2017 NEED Year in Review

NEED encourages and rewards student leadership and innovation by sponsoring a Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement. Schools participating in NEED’s programs are invited to submit digital portfolios of their energy activities (submission is free!). Exceptional teachers and students are recognized for their efforts at the state and national level and are invited to attend NEED’s Youth Energy Conference and Awards held each June in Washington, DC. At the conference, students work with their peers to explore new energy activities while NEED teachers have the opportunity to network and re-energize for the coming school year.

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This year we received so many amazing project submissions! Check out our National Winners below. These represent projects received from 18 states and over 30,000 hours of classroom and extracurricular energy education, outreach, and community service. Also make sure to view the individual state pages to see all of the other fantastic projects submitted.

Primary Level School of the Year

A. K. Suter Elementary School
Pensacola, FL
National Primary School of the Year
Florida Primary School of the Year

Elementary Level School of the Year

Virginia Chance School
Louisville, KY
National Elementary School of the Year
Kentucky Elementary School of the Year

Junior Level School of the Year

Bednarcik Junior High School
Aurora, IL
National Junior School of the Year
Illinois Junior School of the Year

Senior Level School of the Year

Early College and Career Center
Elizabethtown, KY
National Senior School of the Year
Kentucky Senior School of the Year

Special Project of the Year

Kinlani Bordertown Dormitory/Flagstaff High School
Flagstaff, AZ
National Special Project of the Year
Arizona School of the Year

Outstanding Project Recognition

Martha's Vineyard Regional High School
Oak Bluffs, MA
Outstanding Energy Engineering and Design Project
Massachusetts Senior School of the Year

Monticello-Brown Summit Elementary
Browns Summit, NC
Outstanding School Energy Efficiency Program
North Carolina Elementary School of the Year

Michie Elementary School
Michie, TN
National Elementary Runner Up
Outstanding Community Education Project
Tennessee Elementary School of the Year

2017 was the debut year of the Annual NEED Youth Energy Conference and Awards! Building off the success the Youth Awards Program has had over the past 3 decades the Youth Energy Conference and Awards gave students more opportunities to learn about energy and to explore energy in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). The annual June conference had students from across the country working in groups on an Energy Challenge designed to stretch their minds and energy knowledge.

Want to help recognize outstanding achievement and reward student leadership? Become a sponsor of the 2018 Youth Energy Conference and Awards.
Youth Energy Conference Sponsorship Opportunities