Updates from EUSD

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This newsletter includes information on the following topics:

• Message from Superintendent Andrée Grey
• Earth Week Updates: Capri Kindergarten and EUSD Green Team
• Update from Park Dale Lane
• Update from Farm Lab
• Bike Safety
• Ecoliteracy Showcase: May 2nd at Farm Lab. 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
  

Dear EUSD Families and Staff,

This week, Board President Marlon Taylor, Board Member Marla Strich and I joined 270 educators and Board Members from California in the nation’s capital for meetings with members of Congress and their staff on Capitol Hill. We attended informational briefings and had opportunities to learn from prominent educational pollsters, journalists, researchers, members of Congress and representatives from Health and Human Services, the USDA, and the United States Department of Education. Our focus was to learn more from these entities and to advocate with decision-makers in Washington on topics such as special education funding, mental health resources for children and cybersecurity for schools. We were honored to share the work of EUSD with our representatives and also to share the concerns about needs we see within our district.

Warmly,

Andrée Grey, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Capri kindergarten students and teachers love partnering with community organizations and parent volunteers for hands-on environmental science lessons and sharing their learning with the community. During Earth Week, Capri kindergarten students would like to remind everyone to protect our Encinitas storm drains by ensuring “Only Rain Down the Drain”.

To play the video, click here or on the photo below.

We would like to thank our District EUSD Green Team and the Site representatives for creating such a great week celebrating and recognizing Earth Week. Throughout the year, this team meets at the Farm Lab monthly to discuss sustainability practices and education for our schools.

Each month, a school presents an update to the Board of Trustees. In April, Park Dale Lane fourth graders presented the evidence and findings from their eco-literacy hydroponic project. For the last six months, these students have been growing hydroponic lettuce as part of a hands-on experiment to determine the benefit of growing hydroponically. They tested the water regularly to maintain the proper pH and nutrition levels of the water and had two successful crops. Their findings from this experiment showed that growing hydroponically allows for huge water savings versus growing in soil. Huge savings! Not only did they learn about the benefits of growing vegetables with hydroponics, but they grew enough produce to donate to local food pantries this month and plan on running a PDL farmers market in the future. Park Dale Lane students and teachers are so thankful for the important partnership we have with BCK programs and look forward to our next eco-literacy project.

For this year’s update to the Board of Trustees, Julie Burton shared updates on the three, main components at Farm Lab: the DREAMS Sustainability Campus, the certified regenerative organic farm, and the community meeting spaces.

Educational programming continues to evolve with the space, and there have been intentional changes to increase engagement levels and clarify the program is far more than a ‘farm field trip.’ Learning experiences are project and place-based, teach universal sustainability understandings, and are part of a comprehensive Next Generation Science Standards curriculum for all EUSD students.

Farm Lab’s team has been independently managing the organic farm and farm to school program since last spring. They provide annual successions of lettuce, carrots and seasonal produce for school salad bars and scratch made lunch items, as well as a large summer harvest of paste tomatoes that are used in pizza and pasta sauces made at the central kitchen year round. Their regenerative growing practices improve soil and support higher levels of carbon sequestration.

As the space has grown, so has interest in using the community meeting spaces. Facility use guidelines have shifted to support green events and ensure any use does not impact farm production or educational programming.

In a continued effort around bike (and ebike) education both for parents and students, we wanted to share this link with our community. This recent session, “All About E-Bikes” gives helpful info from Kevin Baross with the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition.

As Earth Day brings much needed attention to our environment in the month of April, EUSD focuses on responsible stewardship all year long. On May 2nd, join EUSD, Farm Lab and BCK Programs, our sustainability partners, for a peek into many of EUSD's ecoliteracy programs. The community is invited to participate by visiting each school's student-run booth and asking questions about the solutions to pollution they have worked on throughout the school year. Attendees will also be able to talk with the education team from Farm Lab to learn more about the unique learning experiences offered to every student during their annual visits.

EUSD's Ecoliteracy Showcase is on May 2nd from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm at Farm Lab (441 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas).

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