Students and staff at Friendship Junior High showed they have the power of persuasion with the recent addition of solar panels to the school’s roof.

A group of Friendship students belonging to an after-school club called “eCybermission” work on ideas to solve real-life community problems and issues. The club’s team members thought it would benefit students to learn how solar panels function and incorporate this knowledge into their Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum. PLTW is a 21st Century curriculum that incorporates science, technology, engineering and math into learning.

To gain funding, now-retired teacher Linda Schwinn, the PLTW instructor who taught energy and environmental issues to all 6th graders, completed a detailed application process via the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation’s website, www.illinoiscleanenergy.org.

In May of 2015, Mrs. Schwinn and her students were pleased to learn that Friendship was selected to receive a $7,000 grant for the purchase of solar panels. In May of 2016, the panels were installed and will begin seeing use next school year.

“While these solar panels will only fund a small portion of the school’s electric bill, they can be used to educate students about alternative energy sources that are renewable and non-polluting,” said Schwinn. “I feel it’s only a beginning for using solar energy to power our schools while also teaching our students.”

Dr. Josh Carpenter, Executive Director of Student Growth and Accountability said, “I’m so proud the student team and Ms. Schwinn initiated this project and had their efforts rewarded with such a significant grant. For years to come, students will continue to experience the benefit from those efforts and will experience first-hand the power of solar energy.“