Washington, DC – The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) today officially announced the 22 awardees of its inaugural School Garden Grant Program, designed to engage students in garden-based learning and integrate nutrition themes into school curriculum in support of the D.C. healthy Schools Act.

Representing both District of Columbia Public Schools and District Public Charter Schools and selected after a competitive application process for awards up to $10,000, the 22 OSSE School Garden Grant Recipients are:

 Ward 1: Capitol City PCS, Cleveland ES, D.C. Bilingual PCS

Ward 2: Mundo Verde Bilingual School PCS

Ward 3: Horace Mann ES, Janney ES, Stoddert ES

Ward 4: Bridges Academy, E.L. Haynes PCS

Ward 5: E.W. Stokes PCS, John Burroughs Education Campus, Mary McLeod Bethune PCS, McKinley Technology HS, Washington Yu Ying PCS

Ward 6: Capitol Hill Montessori School at Logan, Eastern HS, Watkins ES

Ward 7: D.C. Art & Technology Academy PCS, Friendship PCS:  Blow Pierce Junior Academy

Ward 8: Anacostia HS, Excel Academy PCS, Thurgood Marshall Academy PCS

 To commemorate the March 20 official start of the 2012 Spring Season, the OSSE Division of Wellness and Nutrition Services also hosts School Garden 101 Training today and the upcoming Growing Garden Teachers Spring Workshop March 23-24, bringing together Local Education Agency School Administrators, Staff and Community Members for an overview of the District of Columbia school garden program, best practices and tactics for starting, maintaining, and utilizing school gardens to support nutrition-based lessons as a part of their curriculum. 

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Note: Seating capacity for the OSSE Growing Garden Teachers Spring Workshop is limited and additional information is available online at http://dcgreens.org/school-garden.