Jackson Middle School

Thanks to the generous support of Gerding Edlen, Portland General Electric, Energy Trust of Oregon and Northwest Environmental Defense Center, Jackson Middle School in Portland, Oregon joined the Solar 4R Schools program in 2009. Under the arrangement, the school will generate renewable energy that will be sold to others. 

As a Renewable School, Jackson Middle School is building a dedicated community of renewable energy educators, hosting a 159-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system. At the time of the project, the system's performance data was used as an educational tool to bring energy topics to life in their classrooms. 

In 2009, educators within the school received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website.

As part of Portland Public Schools' continuing effort to improve the learning environment for their students, the District installed new roofs and seismically upgraded nine schools during the summer of 2009. Notable in this project was the use of thin-film silicon solar cells on the roofs. It is the District's hope that this project will inspire students to pursue careers and make decisions that make the world a better place.