BUSD Facilities Projects Community Meetings: Willard Middle School – April 14 And Berkeley Technology Academy – April 15

Berkeley CA

12 April, 2021

11:07 PM

Description

Press release from Berkeley Public Schools: April 12, 2021 Announcing the Project Schedule for Willard Growing Leaders Career Technical Education (CTE) Project Zoom Community Meeting: Wednesday, April 14 at 6:00 pm Please click here to join the webinar. Passcode: 583904 Or One tap mobile : +16699006833,,82309936169#,,,,*583904# or +13462487799,,82309936169#,,,,*583904# Construction Begins: Spring 2022 Willard Middle School 2425 Stuart St The District will start construction at the Willard Growing Leaders space the Spring of 2022. The project includes revitalized teaching and independent learning spaces. Please join us at this meeting to learn more about this important project. Growing Leaders is a youth gardening and cooking entrepreneurship program based at Willard Middle School and Berkeley Technology Academy. The cooking and gardening program is a highlight for many 6th graders at Willard Middle School. Students visit the kitchen and garden monthly, where they work with their classmates tending to the garden and preparing fresh meals with garden produce. Students learn about the importance of soil health and our environment by getting their hands dirty sifting compost, planting seedlings, and harvesting garden produce. In the kitchen, recipes highlight seasonal and fresh ingredients. Students practice essential knife and safety skills, prepare and cook their meal, and set their table to eat family style at the end of class. Some favorite 6th grade meals are squash tacos, fresh pasta, and dumplings. The Growing Leaders business elective is open to 7th and 8th grade students at Willard Middle School. Students gain hands-on experience by growing, cooking, and selling bi-monthly meals to the public. Students are involved in all aspects of the business, from recipe development and testing, to setting a financial goal and marketing. The student-run business, which was born out of necessity due to district budget cuts in 2013, has proven that students can thrive when given ownership, autonomy and real-world goals. Meeting Goals To provide an overview of the project To provide information on the project schedule See the meeting flyer here. For additional information please contact: [email protected] ____________ Announcing the Project Schedule for the Berkeley Technology Academy CTE Growing Leaders Public and Community Health Pathway. Zoom Community Meeting: Thursday, April 15 at 6:00 pm Please click here to join the webinar. Passcode: 846800 Or One tap mobile : US: +16699006833,,83704535116#,,,,*846800# or +12532158782,,83704535116#,,,,*846800# Construction Begins: Spring 2022 Berkeley Technoloyg Academy 2701 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley This pathway has been developed in collaboration with the BUSD Cooking and Gardening Program,The Ecology Center, City of Berkeley Public Health and the Willard Growing Leaders Program. Pathway students will explore many aspects of public and community health with a focus on diet related disease and related careers. The emphasis of this course is to provide students with an engaging, project-based, community-focused learning experience,. Through these projects students will cover topics including epidemiology, study design, community mapping, policy development, prevention effectiveness, and health education. Student in this course will have many internship opportunities and continue to support the Community Food Pantry in partnership with the Berkeley Food Network. Pathway students will explore many aspects of public and community health with a focus on diet related disease and related careers. The emphasis of this course is to provide students with an engaging, project-based, community-focused learning experience,. Through these projects, students will cover topics including epidemiology, study design, community mapping, policy development, prevention effectiveness, and health education. Students in this course will have many internship opportunities and continue to support the Community Food Pantry in partnership with the Berkeley Food Network. BTA Growing Leaders provides paid work to a small group of Berkeley Technology Academy students each school year. Student interns gain job readiness skills through their work in the garden, kitchen, and at the BTA Food Pantry. Program participants are responsible for developing and recipe testing the food products they sell, and business decisions are made as a team. Many of the products feature produce from the Willard garden. Of the 100+ pounds of produce harvested from the garden each month, the majority is distributed to the South Berkeley community at the student-run BTA Food Pantry. As a part of the internship program, students also enroll in a community public health course, where they cover topics such as food justice and nutrition. Meeting Goals To provide an overview of the project To provide information on the project schedule See the meeting flyer here. For additional information please contact: [email protected] This press release was produced by Berkeley Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author's own.