Garden Teacher

Edible Schoolyard NYC partners with public schools to build gardens and kitchen classrooms where children can engage in hands-on learning. Our goal is to provide students with the knowledge, skills and environment required to make healthy and sustainable food choices throughout their lives.

In 1995, nationally acclaimed restaurateur and food activist Alice Waters created the first Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California, pioneering the notion that the best place to teach children the connection between food, health and the environment is in our schools.

Established in 2010, Edible Schoolyard NYC is the first northeastern affiliate of the program, and is committed to bringing the vision of a garden-based, edible education to New York City.

Position Overview:

The Garden Teacher teaches regular garden classes for K-5th grade students, helping to modify and create curriculum as needed, and assists a staff and volunteer team in the maintenance of a productive and educational garden at Edible Schoolyard NYC's Showcase School site at PS 216 in Brooklyn. He or she also teaches professional development workshops demonstrating garden education to teachers throughout New York City.

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Teaching:

• Work with another garden instructor to co-teach daily garden classes appropriate to an ethnically diverse, urban K-5 student population.
• Guide students through propagation, planting, cultivation and maintenance of the garden, including creation and care of small garden structures.
• Teach grade-appropriate, standards-based academic content incorporated in the ESYNYC garden curriculum
• Model respect and curiosity for learning. Encourage students' interests and talents.
• Lead professional development workshops to demonstrate garden education to teachers throughout the city.
• As program expansion occurs, and at the discretion of the Director of Education and the Executive Director, assume head teacher responsibilities, including mentoring and supporting an assistant teacher.
• Participate in regularly scheduled internal professional development with the Director of Education and other ESYNYC teaching staff.

Gardening:

The Garden Teacher will collaborate with the ESYNYC Garden Manager to:

• Ensure that the garden is maintained in a manner that ensures continual readiness to host garden classes as well as ample produce for use in the kitchen classroom, PS 216 community and special events.
• Support year-round propagation, soil fertility, composting, crop rotation, garden planning, pruning, irrigation and pest and disease management.
• Maintain facilities and equipment in good working order, including: tool shed, greenhouse, irrigation system, and tools.

Management, Communication and Outreach:

• Help establish and oversee a team of Americorps volunteers.
• Design, implement and support extracurricular programming to support Edible Schoolyard NYC's mission and curriculum
• Maintain effective communication with ESYNYC staff and volunteers, PS 216 classroom teachers and administrative staff and the extended community of parents, local businesses, neighbors and school garden educators.
• Stay informed of PS 216 events and activities. Be an active presence in the school community and attend PS 216 all-staff meetings as appropriate.
• Participate in ESYNYC staff meetings, staff development days and program development meetings.
• Welcome visitors to the program. Participate in ESYNYC events and community outreach efforts.

Supervision and Reporting:

• Dual report to Director of Education and Executive Director and collaborate with the entire ESYNYC staff. Participate in annual evaluation meetings with your supervisors to review performance and establish goals.
• Represent ESYNYC to the wider community through public speaking and attendance at and participation in related meetings or conferences.
• Work closely with ESYNYC Executive Director to develop program goals and ensure that the garden team receives regular, accurate information about those goals. Maintain a high level of interest in the ESYNYC program components and implementation plans.
• Maintain a working knowledge of the ESYNYC program budget and manage spending to that budget.

Qualifications:

Education and Licenses:

• Masters in education and/or New York State teaching license strongly preferred
• Bachelor's degree in education, horticulture, environmental science or related field required.

Language and Work Related Experience:

• Prior teaching experience required.
• Experience living and gardening in an urban setting strongly preferred.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

• Ability to work with frequent interruption and to simultaneously supervise a variety of tasks.
• Ability to stand, stoop, reach and bend. Mobility of arms to reach, dexterity of hands to grasp and manipulate large and small objects.
• Ability to read small print.
• Ability to stand for long periods.
• Ability to walk long distances.
• Ability to lift, push and/or pull objects, which may be approximately 50 pounds.
• Ability to work with and in the proximity of, equipment with moving mechanical parts.
• Ability to work outdoors and tolerate varying weather conditions.
• Ability to smell, taste and feel, in order to determine quality of raw food products.
• May be required to work around loud noise.
• Some weekend work is required.

Start Date: September 1st

To Apply:

Please send resume and cover letter to Christiane Baker's attention.