Anderson to Speak at LEEDTM Certification Ceremony for Baca/Dlo'ay azhi Community School in New Mexico

“Green” certification is first for state and BIA schools

Media Contact: Nedra Darling, OPA-IA Phone: 202-219-4152
For Immediate Release: April 16, 2004
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WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs David W. Anderson will speak on April 20, 2004 at the Baca/Dlo’ay azhi Community School, a Bureau of Indian Affairs operated day school located in Prewitt, N.M., on the Navajo Nation reservation, at a ceremony celebrating the school’s designation as both the first Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEEDTM) building in the state and the first BIA school to be a “green” certified building. The certification was issued by the U.S. Green Building Council, a coalition of building industry leaders that promotes environmentally responsible design, construction and maintenance for private, public and commercial buildings.

Anderson will be joined by Lt. Col. Dana Hurst, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District and USGBC Chairman John Harzfeld, as well as students and school officials, and representatives from the Navajo Nation. Also represented at the event will be local firms who collaborated with Army Corps of Engineers and the BIA’s Office of Facilities Management and Construction on the project: Dyron Murphy Architects PC, Bradbury Stamm Construction Inc., Environmental Dynamics Inc. and Southwest Commissioning Services LLC.

The Baca/Dlo’ay azhi Community School serves 419 students in grades K-6 from the Prewitt, Haystack and Thoreau communities on the Navajo Nation reservation. It is one of 184 BIA funded elementary and secondary day and boarding schools located on or near 63 reservations in 23 states serving approximately 48,000 students.

WHO: David W. Anderson, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior

WHAT: Anderson will speak at a ceremony to celebrate the designation of the Baca/Dlo’ay azhi Community School, located in the town of Prewitt on the Navajo Nation Reservation in northwestern New Mexico, as both the first U.S. Green Building Council LEEDTM certified building in the state and in the BIA school system.

WHEN: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 starting at 11:15 a.m. (all times are local time)

The following events are open to press:

11:15 a.m.: Tour school and visit classrooms

12:15 p.m.: Lunch with students (Location: Cafeteria)

1:00 p.m.: Presentation of LEEDTM Certification (Location: Gymnasium) Performance by Baca/Dlo’ay azhi School Indian Club student members

Speakers will include (in order of presentation):

  • Jacque Mangham, Master of Ceremonies and Principal, Baca/Dlo’ay azhi Community School
  • Lt. Col. Dana Hurst, Commander, Albuquerque District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  • John Harzfeld, Chair, U.S. Green Building Council
  • David W. Anderson, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior

2:00 p.m.: Tree planting (Location: Schoolyard)

WHERE: Baca/Dlo’ay azhi Community School

Directions from Albuquerque, N.M., or Gallup, N.M.:

  • Take Exit 63 North off of I-40 (exit is 11 miles East of Thoreau and 19 miles West of Grants, N.M.).
  • When exiting, go North to Hwy. 66 (approximately one-quarter mile).
  • School will be on the left (school is adjacent to I-40).

CREDENTIALS: Press registration and lunch will be provided. Please bring your sanctioned media credentials and if possible, wear on your shirt collar or around your neck for easy viewing. This will assist our staff. Press seating will be provided.