The Miami-Dade School District has more to celebrate than the new school year: last Monday, it opened the doors of its first green-certified high school, also the first in the State (see update below).

The Terra Environmental Research Institute, located in Kendall, will offer high school students a magnet program for biomedical research, environmental studies and engineering and robotics, the first such program in Miami Dade, reports The Miami Herald.

Meeting LEED requirements, the school has recycling centers on every floor, plumbing fixtures that use at least 20 percent less water, uses natural light efficiently, reducing the need of electricity.

Students will also learn how to eat healthy; The Herald reports the cafeteria has only healthy offerings. Read more here.

9/2/09 Update: I ran across this story on how the Palm Beach School District is taking steps to be greener by starting recycling programs, using environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies, and reducing energy consumption.

The Sun Sentinel article also mentions that the county opened the first green-certified school in Florida in the fall of 2008: Pine Jog Elementary, west of West Palm Beach, was the first school to obtain certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Ok, so Pine Jog is Florida’s first green “school” and Terra is Florida’s first green “high school”? There are so many companies and organizations claiming to be “first” green or that, that we sent an e-mail to the USGBC to verify the facts. Keep posted.

What do you think? How green is your child’s school? Will green schools help raise a more eco-conscious generation? We’d love to read your comments.

Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography