PolyVision® teams with Ford Motor Company and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s” Paige Hemmis to equip school with eco-friendly classroom solutions
SUWANEE, GA (September 22, 2008) Thanks to Ford, a newly renovated elementary school in Oregon features whiteboards from PolyVision Corporation as part of its push to go green. The school—Kelly Creek Elementary in Gresham, Oregon—was chosen as the winner of Ford Motor Company’s Educate to Escape, a green school makeover campaign in partnership with ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” PolyVision, an educational technology company based in Suwanee, donated 43 of its industry-leading, environmentally certified whiteboards to replace aging, dusty chalkboards in the school.
The eco-friendly makeover, completed this week, takes Kelly Creek Elementary a step closer to its goal of achieving LEED-EB certification, a nationally recognized green building rating system. PolyVision’s e3 environmental ceramicsteel™ whiteboard surface, is a natural fit for the project, as it is the world’s first ecologically intelligent writing surface to receive Silver Cradle to Cradle™ certification, an environmental designation awarded by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, a consulting firm specializing in “eco-effective” design. In addition to installing PolyVision whiteboards, with the help of Ford Kelly Creek Elementary overhauled its entire playground to make it sustainable, kid-friendly and accessible to children with disabilities—a large portion of the school’s student body. As part of the $250,000 makeover, the school also installed updated water fixtures, ventilation systems and flooring. The school will be tested by LEED-EB officials in hopes of being the first school in its state to achieve the certification for existing buildings.
“PolyVision is committed to supporting the efforts of schools to bring sustainability and eco-friendliness to the classroom,” said Bob Crain, PolyVision General Manager. “We hope Kelly Creek Elementary will serve as a model for the steps—small and large—that schools can take to move toward making learning environments healthy places for all.”
PolyVision believes education is about a better world and preparing students to be smarter citizens, better workers and stronger leaders. PolyVision equips classrooms with sustainable solutions, and is pleased to partner with Ford and Extreme Makeover Home Edition to assist in the greening of Kelly Creek Elementary, a school passionate about integrating education with lessons about environmental responsibility.
“Green living has always been a priority at Kelly Creek Elementary, and the students and staff were thrilled to be picked by the Ford team to win this makeover,” said Bob Goerke, principal of Kelly Creek Elementary. “We’re proud to spread the message about green living to other schools across the U.S.”
For more information on PolyVision products, including our e3 environmental ceramicsteel and interactive classroom solutions, go to www.polyvision.com. To find out more about the Ford Motor Company Educate to Escape and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” green school makeover campaign, please visit www.fordvehicles.com/educatetoescape.
About PolyVision, a Steelcase Company
PolyVision equips classrooms for success, integrating time-tested tools with interactive technologies to bring learning to life. For more than 50 years, we’ve been building on our history of classroom experience with chalkboards, classic whiteboards and the best writing surfaces, and we’ve gone interactive to meet today’s students in their world. At the end of the day, we believe education is about a better world. Whether it’s launching the industry’s first multimedia interactive whiteboard or developing the world’s number one e3 environmental ceramicsteel™ surface, our innovative tools bring flexibility, simplicity and sustainability to the classroom. For more information about PolyVision and our products, visit www.polyvision.com.