Beyond the School Gates: The Role of County and Local Partnerships in Environmental and Climate Action in Schools

Room: 208
Time: 10:30am – 11:30am

School districts are powerful drivers of climate action—but they do not operate alone. The broader county context, including both direct investments and indirect conditions, can either accelerate or constrain school-based sustainability efforts. This session presents a new sub-project of the Data Initiative for Environmental and Climate Action in California’s TK–12 Schools focused on how county-level factors shape district capacity to act. These include climate emergency declarations, local sustainability plans, and County Office of Education initiatives, as well as demographic and political conditions.

Using statewide data and county profiles, we explore patterns where supportive contexts spark strong school action, where schools move forward despite limited county support, and where opportunities remain untapped. Participants will leave with insights into how counties and schools can work in synergy—and strategies for building partnerships with County Offices of Education and local governments to strengthen environmental literacy and climate resilience.

This session offers a unique, data-driven perspective on how county contexts shape school-based environmental and climate action. Attendees will explore real examples of where supportive counties amplify school efforts, where schools innovate despite limited support, and practical strategies for building partnerships with County Offices of Education, local governments, and community organizations to strengthen sustainability and accelerate climate action. This session provides an important opportunity to learn how to leverage county and regional partnerships that will help scale environmental literacy and sustainability across California’s schools.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:

• Pinpoint county-level levers—such as climate action plans, sustainability offices, or COE environmental literacy coordinators—that can directly support school facilities upgrades, curriculum initiatives, or community partnerships.
• Analyze county data and profiles to identify where supportive conditions exist (or are missing) and how these conditions affect districts’ and schools’ ability to implement environmental and climate action initiatives.
• Discover examples of successful county–school collaboration, including how districts have advanced climate action when counties provide strong support, and how they’ve innovated when county support is limited.
• Develop strategies to build or strengthen partnerships with County Offices of Education, local governments, and community organizations (including field trip providers) to advance sustainability goals across campus operations, curriculum, and student experiences.

Speakers:

Andra Yeghoian, Chief Innovation Officer, Ten Strands
Sarah Whiting, Director of Client Engagement and Data Science, Ten Strands
Julie Hilborn, Director of Environmental Literacy and Sustainability, San Mateo County Office of Education
Tamara Basepayne, Director of Outdoor Education and STEM Programs, San Joaquin County Office of Education
Amity Sandage, Environmental Literacy Coordinator, Santa Cruz County Office of Education

---