Three Guilford County Schools were named top winners by the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project. North Carolina A&T State University’s Center for Energy Research and Technology (CERT) assisted the schools with its energy conservation projects.

Colfax Elementary was selected as North Carolina Elementary School of the Year and Elementary School of the Year at the national level, Northern Guilford Middle was selected as N.C. Middle School of the Year and Northern Guilford High was selected N.C. Senior School of the Year.

The NEED Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement is conducted in all 50 states to recognize students who achieve excellence in energy education in their schools and communities.

This is the third year one of the CERT collaborative school projects has won school of the year. Ray Tesiero and Elizabeth Keele from N.C. A&T CERT provided classroom energy related interactive labs and tutoring for over 400 Guilford County School students this school year. Some schools have student leaders who extend these activities into their communities. To recognize outstanding achievement and reward student leadership, the NEED Project conducts the National Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement.

The program combines academic competition with recognition to acknowledge everyone involved in NEED during the year and to recognize those who achieve excellence in energy education in their schools and communities. The students and teachers set goals and objectives, and keep a record of their activities. In April, the students combine their materials into scrapbooks and send them to their state coordinators. Students write their own project summaries for inclusion in the annual report.

Winners receive paid registration in the amount of $550 for the 2013 Youth Awards National Recognition Ceremonies, June 21-24, in Washington, D.C. The registration fee covers double occupancy lodging and meals at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City. It also includes all tours, bus and Metro passes, and the Spirit of Washington Dinner Cruise.

“It is a great honor for N.C. A&T and CERT to work closely with Guilford County Schools as a part of this program,” Tesiero said. “This is the third year we have worked with the project and each year we have winners from the NEED workshops.”

Each school must work to raise enough money for each member of their energy team to be able to travel to Washington, DC in June to attend the awards ceremony. This year the N.C. State Energy Office approved funding allowing CERT to provide $1,000 to each of the winning schools to help offset a portion of the costs.

In partnership with SAP, the world’s largest enterprise applications software company, and the Interaction Design Foundation (IDF), North Carolina A&T State University is committed to sharing the knowledge of free educational technologies with students and faculty across campus, throughout the nation and around the world. On Friday, May 31, at 2 p.m., in the Academic Classroom Building (located on Bluford Street off Benbow Road behind Proctor Hall), the university will host Max, the “Around the World Biker,” as a premier pit stop on his four-year global trek to promote open access to quality educational materials.

The U.S. leg of the Share the Knowledge Tour began May 17 in Orlando, Fla., at SAP’s North American customer service facility and will make its way across the nation with periodic breaks at top university campuses. Max is taking on the 35,000 mile odyssey to promote sustainability and the IDF’s products, such as IDF free textbooks, online resources and other free educational materials. SAP has donated $600,000 to support the IDF in its effort to make education affordable and attainable by every person on this planet.

SAP University Alliance and N. C. A&T are going the extra mile to build awareness of open-access to these quality materials. A&T has encouraged its students, faculty and staff as well as local community partners to go the “NCAT Mile” and meet Max on the road when he arrives in the city. After his arrival, the parade will cycle down East Market Street to the campus, where Max will share his inspiring story and his hope of “creating a more sustainable world through education.”

The School of Business and Economics (SoBE) leads the SAP University Alliances relationship with SAP and is leading the Aggie campus in this innovative open access to education movement. During fall semester 2012-2013, the ERP/SAP platform and technologies were introduced into the Supply Chain Management (SCM) curriculum, one of the fastest growing business school majors.

“It is imperative that SCM students be exposed to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) technologies, such as SAP, before entering the workforce,” said Dr. Linda Silver Coley, chairperson of the Department of Marketing Transportation and Supply Chain at A&T.
“SAP is a great resource in the process of facilitating exposure to ERP/SAP in our curriculum and we are happy to support SAP in its commitment to promote open access to education through hosting Max, the Around the World Biker.”

A&T will serve as the launch pad for the third leg of the Share the Knowledge Tour and the second university stop among participating universities. The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Coley at 336-285-3445 or lscoley@ncat.edu.