Glenbrook District 225 was the only school district in Illinois to be named as the Illinois 2026 Green Ribbon Schools honoree by the Illinois Green Alliance (IGA). Receiving a Green Ribbon means getting recognition from the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and the Illinois Green Alliance.
The Illinois Green Alliance is a membership-based, non-profit organization that works to promote sustainability and green buildings in order to improve the quality of life for everyone in Illinois. There is also acelebration at the IGA Green School Virtual Celebration, press releases, and gifts, including sponsored items and/or monetary donations, according to illinoisgreenalliance.org.
To be considered for the award after applying for it, a school must fall under three pillars: reducing environmental impact and costs, improving health and wellness, and environmental and sustainable education, according to illinoisgreenalliance.org.
The Green Ribbon is focused on energy
efficiency and having good environmental practices that expand into the overall environment of the school building, Superintendent Dr. R.J. Gravel said.
“The individuals who judged what we did said, ‘Hey, what you’re doing is commendable and unique compared to other folks in the state,’” Gravel said. “Since earning the Green Ribbon, we have talked to nearly 15 other school districts who want to replicate what we are doing.”
A big part of our Green Ribbon recognition is that a health center was opened at both South three years ago and at North this past summer to help reduce barriers in order to promote positive health, Gravel said. Having a Health Center that is open to anyone and supports students and staff at no cost has let us go beyond most health centers in other high schools, Gravel added.
“We want everyone to feel good, and if they are struggling or ill, we do not want them to ignore it,” Gravel said. “We want them to get help so they can get better. But we also want them to get help so that they don’t make others ill.”
The other contributing factor is working hard to improve our energy efficiency, Gravel said. One way we have improved our energy efficiency is with the Energy Storage System (ESS), which is a battery that is charged or drained to best support the power grid and the surrounding community of Glenview, Northbrook, and Northfield Township when there is a lot of electrical or power demand, Gravel explained.
“We are trying to help out by being a little bit of a micropower plant, where we will store power and release it when the community needs it,” Gravel said.
The energy-efficient work does not only benefit the environment, but it also pays directly back to our schools and budgets, Gravel said. Each one of the batteries installed generates $250,000 a year in revenue, Gravel said.
Receiving a Green Ribbon benefits the district, environment, and our community, Gravel said. It instills pride in many families, encouraging them to stay in the area for long periods of time, Gravel add-
ed. It also provides awareness to raise community confidence in what we are doing, Gravel said. It demonstrates our efforts of innovation, making sure we have an environmentally friendly facility, Principal Dr. Barbara Georges said.
“I was excited, I was very proud of us,” Georges said. “We do a lot of new and creative things that other people don’t try, and it was really nice to see the state recognize that and honor us for it.”
