Charter school goes green in big way

Community of Peace on the East Side of St. Paul built a new gym and topped it with a "green roof" consisting of soil and plants to absorb rain and insulate the building.

By James Walsh, Star Tribune

Last update: October 24, 2007 - 9:18 PM

At Community of Peace Academy charter school in St. Paul, they teach children character and the ability to get along with others. Now, they can add caring for the environment to the list.

Today, the school dedicates its new gymnasium building, complete with one of the first "green roofs" on a public school building in Minnesota. The gym roof, covered with soil and plants, is designed to make the building gentler on the environment, said Karen Rusthoven, Community of Peace's director and founder.

The roof absorbs storm water after rains, while also helping cool the building in the summer and keep it warm in the winter.

"It is actually a garden roof. There are two kinds. One has real earth that is quite deep, a foot or more deep, that you can do any kind of gardening on," Rusthoven said. "But that is quite expensive. Ours is the other kind, a genetically engineered soil that is lighter-weight and the plants are fairly maintenance-free."

Community of Peace, which has 670 students in preschool through 12th grade, sits on a block of Magnolia Avenue on the East Side of St. Paul that is covered with buildings, Rusthoven said.

"So it seemed an environmentally responsible thing to do" to add a green roof to the new gym, she said. According to the state Department of Education, Community of Peace is one of the first public schools in St. Paul using a green roof. The new five-story Central Minneapolis Public Library also is topped off with a green roof.

Community of Peace, now in its 13th year, was named a Charter School of the Year last spring by the Center for Education Reform. And the U.S. Department of Education has named the school an outstanding charter school.

Rusthoven said the new roof is "one more step toward our goal of helping students achieve all they can, and one more step toward being an active, constructive, positive force in St. Paul."

James Walsh • 651-298-1541

James Walsh • jwalsh@startribune.com