Sustainability in Hisar School
Global Schools Program
With our strong academic program, as Hisar Schools, we aim to educate our students as global citizens who think about world problems, can execute the necessary strategies to find solutions, and make meaningful contributions to the planet. “United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” constitutes the compass of our school’s educational philosophy. In the light of this information, as of September of the 2021-2022 academic year, we have started the “Sustainability in Hisar” studies under the umbrella of the Innovation Center after we were titled as “Global School”.
The “Global Schools Program” is an initiative of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) that supports UNESCO’s “Global Program of Action on Education for Sustainable Development” (ESD). The mission of the program is to create a world where every elementary, middle and high school student is equipped with the knowledge, values and skills necessary to effectively respond to this century’s greatest challenges and shape a sustainable and prosperous world. Global Schools adopts two key approaches in its global strategy to implement Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in schools and classrooms: research partnerships with universities and access to schools to design localized curricula. The program, which is carried out in more than 1100 schools in more than 80 countries, aims to reach students with more than 950 advocates.
United Nations SDSN Director Jeffrey D. Sachs emphasizes that there is a consistent goal as to empower the young population in order to build the sustainable economy and society of the future.
More than 40% of the current world population consists of children and youth between the ages of 10-24. If we want to find solutions to world problems, now is the time to teach the SDGs to future adults.
For this reason, the key points of Sustainability studies at Hisar are the curriculum and the student activities.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 goals negotiated and adopted by all 193 world governments in 2015 to end extreme poverty, achieve decent work for all, promote justice, peace and prosperity, and protect the natural environment. These goals are broken down into 169 goals to be used as a practical tool for governments, institutions, local communities, non-governmental organizations and businesses to work together towards a common set of clear goals. The SDGs are a globally recognized framework, also known as “Agenda 2030”, which has already been adopted by thousands of educational institutions.
SDGs are an incredibly rich teaching resource and offer ways to connect students to countless real-world problems. They offer links across the curriculum while teaching economics and engineering, languages and literature, social studies, environmental science, geography and more. Many of these objectives can be aligned with national education requirements.
Sustainability in The School
√ School Vision and Sustainability
Sustainability studies at Hisar begin with the entire Hisar Ecosystem meeting the concept of sustainability and understanding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In line with the school vision, it is ensured that all Hisar components have access to opportunities to continue education and training in a sustainable environment.
√ Teacher Trainings
Following the acceptance of Middle School Science Department Head Nihan Şehsuvaroğlu and Science Teacher Özge Aydemir Kaya to the “Global Schools Advocacy Program” in August, as Hisar Schools, we have participated in Global Schools Program by signing a pledge that makes a commitment to follow the Sustainable Development Goals as the compass of our educational philosophy. 
Two Global Schools Advocates carried out the Sustainability Trainings series in Hisar, which included 283 teachers in our academic staff, under the leadership of our Innovation Center and with the support of PÖMER. In the first session of this training series, which was carried out in four sessions and with the “Flipped Learning” method, videos were prepared and shared with teachers on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Global Schools Program, Education for Sustainable Development. In the second training session that follows the training videos, it was discussed most important the societal problems with the K-12 teachers. Considering the goals and philosophies of each department through SDGs, it was requested to identify the 3 most important SDGs. In the third session, teachers went over the activities for the SDGs they had previously applied in their unit, marked whether they were related to the SDGs they determined in the previous session, and wrote suggestions on how to match them with these SDGs. In the last session, each department listed the units and achievements in their yearly plans, determined the SDGs that could be compatible with them, and planned activities to address them throughout the year.
√ Student Learning
In Hisar, UbD unit plans are enriched with the “Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)” approach, while all students at the K-12 level also carry out interdisciplinary projects for SDG. These projects are designed to make students experience the competencies that UNESCO emphasizes in Education for Sustainability approach.
Whole-Institution Approach in SDGs
Hisar School sees itself as a place of learning and experience for sustainable development and therefore orient all their processes towards principles of sustainability.
A whole-institution approach aims at mainstreaming sustainability into all aspects of the educational institution. It involves rethinking the curriculum, campus operations, organizational culture, student participation, leadership and management, community relationships and research (UNESCO, 2014a). In this way, Hisar functions as a role model for its learners.
Green Campus Committee
Hisar School Green Campus Committee aims to make Hisar School a pioneer school in this field with sustainable education and training practices in national and international platforms. The committee, which aims to gather the work of all our students under a single roof within the K-12 Integrity, provides the necessary coordination for environmental citizenship and aims to make the environmental awareness created a part of our students’ lives. Please click to see detailed information about Green Campus projects.