By Deborah Rogers Curtis, Green Schools Coordinator for Missouri Gateway Green Building Council
Missouri Green Schools announced its 2026 honorees, recognizing 58 schools enrolled in the program and highlighting 10 schools who have made significant sustainability gains over the past school year. Each school demonstrated their commitment to the three pillars of green schools: improved health & wellness, increased eco-literacy, and lowered environmental impact.
Missouri Green Schools is a state-wide recognition and support program to help schools on their sustainability journeys. Participants receive free professional development throughout the school year to learn how to infuse sustainability into their academic programming, organizational culture, and physical building & grounds. Sustainability initiatives range from addressing Indoor Air Quality to building pollinator and vegetable gardens to conducting energy, water, and waste audits to reduce consumption. 2026 boasts the highest number of enrollees since Missouri Green Schools began in 2021.
“This year, our school has focused on combining community education with cleaner transportation. […] We used active community-based transportation to encourage green travel with the majority of our student body walking or riding bicycles to school daily and using all-electric school buses!” – Emily Williamson, Brentwood Middle School
“We developed a puppet show for elementary schools to […] address stormwater runoff and the pollution it carries.” – Paul Epps, Central High School
“Many of our teachers led the charge in their classrooms to help their students recycle paper this year. They also contributed to our end of the year clean-out, where classroom items could be taken by others or donated, as opposed to being trashed.” – Chris Thomson, Dressel Elementary
“Students created a ‘sustainability fashion show’ to teach the school community about sustainable fashion.” – Paige Jester, Pattonville High School
“Students were actively involved in every stage of our sustainability initiatives, from identifying environmental challenges to planning and implementing solutions. […] Through project-based learning and service opportunities, students were able to connect classroom learning to real-world environmental issues and see the impact of their actions on their school community. These experiences helped students develop leadership, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills while fostering a sense of responsibility for the environment.” – Anna McGraw-Sutterer, Premier Charter School
Seed schools are honored for making a commitment to green and healthy practices, identifying one goal, and completing a baseline self-assessment. Sprout schools are honored for involving school administration, beginning to benchmark and track improvement, and setting goals towards further advancement of green and healthy practices. Seedling schools additionally document the inclusion of nature-based education. Sapling schools additionally document their long term impacts, such as reduction of energy or water usage over a 1 to 3 year period. Flowering Dogwood schools measure consumption of and demonstrate reduction of energy, waste, and water for the entire school and commit to mentoring other schools on their green journey.
Missouri Green Schools will continue to support these schools as they track achievements, set new goals, and strive to make a difference in the lives of their students and staff and in their communities. Interested in learning more about becoming a Missouri Green School or assisting schools in the program? Visit showmegreenschools.org/mgs.