The Challenge
Tight budgets and aging facilities have left most school districts in the Tennessee Valley searching for ways to cut energy costs and find outside resources for needed infrastructure improvements.
The Solution
TVA and its partners created School Uplift, a cohort-style training program that promotes energy savings through operational and behavioral changes. Participation in the program helps K-12 public schools save money so they can reallocate their limited resources where it matters most: educating children.
Taking a holistic approach, TVA shape School Uplift was created to be an inclusive program that engages the entire school community — students, teachers, faculty, and staff — through strategic partnerships with community and state-level stakeholders, such as Tennessee’s Energy Efficient Schools Initiative.
This approach also developed classroom content and activities designed to educate students on energy efficient practices and provide teachers with value-added learning opportunities. Outside the classroom, we have provided training, resource kits, and reference materials that guide maintenance staff with actionable recommendations for optimizing building performance.
The Results
In the end, TVA was integral to the creation and management of need-based grants that enable awarded schools to make critical facility upgrades, as well as gamification awards for schools that have deepened school-wide engagement in the program.
Through partnerships, trainings, impactful grants, and community engagement activities, schools in the Tennessee Valley make high marks when it comes to energy efficiency.
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