By Celia Swiston, MICDS Senior and Missouri Gateway Green Building Council Intern
Show-Me Green Schools is pleased to announce the 2026 continuation of the Missouri Green Schools Learning Series, a set of free professional development sessions to support school and district staff on their sustainability journeys. Missouri Green Schools is one of three state-wide recognition programs for school sustainability initiatives in K-12 schools across the state of Missouri and Southern Illinois. Missouri Green Schools specifically focuses on long-term initiatives that teachers, school leaders, district leaders, and even students are taking on in order to make their school healthier for both people and the planet. Participation helps schools demonstrate measurable progress toward sustainability and long-term operational goals.
This year’s monthly professional development sessions will help schools track and document their sustainability achievements, create a Green Team, conduct waste, water, and energy audits, start or improve a school garden, and improve wellness for both students and staff. The learning series is designed with educators in mind and focuses on actionable practices that apply to both classroom instruction and day-to-day operations of a school building. In each session, participants will hear from experts on the session topic as well as network with other schools that are pursuing similar sustainability goals. Sessions foster collaboration across districts and provide opportunities to learn from schools at different stages of their sustainability journeys.
The 2026 Missouri Green Schools learning series will kick off on February 4th, with monthly sessions to follow throughout the spring semester. Schools can enroll in Missouri Green Schools at any time of the year, and the program is completely free. Learn more about Missouri Green Schools and other school sustainability initiatives at showmegreenschools.org/mgs.