric system. There is also a 12,000 gallon water cistern to collect and store rainwater for irrigation, as well as an internet-based monitoring and data collection system to collect solar domestic hot water, solar electric, rainwater, and day lighting usage to educate students and calculate carbon offsets.

We have contributed $300,000, with the help of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, plus technical expertise to fund the transformation of Andrew H. Wilson Elementary School into the first official Model Green School, as a part of our "Model Schools" initiative, which overhauls existing public school buildings to yield high performance showcase green schools.

Andrew H. Wilson Elementary, the only school in the Broadmoor neighborhood, sat in several feet of flood water in the wake of Katrina. With the help of the state school district, which has committed to achieving LEED Gold status for the school, and financial and technical assistance from Global Green USA, a design team has integrated the highest standards of efficiency and sustainability while applying needed structural improvements.

For more information, please contact Jeanne Nathan at 917-232-4522