Columbia Area Career Center

High School Professional & Community Education Adult Health GED/ESL Summer Camps and Seminars

Career Center students; preparing today's students for tomorrow's careers.

CACC is Green
We recycle or resell everything: cans, plastic, ink cartridges, cell phones, paper, and computer equipment to name a few; and next school year we will offer the CACC newsletter in digital only format instead of through the postal mail. Check out how the career center staff does their part to protect the environment and maximize resources.
Electronics
Solar panels!! Learn more... The solar panel equipment was paid for by Columbia Water & Light. It is maintained by the CACC and Columbia Public Schools. Solar curriculum is included in the Career Centerâ€™s classrooms. We also recycle batteries to prevent them from entering landfills.
A+ IT Essentials (Computer Technician)
No computer equipment is thrown away. We recycle or reuse everything. Give us your old computer to work with and we might even fix it!
Culinary Arts
The Culinary program recycle bottles, cans, and plastic. We also maintain compost with all of our egg shells and produce scraps. Many of our field trips involve outings to farms and ranches who are growing and raising heirloom vegetables and all-natural beef, pork, chickens, and turkeys. Read Chef Harlan's Inside Columbia article.
Digital Media
Assignment sheets are no longer printed-copied-handed out, students access digital files from shared network drives or from online course management systems. And of course, we recycle paper, ink, and hardware.
Professional and Community Education
We use recycled paper in our catalogs every year. This past year it was 7.19 short tons.
Construction
We built an Energy Star certified house! Housing is a huge user of energy as we all know through our utility bills.Â We teach students how to build houses in the most energy-efficient manner possible. What's green? 28" overhangs all around (hip roof design) to minimize unwanted solar radiation in summer, but lets it in in winter 2 X 6 walls for more wall insulation 24" on center spacing for ceiling joists and roof rafters (wiser use of materials) wall studs placed 24" on center for less heat transfer through each stud cellulose sprayed-in insulation for lower U-values and greater air tightness corners framed with the "California Corner" where less wood is used and therefore more insulation is installed Energy Star window with low-e coating and gas fill between panes of glass Insulated, weather-stripped doors caulked and sealed wherever joints are made to eliminate air infiltration 3/4" styrofoam added to north exterior wall to minimize heat transfer tyvek house wrap to minimize air infiltration fiber-cement siding - guaranteed to last 50 years.Â Not vinyl which is very energy intensive to produce and won't last nearly as long OSB structural panel sheathing, wise use of fast-growing trees fly ash (waste product from burning coal) used in our concrete high-efficiency HVAC system (not determined for this year, but have been using 90% efficiency furnaces with heat pumps)
And more to come...

cps green logo
Columbia Public Schools is concerned about it's environmental impact

Columbia Area Career Center | 4203 S. Providence Road | Columbia, MO 65203 | Phone 573.214.3800 | Fax 573.214.3811