Community Welcomed to New Net Zero Wilde Lake Middle School at Open House

January 11th, 2017

The Howard County Public School System officially welcomed the community to the new Net-Zero Wilde Lake Middle School at an open house on Sunday, January 8. The celebration began with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 1 p.m., followed by tours until 4 p.m. Parents and community members explored the state-of-the-art learning environment at Maryland’s first net-zero school.

Speakers at the event included Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford, Maryland Energy Administration Director Mary Beth Tung, Howard County Executive Allan H. Kittleman, Howard County Council Chair Jon Weinstein, Howard County Board of Education Chairman Cynthia Vaillancourt, Superintendent Renee A. Foose, Wilde Lake Middle School Principal Anne Swartz, and Wilde Lake Middle School Student Government Association President Ashley Maharaj.

The new Wilde Lake Middle School building demonstrates the school system’s commitment to environmental sustainability and support for healthy learning environments. Net zero energy schools generate at least as much energy as they use annually. The new school is powered by solar and geothermal technology, and can be used as an instructional tool.

HCPSS constructed the net zero energy school building to replace the current school, using County and State funding including a $2.77 million grant from the Maryland Energy Administration.

To learn more about the new Wilde Lake Middle School, visit http://www.hcpss.org/schools/net-zero-wlms. Watch the video or view photos of the event.