Orville Wright Elementary School

Our Earth Club🌎🌈🌞

Information Coming Soon!

Teacher Coordinator

In March 2023, the Board approved "Sustainability Teacher Champions" funding at all 34 school sites to establish and lead environmental initiatives. At Wright Elementary, 2nd-grade teacher Meagan Pethtel took on the challenge in addition to her other campus roles. Sustainability Leads will form environmental clubs and guide students through projects focusing on: energy conservation, waste reduction, and air monitoring.

Contact: Meagan Pethtel

💡Energy Conservation

A full-time Energy Education Specialist contracted through Cenergistic monitors Wright's utility bills and conducts in-person audits to verify HVAC run times and proper lighting usage. The specialist also helps optimize systems to ensure they run efficiently.

Cenergistic provides ongoing training and support, including student engagement opportunities such as "Energy Audits" and "Utility Bill Review." Visit the District Energy Conservation page to learn more!

If you would like more information about this program, contact the Director of Sustainability, Gilbert Blue Feather Rosas, at Rosas.G@mcs4kids.com.

MCS ENERGY STAR® School 2023

Modesto City Schools participates in the EPA’s ENERGY STAR® Certification Program. School sites are evaluated and receive a score ranking. A minimum score of 75 means that school is in the top 25% of comparable buildings. In 2023, Wright Elementary received a score of 91.

View O. Wright's Energy STAR® Profile

Air Quality and Health

UC Merced and CCAC Study📚Purple Air Monitor Program

An air quality monitoring project partnership is underway with UC Merced professor Dr. Asa Bradman and the Central California Asthma Collaborative (CCAC)! MCS received 35 Purple Air Monitors from UC Merced in the fall of 2023 and installed a monitor at all 34 school sites, plus the Transportation Yard. To learn more about the UC Merced air quality research programs, visit: https://healthyair.ucmerced.edu.672elmp01.blackmesh.com/

Through its SJVAir project, CCAC has deployed over 400 air monitors across the San Joaquin Valley. All of our Purple Air Monitors were calibrated by CCAC, and through its network, you can sign up for text alerts or use its mobile app to receive alerts about the air quality around your school!

What do the Monitors Measure???

The air monitors determine the air quality based on tiny particles called particulate matter (PM) 2.5, which means that it is particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller! Although PM 2.5 is not visible, when there is a lot of it in the air, it becomes a problem because we can inhale them deep into our lungs, which can cause or exacerbate asthma and other health problems in children, the elderly, and those with other respiratory (breathing) and heart conditions. The Central Valley has some of the highest PM 2.5 levels in the United States!

We hope to initiate after-school programs and involve environmental clubs and classes in the monitoring and tracking process.

Through consistent tracking, the air monitors will develop a baseline for emissions and local air quality. Students can use software like Excel to find correlations in air quality due to site location and surroundings, weather, time of year, and even time of day. Air monitors will gauge the annual difference in air quality levels from the baseline. Those results will be posted on the district’s Sustainability webpage as data is collected.

No Idling Campaign

Idling vehicles create unnecessary, harmful pollution that affect students’ health. The message is simple: While you wait for your child, please turn off your engine. Idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it.

Resource: Healthy Air Living Schools Program Additional Materials

San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District: Real-Time Air Advisory Network

RAAN uses actual, real-time air-quality data taken directly from the nearest air monitor to help you evaluate air quality and determine the right time for outdoor activities. It also provides Real-Time Outdoor Activity Risk (ROAR) guidelines based on five different air-quality levels.

Look up current air quality near you!

Sustainable Outdoor Learning Environment (SOLE)

Wright Elementary has a solar outdoor classroom or SOLE that will generate approximately 60,000 kWh annually. To learn more about solar energy at MCS, check out the District Green Infrastructure tab!