Book Description

This study investigated the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) award and the Green and Healthy Schools Wisconsin program, which both rely on loosely coordinated and lightly incentivized collaboration of parties at multiple levels of governance. Data were derived from: (1) Green and Healthy Schools Wisconsin and ED-GRS application guidelines, (2) ED-GRS nomination materials from twenty-three Wisconsin K-12 schools (those receiving the honor between the initiative's inception and April 2017), and (3) interviews with twenty-six participants, including individuals associated with five Wisconsin-based ED-GRS honorees. The study findings provide insight into a complex polycentric governance system, which although pre-dating ED-GRS, expanded and provided the structure through which a variety of stakeholders modified their practices in order to advance attributes they viewed as contributing to the green schools movement. This case study provides evidence that it is likely that neither Green and Healthy Schools Wisconsin nor ED-GRS would exist in their current configurations without the continuing support of non-governmental organizations. Importantly, non-governmental organizations often provided the expertise upon which the "best practices" described in the schools' nomination narratives were based. Additionally, in many cases, non-governmental organizations created the metrics upon which the schools documented their achievements. Furthermore, non-governmental organizations largely control the communication tools and networks utilized by ED-GRS and GHS Wisconsin. Thus, non-governmental organizations substantively shape the green schools movement in the United States. Because of their substantial influence, entities, for example policy makers, interested in what schools are doing in the realm of green schools, also should pay attention to what the non-governmental organizations are doing.