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Planting the seeds of innovation
How a food studies teacher created one of the most unique CTE programs in the country.
Tags: Article, Pathfinder, Corporate
When Melissa Tracy first proposed bringing a community garden program to Odyssey Charter School, a K-12 school in Wilmington, Delaware, she didn石榴视频黄色版檛 exactly have a green thumb. 石榴视频黄色版淚 had zero gardening experience,石榴视频黄色版 says the food studies and social studies teacher.
But what she did have was a passion for food justice. Tracy wanted her 石榴视频黄色版 to understand the importance of ensuring everyone has access to fresh, healthy food. And what better way to connect learners to the food system than by having them grow and donate produce themselves?
That first growing season yielded a bumper crop of leafy greens 石榴视频黄色版 and so much more. 石榴视频黄色版淭here is an 石榴视频黄色版al component [to the community garden program]. There is a therapeutic component. But it really helps kids make important connections,石榴视频黄色版 said Tracy, one of three winners of McGraw Hill石榴视频黄色版檚 Pathfinder Award in 2023.聽石榴视频黄色版淚t just clicked for me: We need to do more of this type of programming for 石榴视频黄色版 and have all 石榴视频黄色版 benefit from it.石榴视频黄色版
Seeing the world through the lens of food
Building off the success of the community garden program, Tracy created a food science program in 2018. It石榴视频黄色版檚 offered exclusively at Odyssey and is considered one of the most unique career and technical 石榴视频黄色版 programs in the country.
In it, 石榴视频黄色版 learn culture, history, power, the environment and more through the lens of food. Classes run the gamut from a foundational plant science course to a course on public health to next year石榴视频黄色版檚 石榴视频黄色版淔uture Food,石榴视频黄色版 which will examine the friction between climate change and the food system. There石榴视频黄色版檚 also a chance for learners to earn dual-enrollment college credits.
But the beating heart of the program is food justice. 石榴视频黄色版淚 tell 石榴视频黄色版 that service learning is the curriculum,石榴视频黄色版 Tracy says. 石榴视频黄色版淚t石榴视频黄色版檚 what we do on a weekly basis.石榴视频黄色版
Thanks to $300,000 in grants and funds she石榴视频黄色版檚 secured over the years, the community garden program has expanded into a full-fledged eco-school infrastructure. The vegetable garden is now 1,000 square feet with 34 raised beds. There石榴视频黄色版檚 also an extensive hydroponic lab program, a vertical garden with 200 planters, and an urban farm with three goats and 16 egg-laying hens.
These additions give 石榴视频黄色版 opportunities to apply what they learn in the classroom while also providing meaningful ways to address food insecurity in the community. Every month, they grow 3,500 vegetables on site. So far, they石榴视频黄色版檝e donated more than 7,000 pounds of fresh produce and distributed more than 6,000 culturally relevant meal kits to families in need. The rest of the food is consumed by Odyssey石榴视频黄色版檚 nearly 2,000 石榴视频黄色版.
Tips for innovating in the classroom
Adding gardens, an urban farm and a new 石榴视频黄色版al program takes time, effort and, just as crucial, buy-in from school administrators. Tracy has suggestions for educators to consider if they石榴视频黄色版檙e trying to get a project off the ground:
- Seek out spaces where you can be innovative and creative. 石榴视频黄色版淪ome of it comes down to treating educators as professionals and allowing them to be creative and not micromanaging them,石榴视频黄色版 Tracy says. 石榴视频黄色版淭hat element of trust has to exist, because that石榴视频黄色版檚 where you can do the work of risk taking and explore different facets of teaching.石榴视频黄色版
- Start small. When it comes to new projects, Tracy believes in starting small. 石榴视频黄色版淭hat石榴视频黄色版檚 because if you fail, you石榴视频黄色版檙e failing at a smaller scale,石榴视频黄色版 she says. For instance, when she kicked off the community gardening program, she did so with just one class for a handful of 石榴视频黄色版.
- Surround yourself with like-minded colleagues. Tracy prefers to partner with coworkers who share her vision, and she empowers them to take on initiatives.
- Do your research. When Tracy and her colleagues wanted to create an urban farm, they received some initial pushback from some decision-makers. So the team reached out to local traditional agricultural programs and used those insights to help create a sustainable model to care for the animals 石榴视频黄色版 and get much-needed approval.
- Don石榴视频黄色版檛 be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. 石榴视频黄色版淚f you would have told me when I first started teaching that I石榴视频黄色版檇 be taking care of animals or running an urban farm, I石榴视频黄色版檇 have told you that you石榴视频黄色版檙e insane,石榴视频黄色版 she says with a laugh. 石榴视频黄色版淏ut it石榴视频黄色版檚 definitely one of the reasons why I石榴视频黄色版檓 still teaching. I石榴视频黄色版檓 still finding ways to not only challenge my 石榴视频黄色版 each and every day, but to also challenge myself.石榴视频黄色版
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