All good things
Just need a
little  water
to grow...

The Academy for Global Citizenship is a unique Chicago Public Charter School, located on the underserved Southwest side of Chicago. Our innovative and holistic approach to education aims to foster systemic change and inspire the way society educates our future generations. We are producing a replicable model for learning in the 21st century, including the construction of a net-positive energy campus.

Click here to dig
into the roots of agc
...and with a
solid foundation,
life can sprout.

An AGC education extends beyond a solid academic foundation. Organic, nutritionally balanced meals provide mentally and physically strong building blocks, daily yoga centers the body and mind, gardening teaches about life and food, wellness instruction creates healthy habits, and ecologically sustainable-practices throughout the school encourage learners to develop sustainable lifestyles. Ultimately, the Academy for Global Citizenship engages the whole child in an enriching educational community that is focused on fostering academic excellence, international awareness and environmental stewardship.

Our roots:

Our mission is to empower students to positively impact the community and world beyond. In pursuit of this mission, AGC is committed to the following...



Serving the whole child


Modeling academic excellence


Developing inquiries


Cultivating international awareness


Fostering environmental stewardship


Community collaboration

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Why water us?

We are striving to produce a replicable model for learning in the 21st century, through the construction of a net-positive energy school building. This model, built upon the integration of sustainable practices into the learning environment, acts as a "third teacher" for the students. It also serves as a prototype that will shift global communities towards a system of learning that educates our next generation to excel in a socio-economic environment that depends on the state of our planet.

We are the leaders of today and our children will be the environmental, social, and political stewards of tomorrow.

It is our responsibility to equip them with the advantages and opportunities afforded by unsurpassed education and the dream of unlimited potential.



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Next to Our Building>>
Introducing A
net-positive
energy building

A net positive energy building produces more energy through on-site renewable energy than is consumed.

Can you believe it? There are no net-positive energy school buildings in Illinois. The Academy for Global Citizenship will be the first to generate all the energy it uses in addition to providing energy to the grid.

Image credit to The Third Teacher+ / Cannon Design




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How we
will change
the world

Living Building Challenge (LBC) is a certification program and unified tool for transformative design, allowing us to envision a future that is socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative. AGC's school complex will meet LBC standards and will offer students the maximum experience and opportunity to change the future of the world in which we live.

Here are just a few ways we are using the LBC to help us change the world, beginning in our learning community:



a. Limits to Growth

Surrounded by contaminated lands from a history of heavy industry, AGC has the unique opportunity to transform brownfields into fields of green. AGC will select and transform a lifeless and distressed site into a thriving community center containing a harmonious blend of healthy plant, animal, and human habitats.

b. Renewable Energy

Using clean and renewable resources, AGC will harness the power of the sun, the heat of the earth and the strength of the wind to produce more energy than we will need to operate. Renewable energy sources will also serve as demonstration tools for students and community members. These will help to push the project towards its net-positive energy goal and will realize the AGC value of "doing good".

c. Human Scale and Humane Places

LBC requires that the project be designed to create human-scaled rather than automobile-scaled places. The AGC team will work to gage the impacts of the design and development of the site while embracing the humanity of the entire community, working to make decisions that protect and restore the natural environment while also providing a civilized and humane place for all.

d. Urban Architecture

LBC requires that a minimum of 10%(approximately 1 acre) of the developed site be dedicated to food production. AGC intends to incorporate a minimum of 3 acres of urban agriculture, including vegetable gardens, orchards and greenhouses.

i. Water Cleansing

If ground water contamination is present (after testing), steps will be taken to use an open- loop geothermal system integrated with the aquifer to begin a filtering and cleansing process.

h. Embodied Carbon Footprint Offset

The AGC team will help to establish a thorough understanding of how to minimize the carbon footprint during the construction process, and help to reduce the cost of the carbon offset to the owner and account for LBC requirements.

g. Biophilia

The AGC team will help to ensure the transformation of our human-nature relationship, promoting natural features, use of inspiring natural shapes and forms, and celebrating our natural processes and patterns.

f. On-site Water Collection

LBC requires that all project water needs be met with on-site water collection and treatment. Water will be collected on-site with roof structures and stored for building use in above ground and in-ground cisterns.

e. Educational and Inspirational Services

AGC will function as a community resource and educational environment for all ages – students, families and community members alike. As a learning laboratory, the building will be open to the public for tours and educational discussions.






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