Manchester School fourth-grade teacher Stacey Sanborn thinks giving students a fundamental understanding about plants and gardening is important in a state reliant upon farming and agriculture and that belief has earned her a national award for her work.
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| Manchester School fourth-grade teacher Stacey Sanborn is one of eight recipients of the '2023 Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture' national award presented to teachers across America. She has taught at Manchester School for the last 19 years. COURTESY PHOTO |
“National Agriculture in the Classroom is honored to recognize and celebrate these talented teachers for their innovative approach to teaching core academic concepts through the lens of food and agriculture,” said Katie Carpenter, president of NAITCO and director of New York Agriculture in the Classroom. “Their effort to provide authentic learning experiences for their students is critical to creating an agriculturally literate generation who understands and appreciates the source and value of agriculture in their daily lives.”
Carpenter said that Sanborn was chosen as one of the award recipients because she believes in the importance of access to fresh food for all and her dedication to gardening and local food access has led to her students providing produce for the Manchester School cafeteria and the Windham Food Pantry.
“Students are actively involved in all aspects of the garden, and food activities are integrated into her curricula year-round,” Carpenter said. “This year her reach has expanded to the whole school and local community with Agricultural Literacy Night and the Read ME Agriculture project in many classrooms in addition to her own.”
Manchester School Principal Danielle Donnini said Sanborn’s award is a source of pride for students and the community.
Manchester School Principal Danielle Donnini said Sanborn’s award is a source of pride for students and the community.
“This highly selective award is an excellent opportunity to recognize Stacey Sanborn's creative commitment to our learners, to agricultural education, and to our school community,” Donnini said. “We are looking forward to the resources and experiences that this award will provide for Stacey that we know she will bring back to our community.”
In 2022, Sanborn was honored for her work by the Maine Agriculture In The Classroom Award as its “Teacher of the Year” and for introducing children to the importance of food insecurity and how it affects the lives of others in the community.
She is in her 19th year of teaching at Manchester School and 24th year in her career and says she first developed an interest in the topic of food insecurity in high school while working on a 4-H project creating a Hunger Garden. That project was recognized by WCSH Channel 6 and resulted in her winning the television station’s “America’s Future Award” and it prompted her to want to become a teacher.
“I think it is important for my students to be agriculturally literate individuals. Meaning, that they need to have an understanding about where their food comes from; how and where it is being grown, and processed, and how it gets from the farm to their table,” Sanborn said. “I also think it is important for everyone to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. School and community gardens can help fight food insecurity in our country. By having my students be active in our school gardens, they are directly involved in service learning, something else I feel very strongly about, and fighting food insecurity locally.”
Sanborn earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of New Hampshire and went on to obtain a master’s degree in education from the University of Southern Maine.
Her agricultural lessons began at Manchester School when her students created a flower garden and they would make flower arrangements and give them to new staff members. Through the years, she’s expanded the program to the point it now includes 12 raised beds for vegetable gardens and a hoop house with three raised beds. The school campus also has six apple trees, three pear trees, and two different varieties of grapevines.
The students are actively involved in all facets of the gardening process at the school, from seed to harvest, and Sanborn said that she has been able to incorporate traditional reading, writing, and arithmetic lessons into the gardening program through various activities such as composting and soil experiments, pollination, maintaining detailed records, data collection, and harvest analysis among others. Sanborn has also been able to include a social studies aspect to the gardening and agriculture program as well.
“The pride and enjoyment that I see in my students when working in the school gardens or when engaged in authentic learning related to agriculture, encourages me to continue to expand my agricultural literacy program at Manchester School for my students and my colleagues,” Sanborn said.
Sanborn lives in Standish with her husband, David and has two adult sons, Nicholas and Colby.
“My family is very proud of my award. They know how committed I have been over the years to the school gardens and with integrating agriculture into my curriculum,” she said. “They are excited for me to have this recognition and the opportunity to attend a second National Agricultural In the Classroom Conference again this year, where I will officially receive my award.” <
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