ATTACHMENT A

Scope of Work for 60^th Avenue Learning Gardens Laboratory:

Health, Multiculturalism and Academic Achievement

A Portland Public Schools (PPS) and Portland State University (PSU) Project

Summary

The Learning Gardens Laboratory (LGL) will be developed as a hands-on educational site, located on SE 60^th Avenue where Portland Public Schools (PPS) previously housed the Green Thumb horticultural education program. The project seeks to boost academic achievement and foster healthy eating habits in children and youth by providing stimulating teaching and learning environments through a learning gardens pedagogy that is simultaneously multicultural, multisensory, intergenerational and interdisciplinary. To achieve its goals, the project will mobilize experts in the fields of curriculum, instruction, teacher preparation, and food systems from Portland State University (PSU), Portland Public Schools (PPS), and non-profit and community organizations. LGL will provide the needed technical and hands-on experiences to PPS students, teachers and parents, and PSU students and faculty.

Strategic planning conducted during the first year will ensure that the 60^th Avenue LGL project does not duplicate, displace or replace other programs within the city, and instead enriches and enhances the actors involved in school gardens, local farms, and community organizations. This planning will identify efficiencies and develop strategies to increase funding for food and garden programs. Development of the LGL will link two distinct groups: (i) Food-based organizations such as Community Gardens, Growing Gardens, JEAN’s Urban Forest Farm, Oregon Tilth, 47th Avenue Farm, Zenger Farm, etc; and (ii) K-12 school-based and community-based service organizations such as African American Health Coalition, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), Oregon Council for Hispanic Advancement (OCHA), Slavic Coalition, Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN), Title IX Indian Education, etc. The interface of these two groups will conserve and promote the rich farming and agroecological economy of the Willamette Valley, while engaging organizations working to support the education of minority and low-income youth. The Brentwood Darlington Neighborhood Association has passed a resolution endorsing the project, and PSU will continue to coordinate with the Association and with the Green Thumb Coalition, a neighborhood group involved with the site.

The 60^th Avenue LGL project will serve as a demonstration learning site for children and youth. Key partnering Portland Public schools are: Lane Middle School, Kellogg Middle School, and Lewis Elementary schools--all Title I schools. Other schools that are currently participating in the Food-Based Ecological Education Design (FEED) project, which is a PPS-PSU partnership started in 2004, will also be participating in the LGL project: Abernethy (since Edwards has merged with Abernethy this year, this school will be invited to participate to the degree it can), Atkinson, Buckman, Chief Joseph and Sunnyside Environmental. The project will also involve PSU students from several courses and degree programs related to teacher education, sustainability education, community development, community food systems, biology, marketing, urban studies, etc. The project will be conducted on-site in the K-12 schools listed above and at the 60^th Avenue site.

Scope of Work and Program Plan: 2005-2006

To carry out the LGL project, PSU shall complete the following activities:

A.  ADMINISTRATION

•  Complete leases with Parks and PPS

•  Set up fiscal arrangements at PSU

•  Provide $125,000 in financial and inkind support for the project

•  Develop site design/plan; make security arrangements

•  Form Learning Gardens Laboratory Advisory Board with representation from Portland Public Schools, Portland-Multnomah Food Policy Council (FPC), community organizations, neighborhood association, and PSU

•  Hire and train staff

•  Explore and write relevant grants to secure funding for future years

•  Present Progress Reports to OSD in December 2005, March 2006, and June 2006

B.  PLANNING

•  Develop a strategic plan to guide long-term development of the project, including:

o  Description of PSU program activities expected on the site, with long-term program targets (for example, number of students served) and monitoring plan

o  Descriptions of how neighbors or other community organizations are expected to use the site

o  Identification of any land use approvals to accommodate desired growth and uses

o  Investigation of project aspirations and concerns among teachers, neighbors, and community partners

o  Site development and maintenance plans

o  Staffing and management plan and identification of strategic partnerships with other organizations

o  Plan for coordinating with other school and summer food programs in outer southeast Portland. The goals of this plan are to seek efficiencies and to expand resources for these programs.

o  Projected capital costs and ongoing facility, site maintenance and program delivery costs;

o  Identified sources of funding

•  A draft of the strategic plan will be submitted for review by the City, and an updated document will be provided with the final report

•  Participate in long-term “visioning” plan with City and FPC playing the lead role

•  Plan for PSU commitments for courses with community-based learning; faculty capacity-building, and other commitments

C.  PROGRAM DELIVERY

K-12 school-specific

•  Identify and get commitments from 8 Portland Public Schools

•  At each school, confirm participation by principal, 2 teachers, students, parents, and neighborhood community

•  PSU and PPS students will design, plan, grow, and harvest plants/food in site plots allocated; this will be related back to the curriculum

•  Form Learning Gardens Committee at each school to ensure ownership and capacity-building; membership includes principal, teachers, parents, students, and neighborhood

•  Initiate professional development at each school for curricular and instructional integration and materials development

•  Initiate parental outreach and participation of minority communities at Lane Middle School

PSU-specific

•  Identify PSU courses with community-based learning to be linked with LGL schools and site; build partnerships with schools.

60^th Avenue site-specific

•  Design site layout, tilling and planting; design irrigation system

•  Test soil; compost start-up; clear, clean, and renovate greenhouse

•  Seed starts, planting, pruning, and soil/bed preparation as indicated in the site design/plan

•  Ground-breaking neighborhood community celebration: Advertise through Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood Association and participating schools

•  Inaugurate 60^th Avenue LGL site in January: Invite PPS Superintendent, PSU provost, Portland’s Mayor and Commissioners, and other dignitaries.

•  Plan and offer 9 workshops with multi-site possibilities that include Community Gardens, Metro, Zenger, and JEAN’s farm among others; coordinate to avoid duplication

D.  SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND INVOLVEMENT

•  Present project to Brentwood Darlington Neighborhood Association; seek continued support

•  Set up school partnerships for participation at the site with Abernethy, Atkinson, Buckman, Chief Joseph, Kellogg, Lane, Lewis, Sunnyside; reach out to communities through PTAs and Newsletters

•  Initiate partnerships with potential communities identified in the proposal; share information through school-based and other community organizations

•  Organize opening celebration/ground-breaking at the site

E.  ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING

•  Project oversight will be provided by the following entities:

o  The Learning Gardens Laboratory Advisory Board, with representation from organizations listed in Section A above, and the working groups formed within the Advisory Board, will meet not less often than quarterly. Separate working groups will be formed within the Advisory Board to address community outreach, site management and maintenance, funding, and curriculum and instruction.

o  Bureau of Parks and Recreation (landlord)

o  Portland Public School District (landlord)

o  PSU Grants and Contracts office ensuring accountability to the City

•  Progress reports will be submitted to OSD at the end of December 2005 and March 2006. Annual report will be submitted with documentation of progress on June 30, 2006. These reports will include:

o  Description of progress toward the Measurable Outcomes listed below

o  Fiscal summary of program budget including program expenses and dollars received from the City, PSU and other sources

o  Any evaluation reports or analysis

o  Description of project challenges or project elements behind schedule

o  Description of community input received.

F.  EVALUATION

•  PSU will document progress toward creating an operational site and providing positive experiences for students, teachers, and the community.

•  PSU will develop a framework for evaluating the impact of the project on educational achievement and other outcomes.

•  Dr. Lauri Shanisky, a scientist and an ecological educator, or similarly qualified expert will serve as Project Evaluator for on-going and summative program evaluation.

The project budget is provided in Exhibit 1.

Measurable Results:

Since the project takes a holistic, multi-activities approach, the following are not in linear order. Hence, the three Reports will address progress for each of the following outcomes:

•  8 PPS schools will commit to and participate in the project

•  2 teachers from each school will make a commitment to and participate in professional development and integration of garden-based learning in their curriculum

•  Model K-12 curriculum will be developed and posted on PSU website

•  At each school, a Learning Gardens Committee will be formed; this committee will provide support and oversight to the project at each school site

•  400 K-12 students, most from Lane Middle School and Kellogg Middle School, will participate at the LGL 60^th Avenue site for a total of 4000 garden-based learning hours

•  Hands-on activities for students at LGL 60^th Avenue site will be documented

•  9 workshops will be offered with potential community partners; these will rotate at multi-sites as appropriate

•  10 flexible raised beds will be built for vegetables

•  Quantity of food grown on the LGL 60^th Avenue site will be documented

•  Greenhouse will be renovated and brought on-code

•  Orchard will be replanted in partnership with Community Gardens

•  10 PSU courses will be linked to the project with 100 PSU students contributing 30 hours each for a total of 3000 hours for this project

•  Strategic plan will be developed as described in Section A

•  LGL team will participate in long-term “visioning” plan convened by the Food Policy Council

•  Plans will be developed for long-term commitments of PSU faculty/courses with community-based learning