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Sustainable Jersey for Schools Certification Report

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

Raritan High School (Monmouth) was certified on August 06, 2020 with 360 points. Listed below is information regarding Raritan High 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 Raritan High School (Monmouth) is:

Name:Andrew Piotrowski
Title/Position:Principal / Administration
Address:419 Middle Road
Hazlet, NJ 07730
Phone:732-264-8411

Actions Implemented

Each approved action and supporting documentation for which Raritan High School (Monmouth) was approved for in 2020 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 Hazlet Township Board of Education recognizes the importance of minimizing the district’s use of natural resources, providing a high quality environment that promotes health and productivity and the effective management of our fiscal resources. The Board of Education in collaboration with the Superintendent of Schools, administrative staff and the district's Green Team will be to focus its energy on enhancing and improving the school district's resource management program that includes strategies for implementing effective and sustainable resource practices, exploring renewable and clean energy technologies, reducing energy and minimizing utility costs, reducing the amount of waste of consumable materials, encouraging recycling and green procurement practices, and promoting conservation principles by implementation of best practices. In an effort to demonstrate the district's commitment, Policy 8900 Sustainability was adopted on February 27, 2017. Policy 8900 has been posted on all school websites including the district's main page. The updated Policy has been uploaded with the revised date. The Policy has also been uploaded to the Sustainable link on each school's website. Principals have included the policy in their newsletters notifying the community of the district's commitment in recognizing the importance of minimizing the district's use of natural resources and providing a high quality environment that promotes health and productivity.

  • Climate Mitigation & Renewable Energy

    School Carbon Footprint

    10 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority School District

    Program Summary: Scope 1 emissions from combustion of natural gas as well as Scope 2 emissions from purchased electricity were gathered from monthly utility invoices. Mileage data for each vehicle used to transport high school students was collected from our transportation department. It was then converted to gallons of fuel consumed using the Fuel Economy Factors provided by GHG Protocol (a project of the World Resources Institute). All calculations were based on January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017 calendar year. Our school carbon footprint for 2017 is 1,236.737908.

    Onsite Renewable Generation System - Solar

    30 Points
    School

    Program Summary: The Hazlet Township School District entered into a Power Purchase Agreement with Ray Angelini Inc. of Sewell, NJ and Nautilus Solar Energy LLC of Summit, NJ to construct a 809,000 kilowatt solar array at Raritan High School in 2012. The array over a 12 month period manages to supply an average of 52% of the total power consumed at the site. The array consists of both rooftop and parking canopy solar systems. The multiple inverter solar array nameplate information is attached.

  • Diversity & Equity

    Breakfast After the Bell

    20 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: Raritan High School serves Breakfast to students from the cafeteria in a grab and go format. Raritan High School has 18.7% of its students participate in the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Menus are posted on the website and students can order their breakfast and lunch using the online ordering option on the school website. Students then pick up their breakfast or lunch and do not have to wait in line and thus have more time to eat their meal. Students can eat their breakfast in the cafeteria, classroom or in the hallways. Attached please find the breakfast menu for the month of December, a flyer that went home in the high school's virtual backpack and a participation rate report from the food service provider for the month of December.

  • Energy Efficiency

    Energy Efficiency for School Facilities

    30 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority School District

    Program Summary: As part of a $43 million dollar referendum that was passed by the taxpayers, Raritan High School has replaced all of its windows with new energy efficient windows, replaced all lighting fixtures in the classroom with new energy efficient fixtures and replaced the original boiler (1962) with a new energy efficient boiler and cooling system. The district has hired an energy specialist whose responsibility is to monitor the high school's energy usage and ensure that our systems are operating at peak efficiency. Since undertaking these energy measures our EUI has decreased by 13.36% from baseline data. Please see the attached EUI spreadsheet for further details.

    Behavior-Based Energy Conservation Programs

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: The Raritan High School Green Team, discussed with the students in the Environmental Club about establishing a Classroom Energy Monitor Program that would provide students with a better understanding of environmental conservation through action. The classroom energy monitor program enlists students to aide in the day to day reduction of energy use in our school. Different students from week to week will be involved so that all students continue to share the importance of energy conservation. Through the implementation of the Classroom Energy Monitor Program, we have been able to see students understanding the importance of energy conservation not only in our school but in the community. We have had students share that they are trying to turn off things at home and unplug things they are not using. It has helped in reducing how much electricity we are using and thus saving the environment.

    Energy Tracking & Management

    20 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: The Hazlet Township School District is using Cenergistic - The Energy Conservation Company to monitor and track energy consumption in the district. Cenergistic has implemented its energy conservation program through an energy management team led by the Energy Specialist according to Energy Guidelines that were developed by the district. The Energy Specialist (Christopher Villa) has been appointed by the district to maintain accurate records of energy usage and cost and to make recommendations to all stakeholders to reduce energy consumption. The usage data collected will provide verifiable performance results on the goals and progress of the energy conservation program. Please see the documentation including Board of Education meeting minutes that reflect the appointment of an Energy Specialist and the use of Cenergistics. In addition, a spreadsheet is attached containing the required information for Raritan High School. Furthermore the ESPM building profile and national benchmark report from Energy Star is also attached.

  • Food & Nutrition

    School Gardens

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: Raritan High School's Green Team has established two raised planting beds in our Outdoor Environmental Learning Center. As of November 14th, 2019 we have just concluded our growing season due to the cold temperatures. The two beds will be used to grow tulips in the spring and then both beds will be used to grow herbs and vegetables for both our culinary arts classes and our school cafeteria. Attached are pictures of our students planting bulbs in the first raised bed and the second raised bed will be for herbs and vegetables. Please see the end of the year growing report and the completed School Garden Report containing lesson plan, newsletter articles and links which is also attached. Pictures of our garden from the summer and fall are attached. Also here is the link for the RHS Green Team Initiatives: https://www.hazlet.org/rhs/Content2/1486.

  • Green Cleaning

    Green Cleaning Supplies

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: The Hazlet Township School District has purchased green cleaners including carpet cleaner, non-solvent cleaner/degreaser, all purpose cleaner, bathroom cleaner and glass cleaner that green seal certified. In addition the district uses bath tissue and roll towels made from 100% recycled fiber.

  • Healthy School Environments

    Indoor Air Quality Review *Retires 10/31/23*

    15 Points
    Bronze Priority Silver Priority School

    Program Summary: The Raritan High School Green Team has created a IAQ team composed of three members. The IAQ team has undertaken periodic walk throughs of the high school building to check for IAQ issues. Attached please find results of the recent walk throughs completed in during September, October, November and December. Also included is a map of the high school, a list of members of the IAQ team, promotional materials and an action plan based on the results of these walkthroughs. The results of the November walkthrough were discussed at our December 18th faculty meeting. Please see the attached agenda.

    Access to Healthy Water in Schools

    20 Points
    School

    Program Summary: The RHS Green Team conducted a school drinking water needs assessment and found that we need to increase the number of bottle filling stations in the cafeteria and promote the importance of drinking water. Our water at Raritan High School was tested by Westchester Environmental LLC and found to be safe. Attached are the lab results for Raritan High School (mislabeled Raritan Valley High School in the report) which an be found on page 10-11 and table 8. Also the Needs Assessment, School Water Access Plan and posters to promote drinking water are attached.

    Classroom Chemical Purchase, Storage & Disposal Policy

    15 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: Raritan High School has undertaken the process to reduce our existing chemical inventory and to actively manage the purchase of chemicals in the future. The benefits of this process include eliminating hazardous chemicals from the school environment, promoting a healthier and safer learning environment for our students and reducing operating costs which will benefit taxpayers. In 2017, our science teachers have identified chemicals that have not been used in over three years and disposed of them at County Household Hazardous Waste facility. We did not dispose of any chemicals during the 2018-2019 school year. We have amended our Chemical Hygiene Plan to limit the amount of chemicals purchased/stored on site to a 2 year supply maximum. We have also developed a list of chemicals that we will not use in our chemistry labs.

    Classroom Cleanup Protocol & Practices

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: The Hazlet Township Public Schools has developed and implemented a training plan that itemizes each step that the custodians must complete when cleaning classrooms, offices, restrooms, cafeteria and stairwells. Students have been provided with individual lockers to store their personal items and supplies. Regular locker cleanouts are scheduled during the Midterm Exam period on January 28th, 2019 and the Final Exam period tentatively scheduled to start on June 24th, 2019. Personal items left behind in classrooms and the cafeteria are placed in a centralized Lost and Found Bin. Trash and recycling bins are found in each room or office, are easy to see/access and are emptied daily. Spills and soils are immediately reported to office staff who then promptly contact the custodians via two way radio for immediate cleanup. Staff and faculty leave rooms in a condition at the end of the day, that facilitates easy cleaning. The checklist is used as a tool to train along with modeling of proper procedures. Attached please find an example of the revised checklist used for one of the high school wings and the training plan for the district. Also please find the attached completed Teacher's Classroom Checklist from the IAQ tools for schools website.

    Reporting Process for Indoor Air Quality Concerns *Retires 10/31/23*

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: Raritan High School has established a preventative maintenance procedure to minimize indoor air quality concerns. The process for reporting IAQ concerns was presented at a staff faculty meeting as part of an IAQ awareness training session. An agenda from the faculty meeting is included. IAQ Informational flyers were distributed to staff with basic information on the importance of IAQ, sources of contaminants, basic control strategies, and how to report concerns and the steps taken to resolve issues. Forms were developed for concerns, and follow up. All concerns and outcomes will be logged and filed as an ongoing IAQ record of the school building and compliance with PEOSH standards. As a result of the facilities department proactive approach to building maintenance, there have been no reports of IAQ issues for this building to date.

  • Innovation Projects

    Innovative Project #1

    10 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: The Environmental Club at Raritan High School working in conjunction with the Raritan High School Green Team and Maschio's Food Service company have begun the process of switching out the styrofoam trays used for hot lunches. The idea for this endeavor came from the students in the Environmental Club during their November meeting. The students conducted research about the alternative solutions and the advantages and disadvantages of each solution. The students presented their information to the club advisers and to the Science Supervisor, Mr. Miller. Mr. Miller then forwarded the information to the district's Business Administrator, Mr. Mullins who then contacted Maschio's Food Service and gave permission to order fiber trays that are recyclable. The fiber trays have been phased in during the week of December 10th. Once the fiber trays are in place, the Environmental Club will promote the recycling of these trays to the student body through the morning announcements. Please see the attached email chain as documentation to this student driven project. In addition, a picture of the new tray, a link to our Sustainable School webpage and a tweet from the Science Supervisor has been included. The fiber trays are from the Hubert Food Merchandising company and a price quote for the trays has been attached.

  • Learning Environment

    Curriculum Mapping

    15 Points
    School District

    Program Summary: The Hazlet Township School District has adopted the Understanding by Design Curriculum Framework for our Raritan High School curriculum mapping. Teachers have been trained by department supervisors and colleagues during our Professional Development meetings to understand the process of writing curriculum using the Understanding by Design curriculum model. Teachers have rewritten the science curriculum over the summer of 2016 in grades 6-12 to implement the Next Generation Science Standards in September 2017. Furthermore the curriculum was updated in 2019 to reflect new requirements for QSAC and to align with the EFS Standards Indicators. Attached please find a sample of our Curriculum Mapping for Advanced Placement Environmental Science and an alignment document with the EFS.

    Future Ready Schools - New Jersey Certification

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: Raritan High School applied and was awarded Future Ready Bronze Certification in September of 2019. The Raritan High School Future Ready Team involved the entire high school faculty. We devoted two high school faculty meetings to explain each action item and solicited documentation that would address each indicator. At the faculty meetings, each Future Ready Team member was responsible for an action item. The high school faculty with their chromebooks were divided into groups and rotated through each team member's station. The high school faculty emailed or shared documents with the future ready team. Attached is documentation including our certificate and email from future ready that supports this action item.

    Student Participation in the Arts

    10 Points
    District

    Program Summary: Every student from Kindergarten through 5th grade participates in music and art classes. Art and music is incorporated into the Creative Curriculum for preschool students. It is part of their daily classroom routine and all learning objectives are aligned to New Jersey Preschool Standards. Students in the middle and high school, grades 6 through 12, have the opportunity to elect the music and art classes being offered. All students, with the exception of the preschool, are in a class with certified music and art teachers. Update: The 2018-2019 Performance Reports for both Hazlet Middle School and Raritan High School indicating the percentage of students enrolled in music and visual arts are submitted as additional documentation to meet the requirements for the allocated points. Please note the 2018-2019 Performance report for Hazlet Middle School shows no students enrolled in visual art and music classes, which is in error. Enrollment numbers for Hazlet Middle School have been submitted to clarify this discrepancy. In addition, please find student enrollment numbers in music and art classes for the 2018-2019 school year for each school. A letter from the Assistant Superintendent of Schools addressing the questions from the reviewer is also attached.

  • School Grounds

    Green Infrastructure Assessment & Plan

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: The Raritan High School Green Team has completed a green infrastructure plan and assessment using Google Earth images. We have identified two areas where stormwater issues can be improved using green infrastructure. The first area was the courtyard where there are four drainage pipes from the roof that lead to an underground sewer pipe. The second area was by the cafeteria door where water collects against the building after heavy rain. Attached is the green infrastructure plan and a Google Earth image of the school with remarks that illustrate where the issues are. Since this assessment was completed, a rain garden was installed in the courtyard where two of the four drain pipes from the roof are diverted too.

  • Student & Community Outreach

    Green Team

    10 Points
    Bronze Required Silver Required School District

    Program Summary: Raritan High School created a School Based Green Team to implement action items to promote sustainable practices specifically at the high school. The team is comprised of two administrators and three teachers, please see the attached list. A letter establishing the School Green Team is included in the attached documentation from the high school principal. Attached are meeting agendas and minutes from the past four meetings. In addition, the Hazlet Township Education Association declined to select Green Team members to act as their representatives because the meetings would occur outside of their contractual day. A letter to the HTEA is attached as part of the documentation.

    Enrichment Programs through Partnership

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: Raritan High School has partnered with Rutgers University's School of Health Professions to offer a dual enrollment program for our high school students in the medical field. During the 19-20 school year we are offering six Rutgers courses. In order to earn college credits, students have to take and pass the standardized end of course exam with a grade of "C". As part of the program, guest speakers have and will continue to present topics to the students. In October of 2019, we have had Ms. Jaclyn Horvath from the Tri County Medical Examiner's Office speak to our students about forensic science. In the spring of 2020 our students will tour the Rutgers University Functional Human Anatomy Lab and handle dissected human organs. Attached please find documentation including a tweet of Ms. Horvath speaking to our students, a spreadsheet of our students doing their volunteer hours at local medical facilities from November 2019 and a copy of our science budget for the 19-20 and 20-21 school year.

  • Student Learning

    Education for Sustainability Grades 4-12 Arts

    5 Points
    School

    Program Summary: Students in Digital Photography are studying Ansel Adams, his work and his philosophy, the students explored NATCO Park and photographed its many beautiful features. Using several techniques in Photoshop, the students then combined thier images into compositions. They focused on creating a photo montage with a strong visual hierarchy. Due to the extremely wet summer we experienced, the mushrooms were especially prolific and colorful this year! Attached are the lesson plan, rubric, EfS questionnaire, activity sheet and pictures of the student's work. The students' work is on display in the high school main hallway.

    Education for Sustainability Grades 4-12 Health

    5 Points
    School

    Program Summary: Raritan High School offers Yoga courses for students in grades 9-12. The courses are taught by a certified Yoga instructor who is also a member of our Physical Education staff. Yoga helps students relax and manage stress which improves student well being. Our Yoga instructor holds class outside (weather permitting) to facilitate the spiritual connection with nature and connect students to the principle of simplicity which is one of the ten principles of Yoga. Attached is documentation that includes a lesson plan, Yoga Evaluation Rubric, a completed Yoga Evaluation Rubric for a student and the EFS questionnaire.

    Education for Sustainability Grades 4-12 Science

    5 Points
    School

    Program Summary: One of the units in the Laboratory Environmental Science course is on the Water Cycle. In this unit, students will examine how the process of evaporation can purify "dirty" water. Students will have to first manufacture their own "dirty water" using both dissolved and solid contaminants (particulates). The students will then have to design an apparatus that purifies the dirty water. Students will then have to drink their cleaned water. Attached is the Google slide presentation, photos of students' apparatuses, the completed EFS questionnaire, the lesson plan and the grading rubric.

  • Student Safety

    Safe Routes to School District Policy

    10 Points
    District

    Program Summary: At the February 27, 2017 Board of Education meeting, Policy 5514 Student Use of Vehicles on School Grounds was revised and adopted. It will afford students in all grades[Kindergarten through 12] to ride their bicycles to and from school. In an effort to promote physical activity and encourage students to be more active, Policy 5514 was revised. A community survey was created and distributed to parents in order to gauge their thoughts on allowing their students to bike to school. The results were were very positive and therefore was the motivation to move forward. Attached are copies of the draft policy and the survey. Policy 5514 has been posted on all school websites including the District's main page. The Hazlet Township School District is also working collaboratively with the Hazlet Police Department scheduling two pedestrian/ bicycle safety and awareness assemblies for the students of Hazlet. We are also working with local retail stores to donate bicycle safety helmets to be distributed to all students riding bikes to school. The dates will be forthcoming.

  • Waste Reduction & Recycling

    Food Waste Recycling or Composting

    15 Points
    School

    Program Summary: The Raritan High School Green Team has begun composting food scraps from the both the cafeteria and the culinary art classes. Every Friday or the last school day of the week, a student from the Environmental Club and a staff member pick up the bins of food scraps from the cafeteria and the Culinary Art classroom and deposit them into the two compost bins located in the Outdoor Environmental Learning Center. The bins are then washed and rinsed and returned to the cafeteria and Culinary Arts classroom. The compost produced from these bins will be used in our two outdoor planting beds and in our greenhouse. The vegetables and spices grown in the beds and greenhouse will be used in the Culinary Arts classes and in our cafeteria. Attached please find a picture of the collection bins used, a copy of the December newsletter (Composting article is on page 3) and a picture of the Supervisor of Science loading the food scraps into one of the compost bins.

    Materials Reuse

    10 Points
    School

    Program Summary: The RHS Green Team organized a book swap for RHS faculty and students. Books were collected in room C-23 and in the main office. Teachers and students were encouraged to bring in unwanted books that could be swapped out for different books and thus minimizing solid waste going into the landfill. A copy of the flyer is included as well as the collection log as documentation. The flyer was distributed in the high school's virtual backpack to notify the school community about the event and collection period. The collection period started on October 16th and concluded on November 12th. Moving forward, we would like to expand the time that we are collecting books to encourage more participation. We lost a week of collection time due to our fall break which ran from November 4th to the 11th.

    Recycling Non-Mandated Materials

    15 Points
    School

    Program Summary: Raritan High School's Green Team has registered to participate in the Trex Film Recycling Challenge beginning in September 2019. We have five recycling bins in the school (four bins are located in science classrooms and the fifth bin is located in the main office.) Flyers have been distributed to the faculty and an announcement has been made to the students using our TV studio. Posters are made and placed in the hallways near water fountains and in the cafeteria. At the end of each month, the weight of the materials is recorded on the Trex online portal. We have collected 212 pounds of plastic since September (please see the attached screen shot from the Trex online portal). I have also included a picture of one of the posters that were made by our computer department and hung up in the school. This poster is located in the main office along with the collection bin. In addition I have included a photograph of one of the magnets that were distributed to staff to place in their classroom. The RHS Green Team is also participating in the Crayola Marker Recycling Challenge. Collection bins are located in the two faculty rooms. This initiative was also announced at the faculty meeting on November 19th. Thus far we have collected 208 markers. In addition, the RHS Green team is recycling used Keurig Cups. Collection bins are located in the central office breakroom, the high school main office and in the RHS Coffeehouse which is run by our special needs students. The RHS Environmental Club students empty the coffee grounds and filter into our compost bins and recycle the plastic K cups. Please see the attached submission form as part of Upload 6