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Sustainable Jersey for Schools Certification Report

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This is the Sustainable Jersey for Schools Certification Report of Long Branch Middle School (Monmouth), a Sustainable Jersey for Schools silver certified applicant.

Long Branch Middle School (Monmouth) was certified on August 21, 2023 with 500 points. Listed below is information regarding Long Branch Middle School (Monmouth)’s Sustainable Jersey for Schools efforts and materials associated with the applicant’s certified actions.

Contact Information

The designated Sustainable Jersey for Schools contact for Long Branch Middle School (Monmouth) is:

Name:Vanessa Giammanco
Title:Assistant Principal
Address:350 Indiana Ave
Long Branch, NJ 07740
Phone:732-229-5533

Actions Implemented

Each approved action and supporting documentation for which Long Branch Middle School (Monmouth) was approved for in 2023 appears below. Note: Standards for the actions below may have changed and the documentation listed may no longer satisfy requirements for that action.

  • Board Leadership & Planning

    District Sustainability Policy

    10 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority District

    Program Summary: The board of education recognizes that responsible environmental stewardship is an integral part of its mission in ensuring that schools are well run. The board supports conservation and sustainable planning and operations, and shall endeavor to implement green initiatives in all day-to-day district operations. Sustainability is defined as meeting the needs of the present while not compromising the future. The board recognizes that sustainability through the adoption of green initiatives in all day-to-day district operations will only succeed with the cooperation and support of the board, the students, the parents/guardians and the community. The district shall endeavor to engage all members of the school community in the conservation and green initiatives of the district. The board directs the chief school administrator or his or her designee(s) to oversee the districts programs for conservation and green initiative including but not limited energy efficient practices, recycling, sustainable programs and business practices within the district, environmental assessments, green construction within school facilities, and education and training programs for students, staff and the community.

    Professional Development for Sustainability

    20 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority School District

    Program Summary: The Long Branch Public Schools encourage employees to attend professional development opportunities relating to Sustainability Education. This year, notable PD Opportunities came from SJS, NJSBA, Subject to Climate, and TCNJ. Green Team members from each school also independently attend other sustainability-related training opportunities including the many Sustainable Jersey webinars throughout the year.

    Green Enhancement of District Strategic Plans

    10 Points
    District

    Program Summary: The Long Branch Public Schools strive to promote a culture of Sustainability throughout the entire district. As such, we have updated our strategic plan to reflect the skill set and tools our students will need to become active contributing members in communities where climate change is at the forefront of global problems that must be addresses and solved. These skill sets include • Social & Emotional Learning • Programs, Pathways & Proficiency • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) • Communication • Student Life | Life Skills • Portrait of a Graduate In addition the mission and vision of the district have been updated to reflect our commitment in celebrating diversity and embracing uniqueness, all while the LBPS family strives to educate, develop and support every student to become successful community members in a rapidly changing world. LBPS seeks to empower our students socially, emotionally, and academically for life and career in an inclusive, dynamic and innovative learning environment from PreK thru 12th grade and beyond. Strategic Plan location on the district Website: https://www.longbranch.k12.nj.us/Domain/4 Video Supporting the adoption of the Strategic Plan: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J4QiOUgc-HhBGtyBo39aWMcPHxBWmElG/view?ts=610150d0

    School Community Asset Mapping

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: The Long Branch Public Schools District with the help of students, teachers, administrators, and community partners have continued to develop a community asset map to identify community places that make our city a great place to live, work and play. The asset map was shared with the community and staff via social media, e-mail and posted on the district website under the district's sustainability tab. Students will continue to grow and develop this map to include additional places of interest in our community. Access our map here: https://www.google.com/maps/search/Long+branch+school+district+community+asset+map/@40.2935587,-74.019636,14z/data=!3m1!4b1

  • Climate Mitigation & Renewable Energy

    Buy Renewable Energy

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: Long Branch Public Schools are returning participants in the ACES consortium of purchasing renewable energy is such a positive action for the school district. First, it is a more efficient way to utilize the public school purchasing power for electricity which for a small up-charge per kWh allows the school to reduce its carbon footprint by not using fossil fuel generated electricity and we are expected to have as much as 40% renewable energy provided to us. This is another example of how the NJ Sustainable for Schools is making a difference.

    Onsite Renewable Generation System - Geothermal

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: The Long Branch Middle School was built by the NJ School Construction Corporation (now known as the NJ School Development Authority) in 2005. The Geothermal system is the source of all the HVAC equipment for a building approximately 246,000 sf. The geothermal well field consists of 368 wells located under the Varsity Baseball field located next to the building. GEOTHERMAL INFORMATION Number of Wells 368 Well Depth 500 ft. ea.; (128,000 ft. tot.) Number of Well Circuits - 32 Number of Wells per Circuit 8 Geothermal Pipe Size Well Size (in.) 1-1/4" Branch Size (in.) 3”;2” S & R Main Size (in.) 12" Manifold Size (in.) 12" Geothermal Pipe Material Well Pipe: SDR 11 Polyethylene Branch Pipe: SDR 11 Polyethlyene S & R Main Pipe: SDR 11 Polyethylene Manifold Pipe SDR 17 Polyethylene Insulation (Above Grade&in Pit) ¾” Rubatex R-180-FS Fluid Information Fluid: Environol 2000 (23%) By Wt.) Flow (GPM): 2850 Well Field Press. Drop (ft. HD): Approximately 60 Maximum Entering Water Temp. 100°F Insulation ( Above Grade&in Pit) 3/4" Rubatex R-180-FS Minimum Entering Water Temp. 30°F

    Onsite Renewable Generation System - Solar

    20 Points
    School

    Program Summary: Long Branch has installed a canopy & fix-tilt, roof mounted 772.920 kWDC photovoltaic (solar) energy generation system, operating exclusively as a Net Metering Photovoltaic Solar Electric Facility (SEF). The rooftop Solar Electric Facility is comprised of one hundred and nine (109) strings each with thirteen (13) Motech MTPVp-235-MSC poly-crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules in series with a maximum nominal voltage of 600 VDC. These strings are fed through eleven (11) combiner boxes with 210 amp, 600 volt integrated DC disconnects and to two (2) PVPowered 75kWpme (1) 50 kW and one (1) 100kW PVPowered three-phase 480 VAC inverters. The Canopy Solar Electric Facility is comprised of one hundred and forty-four (144) strings each with thirteen (13) Motech MTPVp-235-MSC poly-crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules in series with a maximum nominal voltage of 600 VDC. These strings are fed through fifteen (15) combiner boxes with 210 amp, 600 volt integrated DC disconnects and to two (2) 35 kW and one (1) 75 kW and one 260 kW PVPOwered three-phase 480 VAC inverters. There are eight (8) PVPowered inverter systems. Each inverter system consists of an Inverter Control Switch, a DC Disconnect, a PVPowered inverter, and an AC Disconnect. The three-phase AC output from each inverter is fed through three-phase 480 VAC isolation transformer within the inverter, and the output is connected to the load side of an existing Customer distribution panel via two (2) 60 amp, one (1) 80 amp, three (3) 125 amp, one (1) 150 amp and one (1) 400 amp, 480 volt AC breakers to one (1) 1200 amp Main breaker and one (1) 1200 amp, 600 volt AC disconnect, fused at 1200 Amps. Power from this new metering system is connected on the Customer side of a JCP&L revenue grade electric meter. The annual percentage of the school building's energy use offset by solar was 29%.

  • Digital Learning Leadership

    District Commitment to Digital Learning

    15 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority District

    Program Summary: Long Branch School District has a very strong commitment to Digital Learning. The district has a diverse team of stakeholders that makes up their Executive Committee that meets monthly. In addition, each school has a team. Other artifacts uploaded for this action include support provided to our children and families with digital learning during remote learning. They include Useful Resources During School Shutdown, a survey to assess technology needs, and a schedule to prepare for remote learning. We live in a digital society, all manner of preparation for the world, work and life is our priority. Long Branch Public Schools is committed to providing all of the tools and opportunities to maximize student and educator success. This includes equitable access for our diverse population to ensure academic student growth through their virtual learning experiences. These digital learning experiences also offer social emotional learning strategies that support students, teachers and parents. Our goal is to ensure that students have access to the digital devices and tools in order to be successful both in school and at home. Flexible learning is possible through technological resources as students, staff and the community engage in authentic and personalized learning experiences

    District Professional Development Plan *Retires 10/31/23*

    10 Points
    District

    Program Summary: The LBPS district admin team organized a district professional development committee to formulate the 2022/23 district professional development plan. The diverse committee met several times to collaborate on this document. The committee created goals which included activities for implementation based upon research evidence. The areas addressed in the PDP plan include but are not limited to: school safety, security, and code of student conduct, health, interscholastic athletics, educator evaluation, equity and affirmative action, special education, prevention, reading, preschool, and mentoring. Since 2017, our EdTech specialists have provided district, school-level, department-level, and personalized professional learning opportunities. In order to make this meaningful and reach all stakeholders, they have created a district-wide technology survey to assess each professional’s and student’s needs. Professional learning has been provided through written documents, emails, in-person, video conferencing, and recorded tutorials. Professionals are able to contact the EdTechs through email, chat, helpdesk, and phone. In addition to internally provided professional learning.

  • Digital Learning Practices

    Authentic Application of Digital Learning Tools and Content

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: A school wide culture of digital learning has been developed to include meaningful digital learning. . Teachers and students have embraced the implementation of digital platforms in class and worked continuously throughout the year to improve and enhance their pedagogy to include delivering lessons and authentic learning to students via live virtual instruction using a variety of platforms As a school, we define authentic learning as making connections for our students that are meaningful, applicable, and relevant in today's growing and changing world. Authentic Learning is motivational because it places high value on students' interest and connects to real world experiences. A high value is placed on 21st century learning skills like collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, Authentic learning empowers students for their futures and takes on the learning by doing approach. To ensure our students were receiving authentic learning experiences in a changing year, teachers attended training and searched for new, innovative, and authentic ways to reach our students and provide them with the best learning experience possible amidst a year with many pivots, transitions, and adaptations. We used lessons that included current issues with creative solutions so that they continue to develop critical thinking, empathy, and problem-solving strategies, ensuring they become lifelong learners. After school programs continued to explore topics that our students are interested in and want more time to explore these genres. Green Wave was set up to foster a community of peers to support our school wide events, they share the information with the community and show support to our sports teams, our gaming club works on problem solving and learning how to strategize to problem solve. Garden Club, Astronomy Club and Green Team allowed students to study topics in and out of the classroom. For this reason, we pushed to continue with specials and unique programs after school hours like our For this to happen our teachers needed the training to support our students' needs in a unique learning environment teachers attended gaming workshops, garden conferences and met with other educators in order to be able to facilitate these programs to our students.

    Digital Citizenship

    10 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority District

    Program Summary: As we continue to integrate more technology into our schools, the Long Branch School District recognizes the importance of teaching and instilling good Digital Citizenship. Teachers/Media Specialists use the curriculum from Common Sense Media. In addition, the ISTE standards for Digital Citizenship is an important guide that is reviewed often by both administrators and educators. These resources combined, allow our educators to guide our students to make sound choices and to develop a positive digital footprint. Virtual PD on Digital Citizenship continues to be offered to the staff, and a more personalized PD on how to become a Common Sense Educator has been provided to the Media Specialists in our district. Our Media Specialists and our EdTech Specialists work together to reach out to as many students and teachers by providing lessons for grades K-12, updating the Digital Citizenship page on our district’s EdTech site, and through ongoing conversations.

  • Digital Technology Access

    Data Safety and Security Policy

    10 Points
    District

    Program Summary: Long Branch Public Schools maintains several committees in key areas which include board members, administrators and specifically identified personnel. (Note: In this case, as it pertains to Data Safety and Security, the Technology Team is involved in identifying and explaining pertinent aspects.) To properly address policy, the Governance Committee meets quarterly to write, remove and/or revise the policies for the district. Once a structure has been created and agreed upon, drafts are released to the Leadership Team for further input and review. Once the verbiage is decided upon, the policy is presented to the district's attorneys for approval. Upon completion, the policy is adopted into board policy at a board meeting and presented to the staff. Long Branch Public Schools continues to have several key factors in place to assure our digital information is protected... The district has 2 firewalls in place that assure all internal data is protected from outside sources. The district has 2 Proxy Filters in place that assure all staff and students are filtered while browsing the Internet in accordance with our district policy. The district installs and maintains a full Enterprise Endpoint Solution for Antivirus on all servers and computers. The district maintains extensive network and user policies to assure users only have access to data that they are permitted to see. The district maintains strict password policies that have a set length/strength with a time period for password changes. If LBPS uses a vendor to house data, i.e. a cloud-based program for student information, a formal review and questionnaire is provided to assure the company properly protects our data and follows guidelines to keep it private. Additionally, we continue to provide opportunities for leadership and staff to participate in data safety/security simulations. Attached is a simulation that we modified and used again from https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/ to make relevant to various offices and departments. Comprehensive Technology Policies and Regulations remain the same.

    Digital Device Life Cycle Management

    10 Points
    District

    Program Summary: As more and more technology entered into schools, Long Branch Public Schools identified a need for properly managing not only in production technology but end-of-life / end-of-usability technology as well. As such, the Technology Team deployed software to track our equipment and worked closely with the Business Department to develop specific criteria that would trigger disposal of equipment that was no longer is use. Using these criteria as our guiding factor, equipment is evaluated regularly and discussed bi-weekly at Operations Meetings with administration as well as quarterly with the Operations Committee which has board members included. Inventory is of utmost importance. Keeping track of, and being able to manage software, laptops, tablets, Chromebooks, etc. is a huge priority to assure we can properly manage and maintain all of our equipment. Using a suite that PDQ offers, we currently run PDQ Inventory and PDQ Deploy. These 2 pieces of software allow for us to both track our networked computers, laptops etc. as well as deploy software to them through pushes & schedules on an individual and/or mass basis. It also allows us to pull detailed information on any device. Again, thinking progressively and adapting to the rigorous demands of the Technology field, Long Branch Public Schools has created a position for an Inventory Technician. While having a full technical skillset with the ability to perform daily break/fix duties, this technician has been in the field and understands the needs of our department. Pairing him with an office area inside of Tech center has allowed us to use this amazing resource to gather quotes and keep track of inventory such as projector bulbs, solid state drives, network wires, etc. (things that are not connected to the network). We have a full suite which houses most of our employees (the network team has a separate office a few doors down) that has personal space, locked storage, shelving units and filing cabinets. The person in this position keeps the storage areas clean and organized so our techs can quickly and efficiently find anything that is needed. Designated areas are always labeled and stocked appropriately. The resources are reviewed by the inventory technician on a daily basis and he contacts various vendors to supply the Head of Technical Services with the lowest quotes. The quotes are then reviewed and submitted to the Technology Director with written explanations for purchasing.

    Infrastructure

    10 Points
    District

    Program Summary: For FY2022 we will be replacing our 2 district firewalls and our 2 district web gateways. A perfect example of our process is shown by the measures we took before deciding upon the equipment to purchase. A direct call to a manufacturer, which involved a representative and an engineer, allowed us to choose the proper firewalls for our environment. With their recommendation after an extensive conversation being a direct upgrade of our current equipment, it was apparent there was no need to look elsewhere as it is a proven solution without any benefit to changing the product line and/or brand. On the other hand, while we were evaluating our web gateways, we addressed a few of issues and concerns of our current product by involving multiple vendors and demoing their product and/or speaking with Technology Departments of other school districts. After extensive research and conversations, it was decided that a full hardware replacement would best suit our needs while maintaining the same manufacturer of the software but upgrading to a newer version.

    Support for Digital Teaching and Learning

    20 Points
    District

    Program Summary: Long Branch Public Schools (LBPS) has had strong supports for digital teaching and learning in place for many years now. Of course as technology has evolved, so have our teaching practices and supports. The challenge of opening up the use of new and exciting hardware or software is balancing the benefits and potential risks. LBPS has ensured supports are highly available and timely in their response. Whether it is the fundamentals of maintaining functional hardware and software implementations or if it is supporting the use of technology during classroom instruction, LBPS has made supporting staff and students a priority. LBPS remains committed to this goal by providing EdTech specialists who can provide large group, small group, or individualized on-demand technology training. This year, LBPS has invested in providing staff with better control over students' use of technology while also improving the safety by purchasing (after a successful pilot) the GoGuardian monitoring service. Teachers and administrators are grateful to more control and improved data regarding student technology use and online learning. Annually, we survey all stakeholders with regard to their satisfaction with LBPS' technology. With the help of the bilingual department and the newly-founded Department of Equity and Inclusion, we developed a multilingual web app to deliver language-specific versions of the satisfaction survey. Find the web app here: https://surveys.edtechwave.com/ As part of our annual reflection and planning, a district committee reviews the survey data to find areas in need of support. To support all stakeholders with their use of technology, we developed and deployed a custom web site and newsletter: https://edtechwave.com/. Further technology resources can be found here: https://www.longbranch.k12.nj.us/Domain/87

  • Diversity & Equity

    Accessible Communications

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: The Long Branch Public School District is committed to providing on-going communication to both our schools and the local community. It is our priority to provide all communications based on our dynamic demographics by using a variety of methods and ALWAYS in multiple languages (English, Spanish, and Portuguese). Throughout the school year, we invite families and community members to attend a variety of extra-curricular, sports, and academic events. We also use many platforms to communicate important information to our school community. Our district webpage has the option for visitors to view its contents in their native language. We also provide district-level video updates to families in our community, these video updates are posted on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Our YouTube channel has over 1,100 subscribers, this platform allows us to upload a transcript for each video update - - providing parents with Spanish and Portuguese captions. We also have created a short tutorial showing parents how to enable video captions. Emails, flyers, phone calls, invitations (via. US Mail), auto-dial calls through Blackboard connect, and applications such as, Class Dojo or Remind, are also provided in all three languages. The district has several policies helping to ensure effective communication including # 9200 Parent communication and #5420 Reporting of pupil progress. With every student registration packet, we include a guide to help parents navigate the various levels of our school system. Our "School to Home Communication" options menu is a place where we display the various methods of communication available to parents, allowing them to choose which one works for them. Finally, the district is constantly putting additional communication items in place on an ‘as-needed basis.’ An example of this is our District COVID-19 Dashboard which provides transparency about our school community health data, as well, as our Covid-19 Video Updates Playlist, and information about ‘GRAB and GO’ school meals, all which can be found on our District Homepage.

    Breakfast After the Bell

    20 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: Again for the 2022-2023 school year, free breakfast is offered to all students at the Middle School daily. Our school population includes 1125 students, 15% of which travel to school by bus and 85% walk or are driven to school. 82% of our students are from low income households and qualify for free and reduced lunch. Due to the number of students and the number of walkers, our breakfast program begins (10 minutes) before the bell and is not denied to students who arrive late, they are not missing class time. All LBMS students enter at the start of the day and choose a free balanced, healthy Breakfast from one of many breakfast carts stationed around the school,. All students are able to eat their breakfast without missing any instruction time even if they arrive after the morning bell as morning homeroom allows time for breakfast for our late comers. The cafeteria supplies a variety of hot and cold healthy breakfast food choices. Meal choices include fresh fruits, cereal, milk, juice and crackers as well as Waffles, eggs, pancakes, muffins or yogurt as an alternative. Menus are provided on our website monthly so that parents are made aware of what is offered each day. In order to promote our program we sent flyers out and included it on our webpage. Our food service provider is very active in all community events especially the Wellness Fair to promote breakfast and make parents and their students aware that breakfast is offered for free and how important breakfast is to the education of our students. There is a photo included below of the breakfast to go cart outside the main office, there is one at each entrance for each grade. I have also included a copy of our morning announcements, for the month of march there has been a breakfast contest that enters students in a raffle to win an ipad, chances are acquired by eating breakfast!

  • Energy Efficiency

    Energy Efficiency for School Facilities

    30 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority School District

    Program Summary: Long Branch Public Schools engaged in an Energy Savings Improvement Plan (ESIP) costing nearly $10 Million dollars. The project completed in June 2019 so we submitted comparison data from 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. Due to change of schedules with COVID we are not submitting data from 2020-2021 since the schools were used less during that time. The project involved lighting and HVAC activities. The first level was to replace every light fixture and upgrade to an LED bulb or fixture across all buildings. The HVAC work was much more involved. At Morris Ave we replaced original unit ventilators, boilers and a 15 year old Chiller and added Building Mgt controls. At, Lenna Conrow we replaced two boilers including one steam boiler and original unit ventilators and added building management controls. At Audrey W Clark School we replaced original boilers and unit ventilators and added building management controls. At JMF we replaced some Roof Top Units (RTU). And finally, the HS saw a 33% decrease in costs by replacing the RTUS at the Gyms, Auditorium, and cafeteria at a cost of nearly $1 MM. The Middle School has experienced a 26% reduction in utility costs. As demonstrated in the EUI spreadsheet, the district as a whole achieved 16.6% energy savings.

    Behavior-Based Energy Conservation Programs

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: For the 2022-2023 school year, Long Branch Middle School is working in partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) to implement the emPowered Learning Schools program. This partnership was developed through 3 entities: New Jersey Natural Gas, Alliance to Save Energy, and Sustainable Jersey. Ms. Careri Participates in the program with her 6th grade classes, all students participate but there is a core group of 15 students that come on lunch and during WIN to complete audits, and other projects when needed! Through this partnership, students learn how to manage an energy audit, work with classmates and adults to implement energy efficient strategies, meet with the ASE Local Project Leader to help facilitate the emPowered Schools program and present their accomplishments at the end of the school year. Power Save Meetings are held after school with faculty advisers and during staff lunch or prep periods. By participating in the emPowered Schools program, our school has learned behavioral strategies to reduce energy waste. This partnership has helped promote a culture of energy savings as the norm rather than the exception. The emPowered Schools program has fostered a long-term impact for a less wasteful school. Teachers are given weekly awards for getting "caught" saving energy. Photos are then posted for the school community to see. Students complete units of study to earn points for each benchmark that the program requires.

  • Food & Nutrition

    Promote Locally Grown Foods

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: Our Food service program continues to be committed to providing and promoting locally grown foods. We provide locally grown food samples on a monthly basis to students during lunch time with special recipes. We also promote yearly chef competitions with healthy recipes. Long Branch purchases local foods though the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program and our efforts to provide the most nutritious foods to our students along with food education and awareness has been recognized at both the national and local level. The Long Branch Schools contracts with Sodexo for our food programs in the schools. The attached invoices show the locally sourced produce purchased by them and delivered to our Middle School, (Sodexo's main location in our district). The produce is then taken to all our schools: LWC, MA, JMF, Gregory, Anastasia, GLC, Middle School, High School and the Alternative Academy (AWC School). As seen in the attached school menus, we have also began to indicate which menu items are sourced locally.

  • Green Cleaning

    Green Cleaning Policy & Plan

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: A proactive plan started by the district's green team several years ago, replaced several harmful cleaning chemicals being used to clean the buildings. There are now no other options for cleaning in our buildings without using approved green products. The Long Branch Public Schools are committed to using green supplies and practices as it relates to our district green cleaning plan. Now an all-purpose peroxide based cleaner that provides for a safer and more effective alternative to previous products used. Several other procedures were changed that increased the cleanliness of the buildings and reduced costs such as microfiber cloths for dusting and floor care. The District Green Committee has been revived as the Green Team. As a refocused team, we started reevaluating our cleaning plan, and to create a policy to assist us in becoming "Greener" in our sustainability efforts. The team worked with our district custodians and our contracted cleaning services to create a written cleaning plan, and with the help of the district policy committee added key points to what would become the green cleaning policy. The policy has been adopted by the board of education, and as a living document, along with the cleaning plan will be updated as technologies become available. The policy has been distributed to staff through an email, and will be presented as part of a green cleaning awareness program for staff, parents, and the community. The district had a solid and effective cleaning plan in place, but it has been refined, and by continually improving cleanliness, health of occupants, and further lowering costs will continue to have a positive impact for students, staff, and the community who use our buildings.

    Green Cleaning Equipment

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: Long Branch has purchased Green Cleaning machines as we purchase new or replacement machines. Green cleaning equipment is just part of the district’s overall plan of a low environmentally cleaning program that incorporates prevention, product selection, equipment efficiency, and effective procedures. Through the purchase and use of green motorized cleaning equipment, our custodians are able to clean more efficiently and ensure allergy- and asthma-friendly environments by improving indoor air quality and eliminating harmful cleaning products. By utilizing a local purchasing coop, we have been able to replace older less efficient equipment while also controlling costs. The newer equipment is quieter, ergonomically designed, uses HEPA filtration, and optimizes chemical use.

    Green Cleaning Supplies

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: Long Branch Public Schools started only purchasing green cleaning supplies in July of 2015. Our cleaning products are green and our paper products support our sustainability efforts. The Green Cleaning and purchasing efforts have shown a difference with the staff through cleaning - as they are simpler and easier to utilize. In the past, we ordered different cleaners for various surfaces . The staff needed more time to clean in order to change product and were inefficient. Product would sit on a shelf because there were too many items to track. The new system has two main items for cleaning thereby eliminating waste. We are utilizing the remaining supplies in one of the buildings until they are depleted, then the entire district will be cleaned with green supplies. As we progress, we add more and more purchases to our Green Cleaning List!

  • Green Purchasing

    Green Purchasing Policy

    10 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority District

    Program Summary: The Long Branch School District is dedicated to decreasing our footprint while increasing our sustainability and community awareness of conservation. A large step for this goal is to include the awareness of sustainability and conservation in all aspects of the district including purchasing. In June of 2015 the board adopted a green initiatives policy that includes green purchasing considerations whenever fiscally responsibility allows. The policy is posted in the board minutes for everyone to read. All District policies are also posted on the school website in a searchable database providing access to all staff and the community. Finally - We are already purchasing sustainable and energy smart appliances and equipment throughout the district! **Updated 1/3/22- The active policy can be found on our website using the link here: https://www.straussesmay.com/seportal/Public/DistrictPolicy.aspx?policyid=7660&id=b50ce4ebbb5f451db593dc1acdca7f47 and at this address in the District Sustainability Policy: https://www.straussesmay.com/seportal/Public/DistrictPolicy.aspx?policyid=7461&id=b50ce4ebbb5f451db593dc1acdca7f47

  • Healthy School Environments

    Access to Healthy Water in Schools

    20 Points
    School

    Program Summary: This year, Long Branch Public Schools continued to implement their Lead Water testing plan per the Department of Education lead testing regulations N.J.A.C. 6A:26-12.4, with additional definitions at 6A:26-1.2. We developed water inventories, filter inventories, plumbing layouts and assessments in our schools. We sent announcement letters regarding the testing to the community, families, staff and students and performed the tests on 450 outlets across the district during the month of April with assistance from an outside agency. 17 outlets were designated above the limits. We sent letters to 6 schools affected within 24 hours of receiving the results. We also hung signs indicating the outlets were not suitable for drinking. Also, we believed those outlets were either shut off or had low usage and not properly flushed the evening prior to the testing. So, we retested in May, there were 4 outlets that failed at first but passed on the second flush which dictates replacement of fixtures as per the guidelines. We followed the regulations by appointing Project Manager which prepared all the paperwork and Project Officers who performed the water inventories and were also present during the water tests. We also posted all of the results and inventories and profiles online on our district website. Finally, we prepared a Quality Assurance Plan which is also posted on our website. http://www.longbranch.k12.nj.us/Page/16156 Additional documentation is available at the above district page including the Sampling plans for all locations. In addition the letters sent home for results are found here https://www.longbranch.k12.nj.us/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=20559&dataid=17201&FileName=AWC%20GLC%20HT%20Hs%20MS%20LWC%20MA%20Result%20LEtters.pdf

    Anti-Idling Education & Enforcement

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: As part of our district sustainability policy, the Long Branch Public Schools has implemented idling regulations at each of our 9 schools and our District Office. The policy has been posted on the website and shared with all district families and staff. In addition to making our school community aware of our anti-idling policy, this year we have installed 10 No Idling Zone Signs in both English and Spanish in front of each building. School busses in-district are regularly monitored for idling and fuel use. Our school bus drivers not only attend regular trainings regarding cutting down idling, but they also use the newest buses for the longest routes. Recently, we have published an Anti-Idling Public Service Announcement starring our students. This video was publicized through social media and our local broadcast channel. Moreover, we have adopted a No-Idling resolution for schools, sent parents no-idling information packets and asked parents and staff members to commit and pledge to be "Idle-Free in LB". PSA Can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5rj1ypuB0Q

    Outdoor Air Quality Awareness Program

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: Understanding the importance of breathing healthy air, the Long Branch Public School district has continued implementing the outdoor air quality program as modeled by www.airnow.gov in each of our 9 schools for the 2022-23 school year. At all schools, this program allows for both our students and staff to not only understand the importance of healthy air quality but the appropriate activities that are promoted for a healthy lifestyle in each of these air quality categories. Representative of the outdoor air quality, these flags set the standard for outdoor activity in each building. Administrators, staff, and students have learned about the importance of the program and the significance of each of the flag colors. The nursing department is sharing the responsibility of informing teachers of climate sensitive students. The program influences each of our students through participation in Physical Education Classes and recess activities, as well as after school and athletic sports programs. Each building has set aside designated indoor areas when necessary to allow for the continuation of gross motor play and practice. Flags are coordinated daily based on the information displayed on the widget provided by airnow.gov displayed on our district webpage and daily emails received by administrators, and educators in each building. Staff and students are made aware of these levels as they enter through lobbies in each building or walking by the flag poles. The protocols from previous years remain in place.

    Radon Testing, Education and Mitigation

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: Our district continues to test Radon as a condition of providing a healthy environment for our students and staff. We last performed our test in April 2022. No radon remediation was required at Long Branch Middle School. All of our radon testing was completed by a fully licensed and certified company for testing as well as remediation. All floor plans remain the same all results are shared with the community and can be found on the following district website, https://www.longbranch.k12.nj.us/Page/6399.

  • Innovation Projects

    Innovative Project #1

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: This year, the Long Branch Public School District has taken an innovative approach to Professional Development. In order to promote and adopt a culture of innovation and sustainability throughout the district, we have embraced an online based, peer-to-peer green approach to professional teaching and learning for all faculty and staff. Individualized learning has never been so exciting and readily available to our staff. By creating an online platform to house all our peer-to-peer sessions, the district has completed eliminated the need for paper handouts during PD days and we are now able to reach each staff member right in their classroom, office or home without the need for them to travel to another location. Now, nearly 1,000 staff members can learn remotely and have options and flexibility when it comes to their professional growth. The process begins by putting out a call for presenters to our staff. After submissions have been received, a selection committee comprised of teachers and administrators will review the proposed session and our approved presenters will begin creating their video sessions. The final result is a 15-20 min video that is made available to all staff members to watch during our dedicated PD days and of course, they can always revisit the material and explore other sessions at any time from anywhere! On Friday, January 26, 2018, we were able to kick off our Future Ready Virtual PD Summit with over 40 individual sessions to our staff! Our second virtual PD day took place on March 23, 2018 and brought a new round of presenters from every school and exciting all new sessions to explore. As a commitment to our innovative approach to individualized professional development, we are continuing the effort throughout the Summer with a virtual book study discussion held live through Zoom, a live video platform we’ve been using for the past 3 years for meetings and conferences. For more information on how our Virtual Summit PD days work, please review the attached emails, list of session offerings and screenshots.

    Innovative Project #2

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: The participants of Long Branch Middle school have been currently working on reducing our carbon footprint and promote sustainability at school, home, and in the community. LBMS help clean up beaches, and trying to prevent pollution in Long Branch, that’s why we’ve begun a no straw in Long Branch campaign. We no longer use straws in the cafeteria. Our students are working with local businesses to eliminate or use alternative straws. LBMS students educate business owners of the dangers to marine life. Wildlife become entangled in plastic, they eat it or mistake it for food and feed it to their young, and it is found littered in even extremely remote areas of the Earth. In our oceans alone, plastic debris outweighs zooplankton by a ratio of 36-to-1. Over 260 species, including invertebrates, turtles, fish, seabirds and mammals, have been reported to ingest or become entangled in plastic debris, resulting in impaired movement and feeding, reduced reproductive output, lacerations, ulcers and death. The tiny, broken down pieces of plastic are displacing the algae needed to sustain larger sea life who feed on them. This is a long term project. We have done our initial visit and information session. Our next step is to go back to businesses and present our slide show to gain a commitment. If need be we will contact corporate offices with our program.

  • Learning Environment

    All Arts Disciplines Offered

    10 Points
    District

    Program Summary: The Visual and Performing Arts are essential for a thriving community. The overall goal of the Visual and Performing Arts department is to provide a wide variety of experiences. Students are provided the greatest opportunity for success and the developmental level of each child is considered when selecting activities. Creative thinking, problem solving and critical thinking skills are nurtured throughout each course. Our purpose is to enhance the strengths of the students while creating awareness, building self-esteem and fostering leadership skills. The Long Branch Public Schools provide a various opportunities for students to be engrossed in enriching arts programs both during and after school.

    Future Ready Schools - New Jersey Certification

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: Perhaps the greatest achievement of our Future Ready Schools journey was that it allowed us to examine our practices and work together to make changes that benefited our students, staff, and families due to the exploratory lens and mindset shift that came with the Future Ready vision. We supported one another and worked collaboratively not only in our school, but as a district - sharing ideas and best practices. We shifted our focus to student centered personalized learning. There were less teacher directed activities and more student led/driven activities. We explored all of the gears, but focused on the use of space and time, community partnerships, collaborative leadership, curriculum instruction & assessment, and personalized professional development. The frameworks helped us think strategically and plan for fine tuning our practices. It also allowed us to celebrate the practices that were already in place. The personalized professional development gear allowed our teachers to take the lead in their learning and focus on areas that they were interested in and that they felt they needed improvement in. The Future Ready Schools movement also allowed us the opportunity to explore more teacher-led professional development sessions, allowing us to utilize the talents and strengths of our staff members to help teach one another.

    Student Participation in the Arts

    10 Points
    District

    Program Summary: The overall goal of the VPA department is to provide a wide variety of experiences for our children. Courses include visual arts, dance, drama, vocal music, instrumental music, music technology, digital arts, TV & film. Creative thinking, problem solving and critical thinking skills are nurtured throughout each course. Our purpose is to enhance the strengths of the students while creating awareness, building self-esteem and fostering leadership skills. Students are afforded the greatest opportunity for success and the developmental level of each child is considered when selecting activities. Courses throughout the Visual & Performing Art department continue to stress the importance of sustainability and conserving our natural resources. Attached is a list of community activities the district was involved in with regards to the arts, letters from the Superintendent stating the courses and highly qualified teachers in our district, as well as the NJ School Report for the Visual & Performing Arts in our schools.

  • School Culture and Climate

    School Culture and Climate Needs Assessment

    20 Points
    School

    Program Summary: The school safety committee for Long Branch Middle School was assembled at the beginning of the school year. It was comprised of staff members from every department via a sign up sheet, along with administrative team members, facilitators, guidance counselors, nurses and custodians. Throughout the year the members would bring concerns to the committee that were sent to them or brought up. These concerns would eventually help compile the questions used in the survey. In February there was a pre-planning meeting to discuss the steps they were going to take. In early March individual meetings were held via Zoom that included people from groups like BOE members, superintendent, assistant superintendent, union president, DEI director, personal director, and mayor. Once these meetings were completed they went on to perform stakeholder meetings. These were mostly focus group meetings via zoom that lasted about thirty minutes. These groups included PTA leadership, teachers, student council members, business community, principals and vice principals, central office and town leadership. On March 15th they launched the online survey through google forms. The survey for the parents could be found on the school website, and was promoted by robocalls, letters going out and through the students. The student survey was administered through the school with an extended homeroom. The teachers survey was promoted to the staff through email and a discussion during the whole school faculty meeting. On March 30th the survey was closed and April 20th the committee was presented with the data. Throughout April the committee met to come up with a vision and finalize the goals. June 1st the final action plan was due and was presented to the BOE on June 29th.

  • School Grounds

    Biodiversity Project

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: Students will be studying an observation beehive in classes. Bees are an important part of our community and they are dwindling. Students will be visiting the community gardens to help plant a pollination garden to support the local bee population. By installing an Observation hive we will be providing the community with a colony of bees to help the growth of local gardens. A local bee keeper has visited our class to discuss the work involved in raising bees and the benefit it has not only to our community but to our society as a whole. Students researched and debated if we should have the beehive in our school. They explained the myths and the benefits to our school administration. Students have also taken place in building man-made bee homes that they can place locally to further support bees and the need for more bee friendly habitat. Students will be working with the parks department this summer to help them plant a bee friendly garden! We are still working on installing our observation hive as we need to find the perfect location as it will be a permanent fixture in our school. The remote hive is located with in our community.

  • Student & Community Outreach

    Green Team

    15 Points
    Bronze Required Silver Required School District

    Program Summary: The Long Branch Public School District Green Team is committed to environmental and digital education and developing a spirit of environmental stewardship in each of our schools. All schools in the district are represented on the team. During the past several years, we have promoted and participated in many sustainable practices and activities including environmental awareness, site clean­ups, energy savings & recycling programs, green cleaning, food & nutrition education, school gardens, and many others! As our school gardens and sustainable efforts expand, we continue to look for volunteers to join our Green Team and provide our current members with numerous professional development opportunities throughout the year. This year, the District Green Team has been encouraging a Sustainable Mindset throughout each school building by promoting exciting new initiatives such as the Sustainability Recycling Poster Contest, incorporating Green Initiatives in the classrooms, and achieving synchronous Food Share program and educational aeroponic unit program participation throughout the district. Not to mention, each Green Team member promotes Sustainability education by planning and executing at least three Sustainability activities and lessons per member each month! That’s roughly 30 Sustainability-focus events each month during our afterschool programs! LBPS promoted its Sustainability programs and Certification via social media numerous times (attached). Also, the Board of Education formally recognized the Green Team on the Board Agenda and will be celebrating their successes with a green luncheon in the coming months.

    Enrichment Programs through Partnership

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: Long Branch Middle School Participates in the Power Save Program that teaches Energy Conservation and helps families save energy at home. This is done during the school day when it can be worked in to the curriculum. Students have done energy saving explorations, school competitions on saving energy, they have researched green careers and made videos sharing this information with their peers.

    Green Fair

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: The Long Branch Public Schools Annual Green Fair encourages sustainable lifestyle choices for our community, raises awareness regarding environmental issues, and demonstrates how our schools are reducing their impact on the planet. This year the LBPS Green Team returned to our in person Green Fair experience to highlight our sustainability efforts and partnerships. On Thursday April 15, 2023, LBPS hosted the Green Fair for the community at the Long Branch Historic High School and highlighted the event on Social Media and YouTube! In addition to highlighting a sustainability partner, each of our 9 schools contributed to the fair by creating short videos displaying sustainability projects and activities. We also had an interactive stem fair showcasing green projects during the event. So many young environmentalists came out to take part in the evening and participate in the STEM Fair with their environmentally friendly and directed projects. This amazing evening was the start of an annual event for the district.

  • Student and Staff Wellness

    Policies to Promote Physical Activity

    10 Points
    District

    Program Summary: Long Branch's quality Physical Education/wellness program is fundamental for our students. Why do children need a quality PE/wellness program? The simple answer is so that they will remain physically active throughout their lifetime and reap the benefits of doing so. Quality PE/wellness provides students with a multitude of important learning experiences that cannot be duplicated in the classroom. Physical Education/wellness is that phase of education which is concerned with the teaching of skills, improving physical fitness, the reinforcement of other subjects, self-discipline, leadership and cooperation, enhancing self-efficacy, stress reduction, and strengthening peer relationships. Physical activity contributes much to the growth, development, and the general well-being of every individual. We believe that Long Branch Public Schools are; "Where Children Matter Most". With this philosophy in mind, we are certain that our Fitness Program s and Opportunities will teach continuous growth and achievement for all students, without exceptions.

    Staff Wellness Program

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: The Long Branch Schools goes above and beyond to promote staff wellness. As part of our culture of sustainability, our on site health center is more active then ever. The Partnership Health Center, located at the Long Branch High School (https://www.partnershiphealthcenters.com/) provides medical and wellness support for all staff and their family members 7 days a week. The Partnership Health Center Long Branch (PHCLB) addresses all members' basic wellness and medical needs under one roof of over 5000 sq.ft. The health center’s activities are centered around the theme of “Care for the Whole You”. Employees pay no co-pays or deductibles for any services or programs of the health center. It is open 7 days a week for 65 hours, opening weekdays from 7 AM to 6 PM and Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00-1:00 throughout the year. The wellness center is located centrally in the school district on school property, making it a convenient location to all work sites. The center continues to provide monthly newsletters, diagnostic services, as well as nutrition, chiropractic care, physical therapy, yoga, and other programs targeting staff wellness and activities.

  • Student Safety

    Safe Routes to School District Policy

    10 Points
    District

    Program Summary: Long Branch Public Schools is committed to promoting the benefits of establishing and promoting safe routes to school. We have established the guidelines and expectations for students and parents/guardians within our district policy adopted in January 2018. We regularly collaborate with our law enforcement, local organizations such as EZ Rides, and other community agencies to plan, construct, and encourage the use of safe, accessible, and convenient pedestrian and bicycle routes to school. We host bike rodeos, bike and helmet safety assemblies. In addition, our District is very active in the NJ Safe Routes to School program and has been awarded recognition for some of our schools. A proposal to update and renew our Safe Routes to School District Policy to reflect a more comprehensive and modern approach was adopted by the board in June 2022. The new unified policy has district condition standards explicitly included rather than being at the discretion of each school. More information can be found on our Sustainability Webpage here: https://sites.google.com/longbranch.k12.nj.us/gardens/safe-routes?authuser=0