Palo Alto Unified School District student climate leaders are celebrating after the district announced during its May 13 board meeting that a draft of a comprehensive district sustainability plan is set to be integrated into the PAUSD Promise.
The plan will incorporate environmental responsibility into different aspects of the district, such as operations, facilities and instruction.
The PAUSD Promise is the district’s mission statement — a specific set of goals to follow with clear and purposeful vision.
A school board meeting was held April 29, where student activists of several clubs and organizations urged the school board to make sustainability a priority.
Talya Schube, a senior at Henry M. Gunn High School and the co-executive director of Palo Alto Student Climate Coalition, says that the new clause will push the district to take action more quickly and treat sustainability as a real priority.
“Adding a sustainability clause formalizes PAUSD’s commitment to environmental responsibility,” Schube said. “Putting it in writing is necessary to hold the district accountable for supporting sustainable initiatives.”
Palo Alto High School sophomore Aiden Miao, a member of PASCC, said adding a sustainability clause will reflect students’ passion for the environment.
“We need to reflect our students’ passion for sustainability through the PAUSD Promise, and solidify it as a district goal,” Miao said.
Miao also said that PASCC eventually plans to instate a sustainability manager within PAUSD.
“This [having a sustainability manager] would help PAUSD install heat pumps for buildings, add more solar power to rooftops and fully electrify the school bus fleet,” Miao said.
Paly sophomore Avroh Shah, a member of PASCC and the vice president of Paly Eco Club, emphasized the importance of including the sustainability clause, stating that the future of PAUSD communities is at risk due to climate change.
“Is it so much of an ask [to include sustainability in the Promise]?” Shah said. “All we want is for future generations to get an equal shot at life like those who live today.”