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Congressman Cummings Visits Green School

BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Dream green. That's the theme of one of the city's newest schools in Southwest Baltimore where Congressman Elijah Cummings paid a visit Monday morning.

Andrea Fujii explains what makes this school so special.

Students say it's an honor for Maryland Congressman Cummings to visit their school.

"This is my first time meeting Elijah Cummings and I've wanted to meet him for a long time," said seventh-grader James Jackson.

About 187 sixth- and seventh-graders attend the Green Street Academy, which opened last fall. It's the first public school in Baltimore to prepare students for careers in the green economy, including fields like construction, energy, and environmental sustainability.

One of the students' first projects was to help build a self-sustaining koi pond.

"They can be part of the process to make their very environment safer and better and cleaner. That's significant," said Cummings.

With green plants, green slogans and recycling bins in every class, students take home what they learn.

"We recycle bottles, paper, and stuff like that," said seventh-grader Shaude Wilson.

"We're a green community and we talk about our environment and how we keep it clean and how we recycle," said Jackson.

The students hope to spread these lessons as they grow up.

"To recycle more and to learn more and to do more stuff to save the world," said Wilson.

The Green Street Academy hopes to expand to include grades eight through 12 in the next five years.

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