Students at Bucks County Alternative School (BCAS) took the initiative to create a school-wide paper recycling program. They started out with a neighborhood inventory with walking tours and they conducted and video taped interviews with a Penn DOT worker, school staff and administrators. The students then voted for the issue on which they wanted to focus. Ideas ranged from sewer system infrastructure to graffiti, but they decided to tackle recycling at their school.
The students toured the Tulleytown Landfill, collected data on local recycling policy and habits, studied the history of recycling and collaborated with BCAS staff to create a recycling program, complete with incentives that the students funded with grants they received from Earth Force and the Staples Foundation For Learning. In order to make the program successful, the students had to present their ideas at a staff meeting for approval.
“It was the first time I did public speaking outside of court,” a tenth grade student happily joked after finishing the successful presentation. Once armed with full staff and administrative support, Mr. Dennis Irons’ students hosted a kickoff celebration on April 10
th that included music, games, speakers from Waste Management and Earth Force, and prizes for the best decorated recycling can on campus. “We’ve never had a school wide assembly organized by students before,” said principal Steve Schumacher. “I’m really impressed and surprised by how much they’ve done.” Once the recycling dumpster was full for the first time, Mr. Irons’s class celebrated by throwing an ice cream party for the whole school.
At the end of the school year, Mr. Irons was voted by his peers as the “Teacher who had the Most Impact.” Congratulations Mr. Irons!