Ten Strands works with partners on initiatives that focus on transitioning school buildings, grounds, and operations to be sustainable and resilient. This ensures that campuses can support students’ health, safety, learning, play, and development, especially during a time of rapidly increasing extreme weather.
CLIMATE READY SCHOOLS COALITION
The Climate Ready Schools Coalition, launched in 2022, has grown from a handful of organizations to over thirty diverse groups representing various education and climate policy perspectives. The Coalition is a statewide group of education, climate, health, youth, labor, civil rights, and business leaders and organizations with a mission to ensure that California’s public school buildings and grounds are developed as sites of ecological resilience and sustainability in this era of rapid climate change—securing students’ health, safety, and learning through extreme weather events, environmental hazards, and other disruptions.
The Coalition published a report in March 2023, Climate-Resilient California Schools: A Call to Action, which explores the challenges of climate change from the perspective of children’s health and education and laid out a California Master Plan for Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Schools, a transformative and cost-effective $150 billion investment to align California’s TK–12 system with its statewide public health and climate mitigation goals.
In 2024, the Coalition is focused on six different advocacy priorities, which can be tracked on the 2024 Agenda on the Climate Ready Schools Coalition page. Learn more about the Coalition’s evolution in the Ten Strands newsletter.
VIRTUAL POLICY FORUMS
Ten Strands has partnered with UndauntedK12 to lead virtual policy forums that highlight critical topics and resources related to Sustainability and Climate Resilient Schools. See below to access the archived virtual policy forum resources.
Protecting Children from Extreme Heat at School (Dec 2025)
Ten Strands, UndauntedK12, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, and the UC Santa Barbara 2035 Initiative co-hosted a virtual legislative briefing for California policymakers on protecting children from extreme heat at school. The briefing shared new research on heat’s impacts on student health and learning, classroom perspectives from across the state, and actionable policy solutions and funding pathways, with student and expert voices highlighting the urgency for heat-resilient schools. Catch up on the recording, slides, and resource document.
Protecting Student Health and Learning with Heat-Resilient Schools
(Dec 2023)
Ten Strands, UndauntedK12, and the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation hosted a policy forum on heat-resilient schools, focused on protecting student health and learning amid rising extreme heat in California. Moderated by Ten Strands, the forum highlighted research and policy solutions from Dr. Kelly Turner on advancing heat-resilient school infrastructure, along with guidance from UndauntedK12 on leveraging Inflation Reduction Act funding and key talking points for policymakers to elevate the urgency of heat adaptation and mitigation in schools.
Climate-Resilient California Schools
(May 2023)
The Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health supported a virtual policy forum on the Climate Resilient California Schools Call to Action Report, bringing together state leaders and experts to discuss the report’s recommendations, the policy landscape, and pathways to achieving climate-resilient schools across California.
UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE IMPACTS AND CLIMATE ADAPTATIONS FOR SCHOOLS – PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CCEE
In Spring 2024, Ten Strands launched a new partnership with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) and UndauntedK12 to support district and county leaders with resources and tools for managing the impacts of our changing climate to adapt and become climate resilient. This partnership highlighted practices and tools for managing climate impacts by leading districts and county offices of education through “Open Door” webinar learning sessions, and “Spotlight Story” articles. The findings and resources from this series were organized into a Resilience and Adaptation Toolkit and a Recommendations Brief.
OPEN DOOR WEBINAR SERIES
Prepare for a New Normal: Climate Emergencies and Their Impact on Schools
Focus on the need to transition to a “climate-ready mindset” and set the foundation for future conversations.
Energy and Grid Resilience: Mitigating Risk through Climate Adaptation
Yolo County Office of Education, Santa Barbara Unified School District, and Modesto City Schools share their pioneering climate adaptation strategies that enhance resilience and drive significant cost savings.
Mitigating outdoor extreme heat: how schoolyard greening is critical for resilience
Extreme heat on school playgrounds and showcase how Pasadena Unified School District and Long Beach Unified School District have successfully greened their schoolyards.
CASE STUDY SPOTLIGHTS
Climate Change and Emergency Management: How the San Mateo COE Helps Districts and Schools Become Climate Ready
San Mateo COE has incorporated climate adaptation into emergency planning and response protocols, building on its extensive work with environmental literacy and sustainability.
From Outages to Opportunities: Santa Barbara USD’s Green Microgrids and Economic Benefits
Santa Barbara Unified School District is leading the way in sustainability with the installation of solar-powered microgrids at multiple school sites.
Stormwater Management: How San Carlos School District and Flows to Bay Partnered to Mitigate and Prepare for Storm-Based Flooding
Ten Strands, in partnership with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) and UndauntedK12, has released a new brief, Climate Adaptation and Resilience at California’s K–12 Schools: Actions and Recommendations for State and District Leadership, which outlines the critical need for immediate action and provides recommendations for creating resilient schools that protect students and families from escalating climate impacts.
Climate Readiness in California’s TK–12 Schools: A Resilience and Adaptation Toolkit
Alongside the brief, we are proud to introduce the Climate Resilience and Adaptation Toolkit, a comprehensive resource designed to support school and district leaders in implementing climate resilience strategies. The toolkit showcases best practices and lessons learned from districts across the state that have successfully addressed climate-related challenges like energy and grid resilience, stormwater management, and wildfire preparedness. This valuable resource provides practical tools and guidance to help schools take immediate steps toward building a more resilient and sustainable future.
