Montgomery County is establishing a 7,200-square-foot garden to grow its own produce.

The Washington Post:  Back-to-school: School lunches are packing a healthier punch

Council to Discuss Charter School, Gardens and Parents Funding School Perks

Montgomery County Council
July 22, 2013
Education Committee 9:30 AM
3rd Floor Conference Room
To be televised live on County Cable Montgomery

• Briefing - Board of Education Policy “Facility Improvements that are not Funded with Montgomery County Revenues” (McGuire)
 • Update - Edible Gardens in Schools (McGuire)
 • Update - Charter School implementation (McGuire)

Exclusive Memo: How to Control Board of Education Members

At the June 20, 2013, Board of Education meeting held off-site (no video of this meeting) Board of Education member Shirley Brandman presented the following memo on how to control Board of Education members' questions on topics such as concussions, school gardens, elimination of styrofoam trays, dangers of substance abuse, math acceleration and bell times.  You know, all those messy public school issues that the Superintendent doesn't want the elected Board of Education to discuss! 

Here's BOE member Brandman's suggestion for how to keep BOE members quiet. 

  2013 BOE - Keeping BOE Members from discussing topics from the public by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Guerilla Gardening - Don't try this in MCPS!

When you watch this, remember that MCPS does not allow students to plant in the ground. They will only let students plant in containers, above the ground, and then, only with permission of some administrator.  

Montgomery County school meals get passing grade for nutrition, with a caveat

The Washington Post

Montgomery Victory Gardens on sudden Brickyard Road Middle School site transfer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE;Monday, March 7, 2011

Contact:  Gordon Clark at 301-801-3406

MCPS and County Executive to Turn
Organic Farm Into Ball Fields?

Action Coming Without Public Comment, Violates Open Meeting Act

Rockville, MD - The Montgomery County Public School System Board of Education will vote tomorrow on whether or not to discontinue the lease of MCPS land to farmer Nick Maravella, and to sell the land to Montgomery County for the construction of ball fields.

Nick Maravella has farmed the MCPS-leased land, near Potomac, Maryland, for 31 years, and was given less than three weeks notice of the Board of Education's intent to discontinue the lease.  Nick's Organic Farm is one of the few organic farms in Montgomery County, and specializes in producing organic, non-GMO corn and soybean seed, which is used by local farmers and small companies.

"This would be an outrageous decision by a school system and county government that claim to value farmers and farming," said Gordon Clark, Project Director of Montgomery Victory Gardens.  "Can any of these officials say with a straight face that another ball field is more important to our county than preserving one of our few organic farms - one that has been in operation for over 30 years and which produces organic seed for local use?  Perhaps this is why they are rushing this decision through without any public or community comment."

In a memorandum released on March 3, 2011, MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast refers to the Board of Education being "briefed" in May and June of 2010 on the plan, but Board of Education minutes do not reflect any such discussions. The Montgomery County Parent's Coalition has filed a complaint with the Maryland Open Meetings Act Compliance Board for an Opinion, claiming that the MCPS Board of Education has violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act.

Montgomery Victory Gardens is working with the Montgomery Countryside Alliance, Nick's Organic Farm and other community groups to stop the proposed destruction of the farm, and is currently soliciting public comments to be forwarded to the Board of Education before its vote on Tuesday, March 8.

"This is not just about Nick's Organic Farm, but about the future of farming in Montgomery County," added Mr. Clark, "If longstanding farmers can be treated this way, what are the chances that new farmers are going to want to establish their practice here in Montgomery County?"

Gazette: Montgomery school board opposes state bill on reporting of dating violence incidents

Members, however, back legislation on sharing bullying information

by Andrew Ujifusa | School News

The county school board voted Monday to oppose two bills in the General Assembly related to dating violence, as well as legislation that would require the school system to list budgets for individual schools. 

The school board, however, went against a recommendation of Superintendent of Schools Jerry D. Weast in supporting a bill that would require school boards to encourage the use of open space on school property for gardens. It also supported a bill about sharing bullying information with students and parents...

...They also opposed legislation from Sen. Douglas J.J. Peters (D-Dist. 23) of Bowie that would have required the school system to publish a website listing budget information on a school-by-school basis. The annual budget for the entire school system does not contain individual school data, Weast noted in his memo...

Article continues here.

$46,912 for Membership Dues for Board of Education

In FY 2010 the Board of Education paid $46,912 to be a member of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE). What does our local Board of Education get for that expenditure? For one thing, they get lobbying in Annapolis during the legislative session.


And what does MABE lobby for in Annapolis on behalf of the Board of Education that you elected? Take a look at the lobbying that your tax dollars are funding this year: 

110214_MABE green sheet

Victory Gardens Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Monday, Feb. 14, 2011

Contact: Gordon Clark at 301-801-3406

MCPS Issues New School Vegetable Garden Guidelines

Eighteen Month Long Community Campaign Results in New Learning
Opportunities for County Children

Rockville, MD - The Montgomery County Public School System has just put online new guidelines for schools that want to grow vegetable or "edible" gardens on site.  Those guidelines can be read at

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/outdoored/

These new guidelines come after a more than year long community campaign for the gardens that included educational work, public testimony in front of the county council, and an open letter to Superintendent Jerry Weast advocating for the gardens, which was signed by more than 30 Montgomery County organizations, including the Montgomery County Commission on Health.

"We are delighted that Montgomery County Public Schools have responded to the community demand for vegetable gardening in schools," said Gordon Clark, Project Director of Montgomery Victory Gardens, which led the advocacy campaign.  "We view this as a critical first step toward planting of the full range of vegetable gardens that are currently being employed at schools throughout the nation."

Added Sheryl Freishtat, President of the UME Master Gardeners of Montgomery County, "We are thrilled that MCPS has taken this step forward, and in addition to the new container gardening guidelines that have just been released, will also allow properly planned in-ground vegetable gardens.  Vegetable gardening offers wonderful opportunities to learn about food by growing and tasting fresh vegetables, and we know that students who grow vegetables are more likely to eat them, along with more fresh, healthy food."

The Master Gardeners, which were partners in the advocacy campaign, are now offering trained personal support to those schools that wish to establish vegetable gardens.  Their contact information is included in the new MCPS guidelines.

Audubon Naturalist Society is another county organization that is offering support to MCPS schools that want to grow food.  Their GreenKids program, an educational outreach partnership with MCPS, is initiating a pilot project called "Salad Science" this spring through which six elementary schools will grow lettuce using container gardens designed and built specially for GreenKids by a local Boy Scout troop. "This is an exciting opportunity for us to connect children with nature while providing teachers with truly motivational tools for engaging students in scientific inquiry," explained Diane Lill, GreenKids Project Director. "We hope to create a brighter and healthier future for MCPS students and teachers, one salad at a time."  The GreenKids program can be found at www.ansgreenkids.org

The groups noted that even more educational support for the gardens will be made available this spring.  To help educators and parents learn more about incorporating vegetable gardening into the school curriculum, Montgomery College and the University of Maryland Extension's Master Gardeners are teaming up to offer a new Continuing Education class which will be held April 19-21, 2011.  To learn more about this class and register,  interested individuals can visit their website at http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/wdce/bits.html and search for Garden Educator Training (MGT354), or call 240-567-5188.

#          #          #

Change.org Petition to Encourage School Gardens in Montgomery County, MD

Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

Secret gardens defy Weast ban

The Washington Post:  Frustration sprouts in Montgomery County over resistance to school gardens

...Montgomery County's handful of school vegetable gardens came about only because some schools went rogue and built them without central office permission. Parents whisper about them and try to shield them from publicity...

"Elsewhere, there's so much energy right now" around vegetable gardens at schools, Dill said. In Montgomery, by contrast, "it feels like molasses," she said.

"GreenKids" can''t grow a vegetable garden in MCPS

We know one thing MCPS students won't be doing with this grant money...

“GreenKids: Creating Maryland Green Schools” (Chevy Chase). With a $20,628 Innovation Grant, the Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic States will
partner with Montgomery County Public Schools to expand its GreenKids program to
reach more students. In participating GreenKids schools, each class will receive lessons
on energy conservation, recycling, and watershed conservation as well as take part
schoolyard nature investigations. In addition, each school will receive a grant of $500 to
construct a piece of green infrastructure on their grounds (such as a nature trail or
schoolyard garden). This year, with TogetherGreen support, Montgomery County
streams will become learning laboratories where students can act as both scientists and
conservationists in learning how to test water quality and monitor stream health. At the
end of the year, participating GreenKids schools will be eligible to apply for Maryland
Green School certification. By working in close partnership with schools, GreenKids
gives students a voice in environmental stewardship, connects them to nature, and uses
the outdoors as a living classroom where they can explore and learn lessons that stay with
them into the future.

Hearing on MCPS Ban of Vegetable Gardens to be held Oct. 12th

Vegetable Gardens on MCPS grounds Hearing at County Council

Press Release: Groups Call for End to MCPS School Vegetable Garden Ban

For Immediate Release September 23, 2010
Contact: Gordon Clark, 301-801-3406
gordon@montgomeryvictorygardens.org

List of Montgomery County Groups Calling For End to School Vegetable Garden Ban Grows
Elections, USDA Grants Highlight Importance of Issue


As the school year begins, an increasing number of community organizations are calling for an end to the Montgomery County Public School's ban on school vegetable gardens. More than 30 groups have joined the effort to overturn the ban and bring vegetable gardens to their county's public schools.


"Now that people have returned from the summer, we are seeing renewed interest in this issue," said Gordon Clark, Project Director of Montgomery Victory Gardens. "We predict this community pressure will only build until someone in the county government or the school system agrees to change this detrimental policy. Montgomery County Public Schools should not be allowed to lag behind the rest of the nation in this way."


The de facto ban first came to light at a briefing of the Montgomery County Council last December, and was put in writing by Superintendent Jerry D. Weast on February 26 of this year. The Montgomery County Master Gardeners Association and Montgomery Victory Gardens sent a public letter to Superintendent Weast on June 3 asking that the ban be lifted, a letter which has since been signed by over 30 county organizations and associations, including the Montgomery County Commission on Health. While MCPS officials have since begun discussions on possible community gardens, the ban remains in effect and schools that have actually requested gardens are not being considered as sites for them.


The issue has garnered considerable media attention, and has also entered the election year debate, as the League of Women Voters have made nutrition and school gardens one of the six questions they asked Board of Education candidates, with the answers reprinted in their widely read 2010 Voters' Guide.


Additionally, the US Department of Agriculture, through their People's Garden Program, is offering $1 million in grant money to build community gardens at low-income public schools.


"It's ridiculous that our low-income schools cannot access government funding because the very activity the federal government is trying to promote - food gardening - is banned by our school system," said Sheryl Freishtat, President of the Montgomery County Master Gardeners Association. "Whether your concern is children's nutrition, environmental education, or social and community development, school vegetable gardens are an inspired teaching tool, and there is no reason that Montgomery County Public Schools should continue to ban them."

# # #

To read the original open letter to Superintendent Weast, click here.

Garden plot: How to encourage kids to eat well - wtop.com

Garden plot: How to encourage kids to eat well - wtop.com

..."The best way to get a kid try a vegetable or fruit is to have them help grow it. Guarantee they'll put it in their mouth."
But there's a hitch.
Montgomery County Public Schools don't allow vegetable gardens on the grounds...

Weast to eat his anti vegetable words?

Mont. Co. Commission on Health on MCPS Ban of Vegetable Gardens

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                          
June 23, 2010  

CONTACT                                                                                 

Gordon Clark                                                                                       gordon@montgomeryvictorygardens.org

Montgomery County Commission on Health Challenges
MCPS Ban on School Vegetable Gardens

Commission Is Latest Group to Join Public Letter to Superintendent Weast

Silver Spring, MD - The latest in a growing collection of civic and community groups in Montgomery County requesting that the Montgomery County Public Schools ban on vegetable gardens be revoked is a government agency that knows something about health.

On Tuesday, June 21, the Montgomery County Commission on Health, part of the County's Department of Health and Human Services, signed on to the public letter to MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast requesting that he reconsider his anti-vegetable garden policy.

Joining initial co-signers such as the West Montgomery County Citizens Association, the Audubon Naturalist Society,  the Montgomery Countryside Alliance, and the National Capital Area Garden Clubs, MC Commission on Health Chair Wendy Friar yesterday delivered her group's support to Montgomery Victory Gardens and the Montgomery County Master Gardener Association, co-writers of the letter to Superintendent Weast.

"Your leadership in this area is most timely and welcome," noted Ms. Friar, adding "your organizations' initiative is directly tied to a goal of the Commission's Prevention and Wellness Committee to actively pursue reduction of childhood obesity through diet and exercise."

The open letter was delivered to Superintendent Weast and the School Board of Education on June 3; as of this date, neither has responded.

The open letter to Superintendent Weast regarded school vegetable gardens can be viewed at http://montgomeryvictorygardens.org/documents/htm/weast_ltr.htm

How to Grow a School Garden

MCPS teachers and families, please disregard. You know Superintendent Jerry Weast banned vegetable gardens in MCPS. All others, read on...

National PTA Radio presents How to grow a School Garden. Listen here. 


Read the companion article here.


From the article: 

...Numerous studies point to school gardens as a means of improving academic achievement, promoting healthy lifestyles, demonstrating the principles of stewardship, encouraging community and social development, and instilling a sense of place. Children benefit enormously from a working knowledge of good nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices, and this is compellingly taught in a school garden. Experiences in the garden infinitely improve students’ knowledge about and attitudes toward eating vegetables. Several studies show that students who grow their own food are much more likely to eat fresh fruits and vegetables or express a preference for these foods...

Press Release: Community Groups Seek to End Ban on Vegetable Gardens in MCPS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                 
June 3, 2010                                                                                                   

Contact Gordon Clark                                                                                gordon@montgomeryvictorygardens.org

COMMUNITY GROUPS SEEK TO END BAN ON VEGETABLE GARDENS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY SCHOOLS

POLICY CONTRADICTIONS NOTED IN WAKE OF FIRST LADY'S VISIT

Silver Spring, MD - A growing collection of civic and community groups in Montgomery County are joining together to request that the Montgomery County Public Schools ban on vegetable gardens be revoked.

An open letter requesting the change, written by Montgomery Victory Gardens and the Montgomery County Master Gardener Association, was delivered today to MCPS Superintendent Jerry D. Weast.  While the letter will remain open for additional group signatures, initial co-signers include groups such as the West Montgomery County Citizens Association, the Audubon Naturalist Society,  the Takoma  Park Silver Spring Co-Op, the Montgomery Countryside Alliance, and the National Capital Area Garden Clubs.

"Vegetable gardens bring a multitude of benefits to school students," noted Jon Traunfeld of the University of Maryland Extension’s “Grow It Eat It” campaign, "from increased academic achievement and physical activity to greater environmental understanding and stewardship.  

Vegetable gardens also teach children healthier eating habits, and what could be more important in the battle against childhood obesity than teaching kids how to grow and eat fresh vegetables?"

The irony of the vegetable garden ban is noteworthy in the wake of First Lady Michelle Obama's recent visit to New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring.  "Superintendent Weast was deservedly proud to highlight the school's achievement in the Healthier U.S. Schools Challenge," observed Gordon Clark, Project Director of Montgomery Victory Gardens, "but was Michelle Obama aware that the Superintendent has banned school vegetable gardens, another one of her signature priorities?"

The ban on vegetable gardens is not part of written school policy, but was announced by Dr. Weast in a February 26 memo to the Board of Education. Other types of gardens, such as butterfly gardens or "sensory" gardens, are allowed.  Some Montgomery County schools have submitted applications to build vegetable gardens, only to be refused by the MCPS Department of Facilities Management.  The open letter responds to concerns raised in Dr. Weast's memo, while also outlining the many benefits vegetable gardens would bring to our county's school children.

The open letter can be viewed at http://montgomeryvictorygardens.org/documents/htm/weast_ltr.htm

reBlog from voices.washingtonpost.com: FLOTUS to visit Silver Spring school

A famous visitor coming our way!

First lady Michelle Obama has invited Mexico's first lady to tour a Silver Spring elementary school honored for teaching healthy living.voices.washingtonpost.com, FLOTUS to visit Silver Spring school, May 2010

Let's just hope she doesn't ask to see the vegetable garden!