S T U D EN T S P O T L I G H T : A F R U I T F U L S P R I N G

As a REAL School Gardens supporter, you planted seeds of learning that have burst into bloom over the

past school year. Our work would not be possible without your support—thank you for joining with us to

engage students in learning that is real, relevant and right outside their classroom walls.

T H E B O U N T Y O F T H E S E A S O N

♦ 6 new school gardens installed with the

participation of 1,368 people, including

many parents and community members.

♦ 21,542 students and 923 teachers

spent more than 5,600 hours using

their outdoor classrooms.

♦ Our educators trained 177 teachers and

reached 3,725 students through 62

individualized sessions that model

outdoor instruction.

♦ 1,110 additional volunteers supported

our schools by donating over 2,000

hours of their time.

N EW G A R D E N S P O T L I G H T : H O L I D A Y H E I G H T S

Along with 5 other

schools, Holiday

Heights Elementary

went from a blank,

grassy canvas to a

state-of-the-art

outdoor classroom

this year. This Birdville

ISD school was the

first garden project of the Suzy Peacock Friendship Circle, a

giving circle established in memory of RSG’s founder. Nearly 350

people attended the community design charrette and another

200 lent a hand for the installation. The garden includes a

bamboo trellis, row-cropping area, perennial beds and an earth

science station as well as a stage and a tree house. RSG is proud

to partner with Holiday Heights—a school that is truly taking

outdoor learning to new heights!

The energy emanating from eager young minds ready to

learn outside was ever-present in our work this year, and our

students have been using their outdoor classrooms to learn

everything under

the sun. More than

1,000 students

participated in design and installation events for our six new gardens, and our

staff educators directly connected with 3,725 students during teaching visits

in their outdoor classrooms. Even as our reach expands, we are reminded of

the individual experiences that fuel our passion for outdoor learning as

captured by one student’s words of gratitude (see above).

“I’d been coming to this school since kindergarten,

and I’d never seen that area as anything more than

a field of grass, now I can hardly remember what it

looked like before we had our garden. This garden

has definitely changed my outlook on learning...”

—5th Grader at Holiday Heights Elementary

LEARNER’S ALMANAC

SUMMER 2011

A handy reference for how your gift has grown this season

CO M M U N I T Y P A R T N ER S P O T L I G H T :

N F L P L A Y ER S L I V E ! I N T H E CO M M U N I T Y

REAL School Gardens partnered with the NFL Players and

NIKE for an action-packed Health & Wellness Clinic at

Ronald E. McNair Elementary in Dallas on May 4th.

McNair’s 850 students teamed up with some of their

favorite NFL heroes to participate in a day of activities to

motivate students to go beyond the classroom and

experience how outdoor learning can help them grow into

healthier people. Read more about this exciting event on

the First Lady’s Let’s Move! blog at www.letsmove.gov.

HARVEST SPOTL IGHT: POTATO SCHOL AR S

This year we unveiled full-day, faculty-wide trainings for our new

school partners after the installation of their outdoor classrooms, and

we continued with our version of “on-the-job” training through

ongoing model teaching sessions. All of our training makes direct

connections to state educational standards and engages teachers in

the same kind of experiential learning that we encourage

them to practice with students. Our trainings are

designed to increase both competence and confidence in

using the outdoor classroom across all subject areas, and

we cover everything from math in a fertilizer bag to

garden-inspired poetry and essays.

ED U C A T O R S A R E NOT L A Y I N G D O W N O N T H E J O B

As part of the Potato

Scholars project,

students at eight of

our partner schools

harvested 400

pounds of potatoes

to donate to eight

food pantries in

Tarrant County! In the process, they learned about life

cycles, measurement, graphing, parts of plants, change

over time, and community service while experiencing

the joy of helping others. Learn more in our Potato

Scholars blog post at:

www.REALschoolgardens.org/REALstories.

There’s still time to get your own garden growing this

summer—grow the following veggies along with us!

♦ Sweet corn

♦ Beans

♦ Squash

♦ Peppers

♦ Eggplant

♦ Gourds

♦ Pumpkins

♦ Okra

Post-Training Reflections from Educators

at Holiday Heights Elementary

♦ 97% believe there are academic benefits for

students engaged in outdoor learning.

♦ 86% agree that the training is connected “directly

and explicitly” with the state curriculum standards

to which they are accountable.

Educators at Holiday Heights learn to create a “people graph,”

a full-body experience that helps children understand relative

frequency, categorization and graphical representation.

“This training took learning from the inside

[with] books to the outside in nature.”

“Outdoor learning can create engaging

lessons across all subjects and help achieve

the mission of the school.”

-Educators at Holiday Heights E.S.

REAL School Gardens ● 503 Bryan Ave. Fort Worth, TX 76104 ● 817-348-8102 ● www.realschoolgardens.org ● www.facebook.com/REALSchoolGardens

Isaiah Stanback of the Seattle Seahawks cheers on a

McNair student in the compost orb relay race!