The mission of the Public Schools of Brookline is to ensure that every student develops the skills and knowledge to pursue a productive and fulfilling life, to participate thoughtfully in a democracy, and succeed in a diverse and evolving global society.  The role of the Garden Coordinator stipend position will advance the district goals in the below mentioned ways.

Goal 1: Every Student Achieving

Garden education contributes to  educational equity.  Hands-on, nature-based education levels the playing field of background experiences. Students’ roles and social dynamics shift in the garden setting and they have an opportunity to learn in hands-on ways, by using  and strengthening multiple intelligences. Experience growing food increases healthy food choices; the wellness gap is diminished, and this in turn helps to close our achievement gaps.

Goal 2: Every Student Invested in Learning

School gardens promote a spirit of inquiry and joyful learning.  Exploring relationships between plants and insects; investigating soil, ice,  and angles of the sun; and growing food to eat, is authentic and relevant learning. 

Goal 3: Every Student Prepared for Change and Challenge

Learning to grow food through organic and sustainable practices provides children with understanding, tools and skills which are crucial for their future in a changing world with a changing climate. 

Goal 4: Every Educator Growing Professionally 

The garden educator role fosters collaboration and innovation, and advances both teacher and student learning in myriad ways. Once teachers are empowered with strategies for management and for enhancing their own curricula in such a setting, vibrant professional growth occurs.

Job Description

• Build Capacity and Increase Use of Gardens and Outdoor Learning Spaces Among Educators 

• Support teachers with meetings, garden-area teaching visits, and brief trainings when possible, for planting, maintenance, and harvesting with their students as well as for outdoor management strategies. 

• Work with school-specific teacher teams, individual teachers and administrators individual teachers) to plan grade-level or individual uses of the garden space to cultivate a school-wide culture of outdoor learning.. 

• Create and maintain informational slides/media for classroom use and/or for informing teachers about what current plants might connect to curriculum or be of interest. 

• Communicate with cafeteria and Food Services to plan for Salad Days and other garden/cafeteria connections. 

• Oversee and Coordinate the Maintenance of  the Gardens 

• Plan the plantings, including what plants, when, how dense, in which beds/grid squares, and which classes will plant. 

• Plan for the watering and physical maintenance of the gardens. Coordinate these efforts among classes during the school year, and parent volunteers (weekends in warmer school year weather, and all summer) 

• Facilitate the materials management - the materials and  tools for learning and gardening; ordering seeds, compost,  and tools/materials, keeping these organized and accessible. 

• Weeding/mulching/structural support, or organizing/managing others to do this.

• Maintaining signs for education and for responsible use of garden spaces.  

• Sometimes this includes planning with art or OT staff regarding students making signs. 

• Communicate with the Parks Department as necessary for maintenance of supplemental plantings, timeline for wood chips, leaf removal, pruning, etc.

• Coordinate and Foster Community Participation and Connections to the Gardens 

• Work with core parent volunteers to help recruit, teach, and communicate with parent volunteers. Make sure that a parent acts as liaison to the PTO to support yearly funding, publicity, and volunteerism. 

• With parent volunteers, create at least one event at each school such as a fall “Rake It Up” day in the fall or a Spring “Taste of the Garden” afternoon.  

Stipend Amount: $500