Inspiring Educators Everywhere
For nearly two decades, The AGC Institute has served as a learning laboratory for educators and innovators across the world.
Our work includes hosting international visitors, publishing open-source resources, and building community coalitions that reimagine the future of learning and leadership.
Here are some ways we are transforming education and amplifying sustainability for global impact:
AGC Educator Symposium
AGC offers a variety of immersive professional development experiences to support teachers, administrators, and sustainability champions.
Participants engage directly with our Village Model, including classroom kitchens, community gardens, and nature-based learning environments, while connecting with peers and leaving with actionable strategies to transform their school communities.
Thanks to the support of generous donors, we are able to make this opportunity accessible at no cost to educators.
Sustainable Schools Handbook
Our Sustainable Schools Handbook is a practical guide for schools seeking to integrate sustainability into curriculum, culture, and operations.
From reducing energy consumption to cultivating a culture of wellness, the handbook offers step-by-step strategies for designing healthier, more eco-friendly schools.
Download the AGC Sustainable Schools Handbook
Roadmap for Plant-Forward School Food
Our School Food Roadmap offers a framework to seamlessly implement food programs that feature plant-forward, culturally relevant, and scratch-cooked menus.
This resource includes proven strategies for scaling healthier and more sustainable meals while helping schools meet nutrition standards and engage students in food literacy.
Download the AGC School Food Roadmap
Blueprint for Human-First Buildings
In collaboration with Rosan Bosch Studio and Studio Gang Architects, AGC co-authored Reimagine Education, a design guide that explores how to build 21st-century schools that reflect whole-child learning, sustainability, and community engagement.
This publication offers design solutions and case studies that inspire schools to rethink everything from classroom space to wellness practices.
Download the AGC Blueprint for Human-First Buildings
AGC Research Collaborations
Nature-Based Learning & Student Health
In partnership with Dr. Fyfe-Johnson at Washington State University, AGC is studying how our nature-based education model supports whole-child wellness.
This partnership is actively exploring the outcomes for sleep, stress, and cognitive development, particularly for children in under-resourced communities.
Northwestern University
Northwestern researchers are leading the design and deployment of a comprehensive water sensing network across our campus that tracks stormwater capture, reuse, and infiltration to evaluate the performance of nature-based solutions (NBS) and ensure net-positive water outcomes in alignment with the Living Building Challenge.
In collaboration with AGC educators, Northwestern is also co-developing curricula on urban hydrology, stormwater management, and regenerative infrastructure, making cutting-edge research directly accessible to K–8 students.
Osher Center for Integrative Health at Northwestern Medicine
Through a grant from the Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities (ARCC), the Osher Center serves as a research partner focused on integrative and functional medicine.
Led by Dr. Melinda Ring, this work supports evaluation of health-related outcomes connected to AGC’s plant-forward nutrition program and whole-school wellness model.
Food, Activity and Nutrition (FAN) Initiatives at Lurie Children’s Hospital
Led by Dr. Adam Becker, the FAN Initiatives serves as a nationally recognized thought partner in community-based childhood obesity prevention.
Dr. Becker collaborates with AGC to support data gathering, evaluation, and policy translation aligned with Cultivate Collective’s efforts to address systemic health disparities through food systems reform and community wellness.
AGC Case Studies & Publications
Our work has been recognized globally through inclusion in research studies, case studies, and books, including Futures: An Anthology of Optimism for a Flourishing World.
These features highlight AGC as a catalyst for reimagining education and inspiring schools to align teaching and learning with human vitality and planetary flourishing.
Architecture and design leaders have also celebrated AGC’s model campus as a national exemplar. Writing in Architect Magazine, acclaimed critic Alexandra Lange described AGC’s new campus design as:
“The most architecturally ambitious design I’ve seen in the U.S.”
This recognition underscores AGC’s commitment to both transforming how children learn while also reshaping the spaces where learning happens into places that integrate sustainability, wellness, and innovation into every detail.
