Hazen high gets solar panels, new environmental science classes

While Hazen High School's new solar panels may only produce enough electricity to power the LED lamps in the main courtyard, it's a powerful demonstration for students.

"Certainly today there are going to be jobs in green energy," said Hazen science chair Teresa Coda.

Making good use of the panels, Hazen plans to introduce an environmental sciences course next year, where students will work on building a solar panel of their own.

"Kids want more science, but they don't want more of the same thing they've had over and over," Coda said. "They want something that's more novel."

The district has been focusing on increasing rigor in its science classes, removing some electives and creating others, said Jay Leviton, director of career and life skills education, in an April interview.

The class will be offered as both a science elective and a career credit, Coda said. "Although it's a science class it points toward science occupation."

Unlike many of the upper-level science courses like physics and chemistry, there aren't stiff math requirements.

The only prerequisite for environmental science is a ninth-grade science course, making it accessible to those less proficient in math.

"It's equity and access, and it's rigor," Coda said.

The new solar panels and power converter were installed as a part of a $25,000 grant from Puget Sound Energy.

The Bonneville Environmental Foundation provided curriculum and trained science teachers, which included a tour on the school's roof.

The foundation then set up a tool for students to monitor the panels' output online.

Nearby Liberty High School also received solar panels through a PSE grant, but they were installed on a pole to automatically track with the sun, said Jonathan Stine, the Renton School District's Resource Conservation and Safety Manager.

Hazen's panels are mounted on the south side of the high school on an adjustable frame.

Students from both schools will analyze the data and for the first time PSE will be able to compare the electrical output of the different solar panel setups, Stine said.

The environmental science class promises to be engaging, Coda said.

She hoped to fill two or three classes the first year, but enough students enrolled to fill seven classes, she said. "We were amazingly pleased."

The solar energy makes up just one part of conservation section of the course, which will look at different human impacts.

Alongside understanding what the environment is, students will study progressive land development techniques and other forms of green energy.

"It's a large umbrella," Coda said. "We're thrilled."

Contact Renton Reporter Staff Writer Celeste Gracey at cgracey@rentonreporter.com or 425-255-3484, ext. 5052.

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