FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 2, 2025
CONTACT:
Camille Soliva
Communications Specialist
csoliva@tenstrands.org
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Ten Strands is proud to unveil a landmark publication from its Data Initiative for Environmental and Climate Action in California’s TK–12 Schools:
This groundbreaking report offers a comprehensive, data-driven picture of how California’s TK–12 public schools are advancing environmental sustainability and climate resilience. It examines public evidence of environmental efforts across four core areas—campus operations, curriculum integration, community engagement, and school culture—highlighting both progress and opportunities for further action. Developed through extensive collaboration with education leaders, researchers, and district partners across the state, the report is a milestone in understanding the landscape of environmental and climate action in schools.
Key findings reveal that school districts across California are demonstrating a growing commitment to environmental and climate literacy, with measurable progress in rural, urban, and underserved communities alike. While larger districts often lead in implementation potentially due to greater resources, there are smaller districts showing strong progress, highlighting innovative practices that could inform scale-related solutions. Understanding how scale and other context factors impact environmental and climate action can support educational leaders in developing data-driven strategies to catalyze action in target regions.
Notably, the presence of dedicated sustainability personnel correlates with more consistent and impactful outcomes than the existence of policy alone—underscoring the critical importance of pairing policy with additional strategies such as staffing and infrastructure in driving meaningful school-based climate solutions.
This report marks a significant milestone in California’s movement to embed climate action at the heart of public education. It is accompanied by an interactive, filterable database enabling district- and county-level insights.
“With this milestone achieved, we are committed to ongoing research, collaboration, and validation to expand this data initiative and continue to build a fuller picture of environmental and climate action in California’s schools. We hope this initiative will support using data to increase awareness of the current state of environmental and climate action in California’s TK–12 schools, support the analysis of gaps and opportunities, and increase agency at the state, regional, and local levels for strategic investments in action.” said Andra Yeghoian, chief innovation officer at Ten Strands.
Read the executive summary and explore the Data Initiative website to see how California districts are progressing on environmental and climate action!
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