PGCPS leads Maryland, nation with 164 certified Green Schools

Prince George’s County Public Schools has widened its lead in Maryland’s Green Schools program, with 31 schools renewing certification and 10 earning it for the first time, bringing the district total to 164. With PGCPS serving 200 schools and centers this school year, the count means roughly 82% of the system now carries the designation.

That scale matters in a county where the school system is not a side player. PGCPS says it is the 18th-largest school district in the country and the second-largest in Maryland, with more than 22,000 employees and a $2.3 billion annual budget. In that context, the Green Schools network is not just a badge for a few campuses. It is becoming part of how the district trains staff, organizes instruction and aligns day-to-day operations with its climate agenda.

The Maryland Green Schools program dates to 1999, and the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education says schools must renew every four years. Training materials also call for at least 10% of instructional staff to complete environmental professional development. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources says certified schools must weave environmental education into curricula, model best management practices at school and address community environmental issues. For PGCPS, that means the work stretches from classrooms to cafeterias, grounds crews and building operations.

The district has been building toward this point for years. It reported 148 Green Schools in 2023, 150 in 2024 and 154 in 2025. The latest jump to 164 continued that climb, while also reinforcing PGCPS’s claim that it leads Maryland and, because Maryland has more participating schools than any other state, the nation as well.

Shawn Joseph, the interim superintendent, linked the milestone to the district’s Climate Change Action Plan. The Prince George’s County Board of Education formed the Climate Change Action Plan Focus Work Group on March 1, 2021, and later approved a plan on April 28, 2022 that set targets including 100% clean-sourced electricity and zero food waste by 2030, along with 100% clean energy in all sectors and zero landfill waste by 2040.

Support for the certification work runs through the William S. Schmidt Outdoor Education Center, which PGCPS identifies as a Maryland Green Schools Program Green Center. The center’s Green School Resources page says it supports aspiring and existing Green Schools, while district materials describe the program as a student-centered way to build environmental literacy from elementary school through high school. In a system this large, the message is clear: sustainability is being treated as part of the educational mission, not an extracurricular extra.