GOLETA, Calif. (May 6, 2003) – A multi-age class of third through sixth graders from Goleta Family School is 1 of 5 state finalists, out of 3,000 contestants, for the 2003 Jiminy Cricket’s Environmentality Challenge.

Goleta Family School teacher, Teri Briggs, and her 28 students will be honored at a special celebration and ceremony on Friday, May 9th. Karen Manor, a board member of the (CEEIN) California Environmental Interagency Network, and John Hayashi, President of the State Board of Food and Agriculture, will present the Award at the Brandon School Campus at 2:00 p.m.

The Jiminy Cricket’s Environmentality Challenge, a statewide competition that is designed to promote environmental awareness, encourages students to learn about the environment and take responsible action to protect our natural resources. Participants in the Challenge engage in a class project that targets real-world environmental concerns. The class develops and implements an action plan to address a particular issue. The students describe their project results in a portfolio that is judged competitively on a regional and statewide basis.

Ms. Briggs’ class spearheaded a community recycling and waste reduction project centering on the four R’s: reducing, reusing, recycling and rot. The project involved the class starting an urban farm, a worm bin, weekly farmers market and publishing a monthly newspaper. In addition, they adopted a classroom from another school so they could teach their peers about recycling. The group then presented their project to school officials and local businesses.

Founded 22 years ago, Goleta Family School, a tuition-free K-6 program within the Goleta Union School District, provides a child-centered educational environment, which fosters creativity, independent thinking and cooperative social skills. To learn more about our school, visit our web site at www.goletafamilyschool.org