Young Activist Club Honored with Community Hero Award

For Immediate Release .....................................Youth Leadership & Climate Focus
more photos/video available

Contact:
Nadine Bloch 301-891-3680, mobile 202-412-7611 or nbloch@igc.org
Brenda Platt 202-898-1610 ext. 230, mobile 301-787-1104 or bplatt@ilsr.org

www.YoungActivistClub.org

Young Activist Club Honored with Community Hero Award

3rd, 4th, 5th graders lead the way to healthy schools!

WHAT.......... The Young Activist Club (YAC) at Piney Branch Elementary School was honored last night by the Montgomery County Civic Federation who bestowed their “Community Hero Award” on the group for their work to get rid of toxic polystyrene in their schools, their City and the County.

The YAC has raised more than $10,000 for their proposed dishwasher project, only to be stalled by a mysteriously unsupportive Board of Education and an antagonistic School Superintendent. The Campaign continues...

WHO........... Montgomery County Civic Federation Officers & Members
The Young Activist Club (15 3rd,4th,5th graders from PBES)
Concerned and supportive citizens

WHEN......... Monday,November 8th

WHERE........Montgomery County Federation Meeting,100 Maryland Ave, Rockville, MD

WHY............. Ten Year olds Margot and Kira began “Thank you for having us here tonight and thank you for your support for our pilot project to get rid of styrofoam lunch trays and put a dishwasher in our school!

Polystyrene (plastic type #6), also known as styrofoam, is bad for public health and the environment. It is made from styrene, a known neurotoxin and suspected human carcinogen.
For this reason alone, we think polystyrene should not be used for serving food to school children.”

“But there's more. It turns out polystyrene has a high carbon footprint because it's made from fossil fuels. and it can’t be recycled, and  it’s also nonbiodegradable. So it ends up eventually in our watersheds and oceans where it can have devastating impacts on water life. Even worse in Montgomery County is that we burn our trays, putting poison into our air.
Plus, the disposable polystyrene trays cost our school, alone, about $5000 thousand dollars a year.”

5th Grader Emily continued “ Fortunately there are many alternatives to polystyrene used in food service ware and many communities supporting alternatives. There are about two dozen communities that have banned in one way or another the use of polystyrene for food service ware. Yeah! We are not alone! Alternative products include washable ware (the best environmental choice!) and compostable products such as paper trays or corn-based cutlery.”

Young Activist Jake concluded by noting “We, the YAC , are working on more than just getting rid of styrofoam lunch trays. At the school level, We will be following up with our PTA to extend the No Funds Spent on Polystyrene Pledge to other PTA's in the County and State!
In Takoma Park, we are working on the Mayor and City Council's suggestion that the City go beyond just a City ban on city funds for purchasing Polystyrene Food Service Ware to the businesses in Takoma Park. We are starting a campaign to educate businesses and get a pledge to go "Polystyrene Free". And we have ideas for the whole state too!

We would also like to support the growing student school gardens movement as well...
so we really appreciate receiving the Community Hero award as we promise to keep up the good work!”

Young Activist Club Members are available for interviews, please contact us above.

###

Weast ends year with $32,800,000 surplus

Read the July 26, 2010, memorandum from Superintendent Weast here.


Note the surplus in these two categories:

Category 1, Administration, reflected a surplus of $1,862,479. The surplus is a result of greater than budgeted salary lapse and turnover savings ($900,000) and other savings as a result of the comprehensive expenditure restrictions ($950,000). Savings in Category 1 are 4.4 percent of budgeted expenditures.

Category 2, Mid-level Administration, reflected a surplus of $2,076,598. The surplus is a result of greater than budgeted lapse and turnover savings ($1,600,000), reductions in the acquisition of instructional materials ($200,000), and other savings as a result of the comprehensive expenditure restrictions ($300,000). Savings in Category 2 are 1.6 percent of budgeted expenditures.

And...remember how Superintendent Jerry Weast told the Board of Education that illegal curricular fees could not be eliminated because MCPS didn't have the money to pay for textbooks and instructional supplies? He said the "harsh reality is that MCPS simply would not be able to offer a number of courses that are available to students today..." 


Yet, he eliminated 70% of the fees by adding $1.5 million to the instructional budget. What would it take to eliminate ALL illegal curricular fees? Here's an over $5 million surplus sitting in the Textbook and Instructional Supplies budget. That should do it! 


So exactly why are MCPS students being charged illegal curricular fees?  

Category 4, Textbooks and Instructional Supplies, reflected a surplus of $5,189,453. The surplus is a result of reduced central acquisition of textbooks and instructional materials based on the comprehensive expenditure restrictions ($3,700,000), savings in instructional materials in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs ($900,000), savings in expenditures for staff development training materials ($300,000), and savings in printing and computer supplies ($300,000).

O'Neill & Weast stifle Board discussion

"What's Styrofoam?"

Below is a letter from Board of Education President Patricia O'Neill and Superintendent Jerry Weast to select County Councilmembers. The issue: Styrofoam trays (polystyrene trays) in the Piney Branch Elementary School lunchroom.

There are two things about this letter that are very interesting.

One, O'Neill and Weast attempt to speak for the Board of Education. The Board of Education has never discussed or voted on the pilot proposal from the Piney Branch Young Activists Club to install a dishwasher in their school's kitchen and eliminate Styrofoam trays. Why are O'Neill and Weast so anxious to override the Board of Education and prevent discussion? What are they afraid of?

Two, O'Neill and Weast proudly detail how Styrofoam trays from MCPS lunchrooms are burned in the County incinerator.

ONeill and Weast Response 4-15-10

Polystyrene food service ware ban for Takoma Park?

The Piney Branch Young Activist Club will testify at the Takoma Park City Council meeting and urge members to pass a resolution banning the City from buying and using polystyrene food service ware.

Takoma Park City Council Meeting

Monday at 7:15pm

7600 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912

May 10 Media Release Final

Chicago Students Rebel for Healthier Food

Jaime Oliver on Mrs. Q.

Readers of this blog know that a teacher, Mrs. Q., is blogging about school lunches and that Chef Jamie Oliver has a show on ABC about school lunches and food in a West Virginia town.

Now see what Jamie Oliver has to say about Mrs. Q.!

Jamie Oliver: Blog Exposing School Lunches Is 'Brilliant'

WAMU: Weast says Styrofoam is safe

WAMU:  Grade School Students Reject Styrofoam Lunch Trays

March 24, 2010 - By Elliott Francis

..."Styrofoam is made from styrene which is a neurotoxin and suspected human carcinogen. That means its bad for your brain and we think it causes cancer," says Brooks.

School superintendent Jerry Weast disagrees with that. In a memo issued back in 2009, Weast wrote, the Styrofoam is safe and affordable...

Fox 5: Md. School Kids Say No to Styrofoam in Lunchroom

Resolving the Food Fight - March 23rd

The Parents' Coalition has been informed that MCPS' Director of Facilities will not be in attendance for this event. 

*****

Join Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin, County Councilmember Valerie Ervin, Board of Ed Member Chris Barclay, Takoma Park Mayor Bruce Williams, and the Young Activist Club of Piney Branch Elementary School at... 

 

RESOLVING THE FOOD FIGHT: 

A COMMUNITY FORUM ON LUNCH TRAYS AND HEALTHY SCHOOLS

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

7:00 to 8:30 pm

Piney Branch Elementary School
7510 Maple Ave, Takoma Park

 

If you and your children support healthy lunches and less trash in Montgomery County public schools, this is the event for you!  Let’s fill the room to show strong support for the Young Activist Club’s proposal to pilot washable lunch trays and a dishwasher!

 

Get an update on the project, ask questions, learn about the problems with styrofoam trays and find out what you can do.

 

Visit our website at http://www.youngactivistclub.org and please friend us (yes it’s true!) on our facebook page, “Young Activist Club.”

 

For more information, email us at pbesyaclub@gmail.com or visit us online.

 

Cheers,

Brenda Platt and Nadine Bloch

Co-leaders Young Activist Club, PBES PTA

A Wake-Up Story

A Wake-Up Story from Healthy Child Healthy World on Vimeo.

Resolving the Food Fight: A Community Forum on Lunch Trays and Healthy Schools

The Young Activist Club of Piney Branch Elementary School's PTA is delighted to let you know that our esteemed State Senator Jamie Raskin along with County Councilmember Valerie Ervin have agreed to speak at a timely community forum on the YAC's proposal to fund a pilot dishwasher project at PBES. We invite you to join us that night.

Please hold the date of
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
from 7-8:30 pm
for

Resolving the Food Fight: A Community Forum on Lunch Trays and Healthy Schools

at the Piney Branch Elementary School, All-Purpose Room, 7510 Maple Ave, Takoma Park.

For breaking news and updates about the Pilot Dishwasher Project, visit our website at http://www.youngactivistclub.org/  (Check out our newest additions, the Feb 2010 Rebuttal to MCPS and the musical video of “Goodnite Styrene”) and also please friend us ( yes its true!) on our Facebook page, “Young Activist Club.”

Photo of one day's styrofoam trays for one school from the YAC Photo Gallery.

Tray Chic - Bravo!

On Monday, July 27, 2009, I had the privilege of witnessing heartfelt advocacy at the Montgomery County Board of Education meeting.

The evening's public comment session and most of the energy came from the Young Activist Club, from Piney Branch Elementary School. As mentioned in an earlier post, these kids want to pilot reusable lunchroom trays at their school, and came to the BOE to request approval of their plan.

I never met these kids or their parents before, but their flyer caught my attention. I recalled my first public testimony before the Board of Education, and, although I am a trained advocate, I remembered how reassuring I found those folks who guided me that night, and I went thinking that perhaps I could see if the kids from Piney Branch needed anything.

I arrived at Carver, and saw the group assembled at the picnic benches, with their signs and prepared speeches. Elementary school kids can get restless, but these kids were ready to go. We talked a bit, and they impressed me with their organization and passion. This was from the kids, from their hearts, and all the adults, including several parents, were really just extras - this was the kids project.

We talked about who would be at the Board meeting, and I had them look at the cars in the assigned spaces to see who was present. They already knew that their Board member, Chris Barclay, was out of town, and they were nonplussed.

They also didn't seem fazed by the two security cars parked in front of the entrance to Carver. Someone commented, isn't it great that the BOE is concerned about the kids safety; I didn't want to tell them that the illegally parked security detail is a relatively new and prominent addition to the Carver landscape, and that in all my years of attending meetings at Carver, the first time I saw security personnel was at another student led demonstration in April 2008. I wondered silently, did the Carver folks think these kids were a risk?

The meeting, delayed from its usual starting time of 6 pm by a half hour, did not actually begin until well after 7 pm. The kids made good use of their time. Additional students signed up to testify. Several of the group spoke with a reporter from WAMU, while others spoke to the new Washington Post reporter. They came in to the Board room with more energy than the room has seen in a long time.

And, the Young Activists owned room. The usual administrators from MCPS were joined by students from other schools who wanted to support their efforts. The PB Young Activists also entranced the Joseph children, who were at the meeting to support their father who was promoted to a position in the Office of School Performance.

The testimony? You can see it for yourself right here. Its in three sections, because the PC Tech Team hasn't quite figured out how to make clips longer than 10 minutes. Nine kids and two adults testified, and did a great job of telling their story, staying on the facts, and dispelling the myths about the costs and benefits of their proposed project.
Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3 (includes BOE discussion)

The Board's reaction? Not quite silence, but almost. Even the Board members who usually ask good questions just smiled and said, good job kids - much like the parents who cheer on the soccer teams on weekends. Did they pay attention or even understand that this was not a purely academic exercise? Only Phil Kaufman followed up with meaningful questions on topic. This is not the first time the Board of Education has heard a request to get rid of styrofoam trays - just this past May 26, 2009, Aiden Chambers from Walt Whitman High School testified in support of her request to get rid of the trays at all schools in the county. Her testimony is on the BOE webpage - go to minute 15.55 of the meeting webcast to hear for yourself.

Thanks, Piney Branch Young Activists, for taking time out of your summer to come over to Rockville and show the folks in Carver what you have to offer. You've shown them the best of what our school system can do - but don't let the Carver folks off yet. Even as many of you move on to middle schools this fall, keep putting the pressure on the folks in the Central Office to implement your pilot. After all, we have a lot of elementary schools in the county, and we should be encouraging innovation and politically correct environmental lessons. Learning comes in all sorts of forms. Sometimes, we need to remind the adults that success is measured in more than multiple choice and short essay exams.

WAMU: MD Child Activists Lobby Education Board

MD Child Activists Lobby Education Board

Posted using ShareThis

Tray Chic: Students offer MCPS a Lesson about Leadership

For Immediate Release

Event: Monday, July 27th, 2009; 6:00pm

Photo & Interview Opportunity: Youth, Leadership & Climate Focus

Contact: Nadine Bloch or Brenda Platt pbesyaclub@gmail.com

Tray Chic: Students Offer MCPS

a Lesson about Leadership

in a Changing Climate

9—12 year olds to testify at Board of Education Meeting

Mini-Rally preceding

WHEN: Monday, July 27th, 2009; 6:00pm Mini Rally

6:30pm Public Comment Period

WHERE: Carver Educational Services Center, 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, MD 20850

WHAT: The Young Activist Club at Piney Branch Elementary School will take the podium to testify in support of getting rid of styrofoam lunch trays and for installation of a dishwasher and reusable lunch trays and flatware.

WHO: Elementary School students, concerned and supportive citizens

The Young Activist Club (rising 4^th, 5^th, 6^th graders from Piney Branch Elementary School)

Montgomery Council Board of Education Members

WHY:

H- (rising 6th grader): Our school uses styrofoam lunch trays that are terrible for the environment and are made from a neurotoxin, which is bad for our bodies. County school administrators think that we shouldn’t put a dishwasher into our school because it will cost money and there will be costs to pay someone to operate the dishwasher...But they already spend money to buy the toxic styrofoam lunch trays, drive them to the school, and for school workers to handle them and put them in the garbage, and then to ship them away to the incinerator, and burn them. We think the County should pay for workers not trash. Plus they have failed to realize that the Young Activist Club has raised more than $10,000 dollars, so we don’t need money from the County to help us in this pilot project. If we were in charge of economics lessons, we would always add the costs that the county isn’t including, like air pollution, water pollution, kid’s health and more.

J- (rising 6th grader): The County's estimate that the cost of installing a washer is $57,000 is nonsense. The young activists researched this, and the cost was not that much. According to our research the cost for a reconditioned washer is $2,000 to $5,000.

A- (rising 5th grader): Why do schools buy styrofoam trays? Not to save money. Or to save anything. It actually costs more to buy styrofoam than to buy 350 reusable trays and a dishwasher. Some people think paper trays are the solution. They are wrong. It is only a little friendlier to the earth. It would eat up trees and still be thrown out and not be reusable. .... So I ask you why? Why do we spend money on our own death?

C- (rising 6th grader): Our simple, quick and easy scheme to overthrow the mass destruction of unhealthy styrofoam trays is to replace them with hard plastic trays... At this point, we have the support of the Takoma Park City Council. We attended a hearing and spoke to the Mayor, sent letters to officials, and talked with one School Board Member. Will the County Council and School Board join the City Council in supporting the Young Activists' cries of protest for a change--possibly a better one?

Young Activist Club Members will be available for interviews at the Board meeting.

(please see spreadsheets below for specifics on cost analysis.)

YACvMCPSCostComparisonbpedits_2_

Thanks to the Young Activist Club for forwarding their Press Release and supporting cost analysis to the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland blog! (The names of the students have been redacted.)

Letter in support of Young Activists Club pilot project from Councilmember Valerie Ervin to Superintendent Weast and Board of Education President Brandman.

UPDATE July 27, 2009, Baltimore Sun: Saving the Environment with Plastic Lunch Trays

UPDATE July 28, 2009, WAMU: MD Child Activists Lobby Education Board

UPDATE July 29, 2009: Tray Chic, Bravo! with video of Young Activists Club public comment to MCPS Board of Education.