With student-guided projects focused on energy use, waste management, and air quality, CAPS is partnering with Modesto City Schools and Petaluma City Schools to create a more sustainable future. To support this work, CAPS recently added Juli Miller to the team as the Program Manager for Northern California school districts.

CAPS has welcomed its first-ever Alumnx Board Members, who will help bring student voices to CAPS’s leadership. In this Q&A, former interns Raymond Wang and Taylor Simonich share their insights on how they envision working with other Board Members to amplify CAPS’s mission, their goals for expanding the program’s reach, and their advice for current CAPS interns aspiring to leadership roles.

CAPS is proud to announce the release of the “Driving the Future” report, co-developed with electric vehicle company Rivian, which examines how California’s CTE programs can help prepare high school students for careers in the state’s growing green transportation sector.

The rapidly growing green economy offers career opportunities of all kinds, ranging from engineering and civic planning to HVAC, construction, electric vehicles, and more. In this article, we share a few steps you can take to kick-start your career in the green economy.

Join us in welcoming our new team member, Rory Brown! Rory is excited to join the CAPS Team in the newly created Development Director role. With 21 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising and leadership, she will implement strategies and systems to achieve CAPS goals of diversifying and growing its income model.

In this Q&A, new CAPS board members Kevin Schwartz and Laura Rodriguez share how their unique backgrounds and skills will contribute to furthering CAPS’s mission, what compelled them to join the board, and what they hope for the future of CAPS and its impact on schools and communities.

Green transportation is a rapidly growing career field with a variety of roles that contribute to vehicles, fuels, and design that reduce the sector’s impact on the human and natural environment. This article is part of CAPS’s Green Job series, examining the growing green economy.

CAPS is thrilled to announce it has been selected to receive $500,000 from the California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship (COYA) Grant, awarded by the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). This funding will enable CAPS to expand its innovative programs that provide paid internships to students from under-resourced high schools to tackle climate change and prepare for careers in the growing green economy.

Thanks to the support of our growing community, over the past year CAPS has rapidly expanded from our pilot program in Porterville Unified School District into seven school districts, enabling our organization to provide hands-on, paid learning opportunities in green careers to high school students across California. In this article, we spotlight Modesto City Schools, one of the recent districts to join our growing community and the site of an exciting approach to collaboration and community that is providing opportunities for the next generation of climate leaders.

As part of their overarching climate action plan, the Porterville Unified School District is bridging the gap between local farms and school cafeterias, bringing fresh, sustainable ingredients to students' plates while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

At Porterville Unified School District, student leaders are guiding school infrastructure upgrades thanks partly to the Renew America’s Schools Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Green building design and construction is a rapidly growing career field with a variety of roles that contribute to processes, technologies, and materials that reduce the sector’s impact on the human and natural environment.

In this student profile, Ariana shares how CAPS helped hone her communication skills and harness the power of data to champion more sustainable solutions. Continue reading to learn more about Ariana and CAPS lasting impact.

In this student profile, former CAPS intern Victor Medina shares his motivation for joining the CAPS program, his transformative experiences during the internship, and the profound impact it has had on his career path.

The unwavering commitment of CAPS board president Ben Wilson has been crucial in establishing CAPS’ role in the ongoing fight against climate change. In this interview, Ben reflects on the driving forces behind his involvement and shares his vision for CAPS as it prepares to expand.

The Porterville Unified School District (PUSD), in partnership with CAPS, was selected for the Renew America’s Schools grant, a funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act. Out of 236 full applications submitted from 44 states nationwide, PUSD was one of only 24 selected to receive this highly competitive grant.

More than a year into her work as CAPS executive director, Kirk Anne Taylor has witnessed the incredible work being done by CAPS students and partners to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while preparing students for impactful future sustainability careers. With support from a passionate and diverse board and network of partners and advisors, CAPS is poised to grow its work into new districts across the state in the coming year. In this interview, Kirk Anne reflects on the organization’s impact on students, schools, and the planet and looks ahead as CAPS prepares to expand.

With schools covering 125,000 acres of land and encompassing 730 million square feet of buildings, schools are a key part of California’s infrastructure being leveraged to build climate resilience.

On September 21st 2022, Climate Action Pathway for Schools (CAPS) intern and Porterville Unified student, Jesika Gonzalez, and CAPS executive director Kirk Anne Taylor presented on a United Nations (UN) panel.