By Lily Chen, Vanessa Chen and Ashley Du, Co-News-Editor and Staff Reporters
During spring 2020, then-sophomore Aishi Debroy founded Sunrise Berwyn, a local chapter of an organization called Sunrise Movement dedicated to involving young people in fighting global climate change. Her goal was simple: to raise awareness about the climate crisis and advocate for sustainability in the local community.
“The inciting incident (for creating Sunrise Berwyn) was when I went to India one time in middle school and I watched this massive flood,” Debroy said. “It really reminded me of the very tangible effects of climate change. So, when I came back to the U.S., I had this very big desire to do something in my own community.”
Later, Debroy joined classmates Lilly Shui and Clara Steege as they helped write the Renewable Energy Resolution and advocated for its approval. On Nov. 22, 2021, the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District school board passed the resolution, making a commitment to provide “a sustainable, healthy future for its students and staff by making tangible changes to mitigate climate change.”
The document outlines plans to transition the district’s electricity use to 100% renewable energy by 2025; implement renewable energy sources for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), cooking and transportation efforts by 2040; consider ways to incorporate more sustainability-focused topics into the district’s curricula; and prioritize renewable energy and sustainability in future construction projects and renovations.
“Schools are just like any other member of the community. We have a responsibility to make sure we’re using our resources efficiently, and we’re beholden to taxpayers in that regard,” school board president Todd Kantorczyk said. “That includes things like electricity and whatnot, and that we’re using it in a sustainable way so future generations can enjoy the same sort of resources that we’re enjoying now.”
During the Nov. 19, 2024 school board facilities committee meeting, school board business manager Arthur McDonnell reported that TESD had only reached 10% renewable energy sources for electricity at that time. The Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act of 2004 mandates that electric distribution companies and electric generation suppliers — such as PECO — reach at least 8% electric energy from tier 1 renewable energy sources by 15 years after the legislation’s effective date.
According to the meeting notes, the facilities committee “decided to transition to 100% renewable sources for electricity beginning the 25/26 fiscal year” in July 2025. At the meeting, McDonnell said that the switch would increase electricity costs by $42,000 for the first year and $94,000 by the end of two years.
Members also discussed the option of transitioning from 10% renewable energy to 100% for the remainder of the 2024-25 fiscal year for $22,000, according to McDonnell. Facilities committee chair Dr. Robert Singh said that members felt that switching partway through the fiscal year would not make “economic sense” because the district would renegotiate and pay for another contract in June for the 2025-26 fiscal year. He said that the committee will discuss the matter in upcoming meetings until it finalizes the contract with the district’s electricity supplier.
“We just need some more time to see what that cost will be and the energy supplier hasn’t provided that yet — especially with the new (federal) administration coming in and what energy sources are going to be on the forefront,” Singh said. “So, there’s still a lot of things that we don’t know between now and June, but that doesn’t mean that we’re not going to do it for the 25-26 school year. We’ll get it done.”
District targets additional aspects of sustainability plans
Aligning with the Renewable Energy Resolution’s commitments, the district has implemented various sustainable features on school properties and developed further environmental-based goals.
As part of the athletic fields project, the district plans to install photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of the field house. The district aims to publish a web page detailing the output and performance of the photovoltaic solar panel systems on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
To help fund the solar panels, the district will receive money from the Solar for Schools Grant Program, which the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development established to reduce the cost of integrating solar energy systems into schools across the commonwealth.
“Contracts and engineering approvals are in place, with the installation scheduled between March 2025 and October 2025. The project aims to reduce the school’s reliance on conventional energy by generating solar power,” district Director of Equity and Public Programs Dr. Oscar Torres wrote in an email. “This grant will support the district’s commitment to sustainable resources. We look forward to the benefits this project will have on our energy goals.”
Over the last three years, the district has also renovated schools’ HVAC systems to be more energy efficient and, in turn, produce a smaller carbon footprint. Starting on June 19, the last schools — Beaumont, New Eagle, T/E Middle and Conestoga — will undergo HVAC renovations.
“It’s one of those things that are improving the district without being something that you can necessarily see from the outside,” Singh said. “People can see the new elementary school, people will see the new athletic fields. But there’s a whole sort of (system) that supports that.”
Additionally, TESD has committed to more sustainable efforts through its 2022 Strategic Plan, such as providing more sustainable infrastructure and resources to accommodate its evolving needs. As it continues to pursue the sustainability goals, the district aspires to receive a Green Ribbon Schools award from the U.S. Department of Education that recognizes schools, districts and postsecondary institutions for their sustainable efforts.
“We’ve pursued the first item on sustainability (in the Strategic Plan): a robust process to pursue various avenues and consider innovative solutions,” school board ad hoc legislative committee chair Maryann Piccioni said. “That’s a very strong statement to make as the first item on our sustainability goals, so earning that Green Ribbon School District designation will provide us with the parameters to show that we have fulfilled as much of the sustainability Strategic Plan as possible.”
District, township work together to further environmental efforts
The Renewable Energy Resolution was initially based on a similar resolution the Radnor Township School District passed in August 2020. Debroy, Shui and Steege collaborated with members of the Tredyffrin Township Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) to write a version tailored to TESD and worked with the school board facilities committee to finalize the now adopted resolution.
“In the beginning, we didn’t know how impactful a resolution could be. In our journey, we often felt like, ‘Is this going to actually make a difference? (Does) what we’re doing actually have long term effects?’” Debroy said. “I wanted to help the global climate crisis but also make a tangible effect on my community. I was just so grateful for this big opportunity: the three of us to write the resolution and try to get it passed.”
Throughout the process, the members of Tredyffrin EAC guided the students by providing advice and resources on sustainability options as well as resolution writing. The Tredyffrin EAC is a group of volunteers that the Tredyffrin Township Board of Supervisors appoints to help improve the township’s environmental quality through advising citizens and organizations on sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.
In September 2019, the council succeeded in helping advocate for the township’s passage of a resolution that commits to transitioning to 100% renewable electricity by 2035 and in all energy sectors by 2040. To promote the resolution, the EAC hosted a “clean energy tour” that highlighted clean energy efforts in the community. According to Tredyffrin EAC member Jennifer Cox, the group hoped to encourage other local organizations to increase their environmental efforts and felt that it was important to help the Conestoga students
push for a similar resolution in the school district.
“That message coming from the students is so much stronger than anybody else telling the school district what to do. If it comes from within, and the students are pressing and saying, ‘This is what we want,’ the school district will listen so much more,” Cox said.
In the past, the EAC has also worked with TESD students and administrators on initiatives such as stormwater management. In 2021, then-seniors Sofia Khugaeva and Keira Celebuski worked with EAC members to test the conductivity and salinity of nearby Crabby Creek. The goal of the project was to investigate if using salt on local roads created unlivable conditions for Pennsylvania trout and other wildlife. Over the course of several months, Khugaeva and Celebuski sampled the water at several points of the creek, before ending their project with a presentation to the EAC on their conclusion: The salt created unlivable conditions in the creek.
“That project showed me that even though we were high school students, these important elected officials at the EAC were open to listening to us and taking our suggestions,” Khugaeva said.
The Tredyffrin EAC provided equipment and assisted in data analysis for the project. Since then, the group has continued the stormwater management initiative through other efforts, such as monitoring the biodiversity levels in local streams and installing rain gardens and
rain gauges.
In 2010, the district and Tredyffrin Township also collaborated to build the Hillside green roof and funded the project through a Growing Greener grant administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as well as a matching grant from the Valley Creek Trustee Council. By encouraging plant growth and facilitating efficient drainage, the roof reduces the volume of stormwater runoff and moderates temperatures in the winter and summer.
Jonathan Wilson is the Tredyffrin EAC chair and feels that the group’s efforts for sustainability and the environment within the community have been beneficial throughout the years — such as TESD’s commitments for sustainability and renewable energy.
“We’re going through this interesting energy transition where we’re moving to more renewable (energy), and in a lot of places, it’s become significantly cheaper than a fossil fuel source,” Wilson said. “It’s a good thing for schools and for the public because it can both benefit everybody’s pocketbook and balance sheet, but also you reduce the costs that come from excess carbon emissions and pollution.”
Students lead clubs, community efforts to combat climate crisis
The district has also collaborated with clubs to continue its sustainability efforts. The Greening ’Stoga Task Force, a club focused on spreading sustainability within the school and community, has taken various strides toward the goal.
It audited Devon Elementary School last year, when its members, including senior and co-president Shriya Prakash, analyzed the school’s different environmental impacts. This year, the club audited Beaumont in February and plans to audit Hillside.
“We’re looking at the environmental impacts of elementary schools in multiple different areas, so in consumption and waste, water, energy use, food, all of that kind of stuff,” Prakash said. “We come together with all of these to (create) a report, which is basically what we found and some recommendations to make it better.”
Prakash and other club members attended the school board’s strategic planning committee meeting on Jan. 30, where they presented their audit findings and suggestions for improving the elementary schools’ sustainability to district administrators. In addition, the club is hanging up posters with eco-friendly messages around Conestoga as well as placing collection boxes to recycle pens and other writing utensils.
By working with the district, Greening ’Stoga Task Force and other students have led the initiative to increase awareness of the environment and sustainability efforts.
“I feel like we’re getting to a really pivotal point where the effects of climate change (are) starting to become irreversible, and if we don’t take action now, it’s going to reach a certain point where there’s nothing we can really do about it,” Shui said. “It’s really important to think about not just our futures but future generations. If we aren’t able to live sustainably, how are future generations supposed to do that?”
Lily Chen can be reached at [email protected].
Vanessa Chen can be reached at [email protected].
Ashley Du can be reached at [email protected].
