Everyday Heroes: Julie Krieger, Ed.M.'08

Julie Krieger, Ed.M.'08, enthusiastically admits that "Green is [her] thing." It makes sense, then, that soon after graduating from the Teacher Education Program, she put her studies to work promoting environmental awareness and green practices in a local school district. Last summer, Krieger was one of three teachers involved in the launch of Quincy [Mass.] High School's Green Chemistry Program, which taught Quincy students about green practices in the lab and allowed them to try out a number of green chemistry experiments themselves.

The program was created by John Warner, a Quincy High graduate, and was funded by a grant from the EPA and managed by Beyond Benign, his nonprofit organization that specializes in education and outreach in the field of green chemistry. One of the lead teachers, Pakamas Tongcharoesirikul (known as Dr. T to her students and colleagues), designed much of the curriculum based on Beyond Benign's materials. "We want to spread awareness about making chemistry practices greener," Krieger says. "We would like to promote green manufacturing of products, composting, and more sustainable practices in construction."

Students had the opportunity to go on field trips and perform experiments that ranged from making their own biodegradable cups out of polylactic acid (PLA) — which they later melted down to cleaning solution — to creating mini-solar cells out of blackberry juice. Krieger's favorite project? "The crayon manufacturing contest," she says, referring to a project in which the students designed their own crayon companies and made their own crayons, testing the durability, quality, and greenness along the way. "They calculated the environmental and economic impact of their companies at the end, and the winning company won a prize. I think it was my favorite because it implemented a lot of different disciplines, including math, economics, and chemistry."

A graduate of an urban high school in Portland, Ore., Krieger was first attracted to the Ed School because of the opportunity to learn about teaching in an urban environment. Studying here, she says, helped her "differentiate lessons and make them interesting for different kinds of kids, especially since it was a multilevel program." The skills she acquired at the Ed School allowed her to create lessons that facilitated learning and invited the students to do a lot of their own exploring.

This year is Krieger's first as a biology and environmental science teacher at Quincy High, and her classroom is one of several in the school that is now incorporating the green chemistry concepts into its curriculum. "We are trying to spread the idea throughout Quincy high schools as much as possible," Krieger says. Dr. T has also designed lessons for middle-schoolers in the district.

Although students will continue to encounter green chemistry throughout the school year, the summer program culminated this fall with a symposium in which the students displayed their final products. Warner presented awards to the students and also received an award himself. "We actually got a lot of kids and people from the community to come out to the presentation," Krieger comments, adding that "a lot of kids know about the Green Chemistry Program now, and it's really great." She hopes that increasing awareness will lead to even greater participation next summer.