How CCL’s National Youth Action Team is inspiring schools to “electrify everything”

By Kate Derbas

With schools among the largest consumers of polluting energy, CCL’s dynamic National Youth Action Team saw a problem and set out to solve it.

Fast forward to today, and student CCLers around the country are building political will to reduce climate pollution in schools and safeguard their futures with the Great School Electrification Challenge. 

Why schools?

The energy consumption of schools across the United States includes huge quantities of power for heating and air conditioning systems and cooking appliances. Schools also comprise the largest mass transit fleet in the U.S., operating over 480,000 school buses. Consequently, American schools produce carbon emissions equivalent to 18 coal-fired power plants or 15 million cars yearly.

To address the problem, teams of middle and high school students have mobilized to ask their school boards to pledge to electrify HVAC systems, cooking systems, lawn maintenance, school buses, and install solar panels. 

Important voices

To enact change, student-led teams, sponsored by a supportive adult, work together to develop and present “Electrify Everything” resolutions to their school boards. 

“The Great School Electrification Challenge guides students, as the most important users of school buildings, to use their unique powers to initiate changes that will modernize and decarbonize our schools and create healthier learning environments,” explains Sharon Bagatell, CCL’s Youth Action Coordinator. 

CCL’s National Youth Action Team provides support and guidance to run the Challenge using CCL’s Five Levers approach — lobbying, media relations, grassroots outreach, grasstops engagement, and chapter and volunteer development. Students speak at school board meetings, partner with school clubs, table at community events, work with the media, and seek endorsements of the resolution by community leaders. To make it fun, the National Youth Action Team has “game-ified” the process, encouraging participants to earn points and prizes for each action. Points can be collected for writing and presenting a resolution, building relationships with school boards, holding public educational events, and other specific actions.

The initial Challenge, which began in April of 2023, resulted in 13 teams completing 167 actions to encourage school boards to electrify. These included 10  resolutions drafted, 19 presentations to school boards, 11 meetings with community members, five published LTEs and op-eds and 14 community events.

Round 2 of the challenge kicked off on April 1 this year, with 26 school districts from 16 states joining the challenge by September 30. The goal is to have 15 school districts pledge to “electrify everything” by April 2025.   

With different school districts facing unique challenges that vary by location, taking action could look like replacing fossil-fueled school appliances with electric appliances, installing solar panels on school roofs, or shifting toward electric buses. Outcomes may differ across school districts, but it’s the student effort that is counted in the Challenge. 

Empowering youth

One of the most important components of the challenge is empowering students to make their voices heard in their communities, says Sharon. This was exemplified in Cincinnati, Ohio, where school board members were particularly impressed by students’ public outreach and a well-written resolution. 

Students turned up to the meeting with two members of the city council, something that had never happened in a school board meeting before. As one board member remarked: “Adults had been working on the resolution for seven years, but when students showed up, they finally paid attention.”

In Lake Tahoe, students also saw positive outcomes for their resolutions when they mobilized local community members. These included the Public Utilities Commissioner, who spoke on the team’s behalf, and a letter of support from their mayor. 

During winter, Lake Tahoe students participated in a “Snowman Protest” that educated locals about rising temperatures in the Sierra Nevada. Other outreach efforts have included connecting with eco clubs, teachers, and local politicians to mobilize the Great School Electrification Challenge. 

At the end of their first year, the work of the Tahoe Youth Action Team led to the hiring of a Sustainability Manager for the district and the addition of four electric school buses to their transportation fleet. They were also the winners of the Challenge’s First Prize for the most points accumulated, earning a small cash award to continue their efforts. 

In Los Alamos, New Mexico, the team developed a relationship with their State Senator, who then posed a challenge of his own – if the students could persuade the school board, he would fund the first electric school bus. 

“Teachers and community leaders were able to see the Challenge’s educational value,” concludes Sharon. 

One student activist from Katy, Texas, shares that she was driven to participate in the Great School Electrification Challenge because “every student deserves the opportunity to learn in a healthy, supportive environment” and that by focusing on electrification, “we’re truly investing in the future of our students, our communities, and our world.”

As CCL’s National Youth Action Team tallies up the successes and inspires us to work intergenerationally to lower carbon emissions and improve school air quality, it’s never been easier to get involved. Learn more about taking on the Great School Electrification Challenge here. 

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