In 2016, Community School was selected by Idaho Power to become the next Renewable School in Bonneville Environmental Foundation’s (BEF) Solar 4R Schools program. Thanks to generous support and funding from the utility’s Green Power Program participants and project match provided by Community School, the school installed a 15 kW PV system on the school which is estimated to cover seven to eight percent of the campus’ electric use. Educators at the school also received a customized renewable energy teacher training from Solar 4R Schools in Fall 2015, complete with hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on Solar4RSchools.org. To optimize integration of the renewable energy science and technology content, every aspect of the teacher support provided by Solar 4R Schools was customized to the unique focus of the school community, including topics covered in the teacher training as well as our recommendations for activities and science kit materials. In early 2016 the school commissioned the PV system, and you can view the live solar energy production from the system.
Community School is a pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade school nestled in the mountains in Sun Valley. It a college preparatory school whose current enrollment is approaching 400 students. The school has a strong outdoor program that is integrated to all grades. This becomes clear from our mission: "From our campus to the wilderness, Community School's mission is to inspire students to think critically, engage confidently, embrace challenges, and lead impactful, purposeful lives." According to Scott Runkel, the project's teacher champion, “This project shows that if you have a good idea and get enough people working together, you can get it done.” Scott adds, “My ultimate hope is that our school becomes carbon neutral one day, and we ‘walk the walk’ of our environmental vision statement and what we teach in our classes. I want to help the school lead the way.”