The Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (C-FB ISD) believes that conservation education is a team effort and is the key to making a lasting impact on our world.   Through training and education, children become teachers and can model for parents and adults environmentally-friendly habits and change mindsets about conservation and recycling. Lasting change comes when students, employees, and families begin to think differently about the environment.

During the 2007-2008 school year, C-FB ISD schools recycled over 500 tons of paper which saved:

• 8, 500 trees
• 3,500,000 gallons of water
• 1,500 cubic yards of landfill space
• 2,000,000 kw hours of electricity
• Enough electricity to heat a home for 3,000 months
• Enough electricity to run a TV for 20,500 hours

How did the schools in C-FB ISD accomplish this task?  A Team Effort.  
Students at 20 campuses formed Green Teams and participated in recycling and energy conservation programs.  Amazingly, 500 tons of paper equates to 41.5 pounds of paper recycled for each of the 26,000 students in our district. 

On May 29, at R. L. Turner High School, 1600 Josey Lane, Carrollton, the Green Teams from all district campuses celebrated their conservation accomplishments with an awards ceremony and pep rally.  Cheerleaders from the local high schools led students in cheers about recycling and energy conservation.  C-FB ISD joined Abitibi Consolidated to bring “Pepper the Paper Retriever" (the Recycling Dog Mascot) to the event to welcome and congratulate the students.  The winning campuses will received trophies for their success.  R. L. Turner High School won the prize for recycling the most paper this year.  All C-FB ISD Green Team students received prizes and lots of praise for their work in saving the environment. 

Energy Winners:

1st place Janie Stark Elementary

2nd place BarbaraBush Middle School

3rd place R. E. Good Elementary

4th place DaveBlairIntermediateSchool

Recycling Winners:

1st place CreekviewHigh School

2nd place Las Colinas Elementary

3rd place CharlesM.Blalack  Middle School

4th place DaleB.DavisElementary School

Overall Winner / Best in District:

R. L.TurnerHigh School

Energy Conservation in C-FB ISD - A TEAMS Approach

C-FB ISD programs such as Green Teams, Watt Watchers, Kitchen-Watt Watchers, and TEAMS are just a few examples on how the district has educated staff, students and the general public about energy conservation best practices. C-FB ISD touts its Energy Star Rating of 80% and attributes its efforts to energy conservation education, good engineering, and technology.

One of the ways that C-FB ISD conserves energy is through engineering. The District uses T-5 lighting in many of our areas, automatic flush valves for water controls, and HVAC roof top units in all but one of our fifty-six buildings. Engineering is one of the single most important factors to designing and maintaining an energy efficient building. 

Technology has helped to reduce the energy usage in C-FB ISD. As a technology-rich District, we continually look for new ways to save energy. The District invested in a software program that turns off 90% of the computers within the district at the end of the day. Another software package,Direct Digital Controls, allows the District to control the temperature in approximately 90% of the HVAC roof top units and lighting in our buildings.

C-FB ISD believes that education plays a major role in changing people’s behaviors to focus on energy conservation. We have developed several programs to teach all staff, teachers and students ways to help conserve energy and recycle. TEAMS  was established to help educate employees and the general public so that they could have a better understanding of environmental and safety issues within the schools and particularly in the classrooms.  TEAMS members from the various departments involved visit schools and work collectively to solve issues in a timely and efficient manner. The acronym “TEAMS” stands for the following: 

• “T” Tools for Schools which includes Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
• “E” Energy Efficiency
• “A” Asbestos
• “M” Moisture Management
• “S” Safety and Security 

Other conservation education programs include the Watt-Watchers and CFB-Kitchen Watchers. Six years ago, Watt-Watchers began educating students on conservation. Students are encouraged throughout the day to give reminders to the teachers to turn off their computer monitors, TVs and lights when no one is in the room. The CFB-Kitchen Watchers program encourages the Food Service Department to conserve energy as well. CFB-Kitchen Watchers initiatives has helped to reduce the pre-heating times using kitchen equipment and has reduced the overall energy consumption for C-FB ISD kitchens.

C-FB ISD is confident that through consistent, practical conservation education and teamwork we can make a difference saving our environment.