Performing Department
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Non Technical Summary
Urban agriculture, which is defined as the growing of food in and around cities and its integration into the social, economic and ecological fabric of an urban system, is increasingly recognized as an important component of a sustainable food system. Whether through community farms or, with the advent of hydroponic technology, indoor commercial farming space, urban agriculture presents the opportunity to grow local, easily-transportable fresh produce that facilitates access to healthy food, improves food security, and creates skilled jobs for local residents.Building a workforce skilled in the nuances of urban agriculture - both soil-based and hydroponic - is crucial to growing this sector. New York City is a prime location for expanding the field: the city already has a strong network, practice, and culture of urban farming, from the more than 700 community gardens throughout five boroughs, many of which began on abandoned building lots and now are protected, to a rapidly-growing commercial farming industry. It also has robust community-based movements and local policy initiatives centered around food security, local food access, and their intersection with environmental justice. Needed, however, are opportunities for youth and young adults to formally train and build the skills they need to participate equitably in this growing sector.NY Sun Works, a non-profit leader in K-12 sustainable urban agriculture education in NYC, is well-positioned to address this need. We build Hydroponic Classrooms in city schools, pairing them with our grade-specific curriculum and comprehensive teacher training, to teach science, sustainability, and climate education through hydroponic farming. Students master seed-to-harvest hydroponic farming and grow hundreds of pounds of fresh produce to share with their families while also diving into core science content, sustainability and climate education. We currently serve over 300 schools throughout the city, reaching 120,000 students in the 2023-24 school year, with a focus on supporting students in historically underserved communities. In 2022, we also launched the city's first Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Workforce Development program for high school students, which was developed with funding from USDA-UAIP and follows Cornell University's Indoor Farming program framework. The program equips high school students with technical skills, environmental science knowledge, and workforce readiness training while building pathways for high school graduates to participate equitably on New York's green economy.With the SPECA grant, NY Sun Works will be able to: 1) upgrade our current urban agriculture workforce development curriculum to meet community college-level course standards; 2) secure CPL (credit for prior learning) approval at the associate's degree level from LaGuardia Community College, a two-year college within the City University of NY system; 3) train 12 CEA science teachers in the revised curriculum; 4) reach an estimated 650+ students over the course of the grant cycle with expanded CEA training; and 5) assess student outcomes, including student post-secondary matriculation rates, to evaluate the impact of the CPL opportunity on student decisions to pursue post-secondary opportunities at LaGuardia.These initiatives will support several key agriculture policy priorities by enhancing urban agriculture education curricula; decreasing barriers to and encouraging interest in post-secondary study in the sustainable urban agriculture field, particularly for students from low-income historically underrepresented populations; and, by facilitating opportunities for post-secondary study, growing the pipeline of skilled workers entering the food and agricultural sectors. These initiatives further address the overarching need to support equitable access to higher education for students from historically underrepresented communities. Introducing students to postsecondary programs and providing credit for prior learning will decrease barriers to entry and support ongoing student success (for example, studies show that credit for prior learning increases student persistence and improves student outcomes in postsecondary programs). In addition, the training we will provide to high school teachers in curriculum implementation and hydroponic farming skills will build teachers' skills and expand the program's reach to successive cohorts of students even after the grant cycle concludes, supporting urban agriculture education over the long-term. ?
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
NY Sun Works is dedicated to providing today's youth with the education and skills they need to be empowered as citizens, scientists, innovators, and decision-makers to build a more sustainable and equitable future. Supporting this vision by facilitating educational and career pathways in the sector is a top priority in our immediate and long-term objectives. The SPECA grant will enable expansion and improvement of a key part of this work by enabling NY Sun Works to: 1) upgrade our current CEA curriculum to meet community college-level course standards; 2) secure CPL (credit for prior learning) approval at the associate's degree level from LaGuardia Community College, a two-year college within the City University of NY (CUNY system); 3) train 8-12 CEA science teachers in the revised curriculum; 4) implement 6 sessions of the revised program (reaching an estimated 650 students over the grant cycle); and 5) assess student outcomes, including student post-secondary matriculation rates, to evaluate the impact of the CPL opportunity on student decisions to pursue post-secondary opportunities at LaGuardia.The project will achieve the following goals and objectives:Strengthening and supporting high school course curricula in urban agriculture and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) education by aligning course content with college-level requirements;650+ high school students meet college-level requirements in hydroponic farming and related science content and build workforce readiness skills in interviewing, resume writing, and professionalism;650+ students better prepared for postsecondary study and careers12 high school teachers build seed-to-harvest hydroponic farming and pedagogical skills for teaching CEA, supporting ongoing urban agriculture educationIncreasing interest in and decreasing barriers to post-secondary study in urban ag & CEA for high school students, particularly for low-income students and historically underrepresented populations;650+ students learn about college admission process and requirements;60% of participating students see LaGuardia's Sustainable Urban Agriculture program in action Building students' foundational knowledge in urban ag and CEA;650+ students instructed in technical hydroponic farming skills; crop cultivation & harvesting; food distribution; role of urban agriculture in sustainable food systemsBuilding linkages between secondary and post-secondary institutions to foster credit transfer between high schools and community colleges.CEA course approved for credit for prior learning at LaGuardia Community College, facilitating student entry into 2-year sustainable urban agriculture program and decreasing tuition expenses The project will also facilitate NY Sun Works' immediate and long-term goals of facilitating educational and career pathways in the urban agricultural sector as part of our larger mission of providing today's youth with the education and skills they need to be empowered as citizens, scientists, innovators, and decision-makers to build a more sustainable and equitable future.
Project Methods
This two-year project will begin in September 2024 and will be led by NY Sun Works' Director of Education, Dr. Elizabeth McKoy. Dr. McKoy will liaise with LaGuardia on the CPL process; oversee completion of all project deliverables; and work with the program assessment subcontractor to prepare and analyze the student and teacher evaluation surveys. Dr. McKoy will be supported by NY Sun Works' CEA Program Coordinator Melissa Laudenbach and CEA Manager Sage Cormier. The CEA Program Coordinator will be responsible for communicating with school principals and school instructors about the CPL option; program implementation and logistics in each school; and coordinating NY Sun Works' annual Career & College Fair and student field trips to LaGuardia. The CEA Specialist will oversee teacher training in the upgraded curriculum; conduct student practical assessments as part of the CEA course; curriculum content revisions in collaboration with the Coordinator and Dr. McKoy; and handle distribution and collection of the student and teacher outcome surveys.LaGuardia Community College will have an unfunded role in this project. LaGuardia Professor Preethi Radhakrishnan, Program Director of LaGuardia's Environmental Science Associate's Degree program, will oversee review of curriculum content to ensure course alignment with LaGuardia requirements and will apprise Dr. McKoy and Ms. Laudenbach of content revisions. Once revisions are completed, Dean Dionne Miller, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at LaGuardia, in collaboration Marsha Orapeza, Director of Credit for Prior Learning, will bring the course through the CPL process and ensure its listing with the Registrar. The project has 4 main phases:Phase 1: Curriculum Revision & Development of Assessment Instruments (approximately 3 months), undertaken by NY Sun Works with input from LaGuardia;Phase 2: Credit for Prior Learning Attainment Process, undertaken by LaGuardia Community College (approximately 3 months);Phase 3: CEA Course Implementation & Program Promotion, including teacher training; CEA course implementation; and student college and career events (September - June, both years)Phase 4: Evaluation & Assessment, including distribution and analysis of student and teacher surveys (at conclusion of each session); program assessment and analysis (end of grant cycle).Evaluation methodology:NY Sun Works uses a set of qualitative and quantitative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess program progress and impact. These metrics, listed below, are separated into four performance categories: credit for prior learning approval; student knowledge & skills; student engagement with post-high school opportunities; and teacher outcomes. The metrics enable us to track the project's progress and impact throughout implementation and to adapt our approach as needed based on interim assessments. We also use aggregated data to evaluate the project's overall effectiveness in achieving our educational objectives.Credit for Prior Learning ApprovalLessons revised and updated to community college standards (60-70 lessons). Tracked internally by NY Sun Works Education TeamCredit for Prior Learning approval through LaGuardia Community College (target date: January 2025)Student Knowledge & Skills650+ students reached during the 2-year project: 15 students per CEA class, 8 participating schools, and 3 program sessions in Y1. In year 2, we will expand to 12 schools, with 15 students / school and another 3 program sessions. Enrollment data gathered by NY Sun Works CEA Specialist at start and completion of each session.90% of students demonstrate increased farming proficiency, science foundations, and general workforce readiness through practical & written assessments. Practical assessments are administered by NY Sun Works CEA Specialist; written assessments by the school's hydroponic science teacher. Assessment performance data is then aggregated and analyzed by NY Sun Works' CEA Coordinator and Director of Education.50-60% of students achieve program certification each session. Based on prior experience with CEA program implementation, many students in the population we serve encounter challenges with attendance for health and other reasons, limiting the total number of students who successfully fulfill all certification requirements.80% of students express satisfaction with instruction & knowledge gained from program (student survey);Student Engagement with Post-High School Opportunities60% of students attend field trip to LaGuardia (data gathered by NY Sun Works CEA Specialist and school hydroponic science teacher)60% of students attend Career & College Fair (data gathered by NY Sun Works CEA Specialist and school hydroponic science teacher)20-30% of students pursue internships, jobs, or post-secondary education in green sectors (student survey at completion of session; follow-up survey of teachers; interviews conducted after career & college fairs). Surveys will be designed and analyzed by program assessment sub-contractor in collaboration with NY Sun Works Director of Education and distributed by NY Sun Works CEA Specialist)10% of students submit applications to LaGuardia Community College (aggregated data gathered from LaGuardia)3-5% of students matriculate at LaGuardia (aggregated data shared by LaGuardia)Teacher Outcomes12 teachers trained and mentored in teaching hydroponic farming technical skills and related science, using hydroponic farming as teaching tool, and operating hydroponic systems (progress tracked by NY Sun Works CEA Program Coordinator and Manager)90% of teachers express satisfaction with program delivery, content, training, & support. Teacher survey prepared by NY Sun Works program assessment contractor and Director of Education; distributed and collected by CEA Specialist.