UACS School Garden Education Coordinator (Full-Time), Netter Center for Community Partnerships

Posted by Netter Center for Community Partnerships on August 20, 2024

Founded in 1992, the Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships is the University’s primary vehicle for advancing civic and community engagement at Penn. It brings together the resources and assets of both the University and the wider community to help solve universal problems such as poverty, health inequities, environmental sustainability, and inadequate, unequal education as they are manifested in the University’s local geographic area of West Philadelphia and Philadelphia at large. The Netter Center develops and helps implement democratic, mutually transformative, place-based partnerships between Penn and West Philadelphia that advance research, teaching, learning, practice, and service and improve the quality of life on campus and in the community. The Netter Center works with and serves as a model for other higher education institutions across the United States and around the world. The Netter Center’s university-assisted community schools (UACS) is a strategy to educate, engage, empower, and serve all members of the community in which the school is located and engage students (K-16+) in real world, community problem solving.

The UACS School Garden Coordinator  is working to answer the question: How can we best listen to the garden education and food access needs in the K-12 schools and communities we work in – and in an asset-based approach connect the University of Pennsylvania and other partners together with the K-12 schools to meet and exceed these needs?

At Hamilton K-8, the UACS School Garden Coordinator will be the ‘garden leader’ at the schools – responsible for providing safe space, appropriate supplies, and high quality support for the Hamilton school community to engage in the school garden. The Coordinator will oversee an after-school garden club where K-8 students, in partnership with Penn students and UACS after-school staff, maintain the after-school garden space utilizing a problem-solving, roles-based model. During the winter season, the Garden Coordinator will oversee indoor growing at Hamilton, and other indoor garden-related activities. Throughout the year, the Coordinator will be part of the Hamilton UACS Wellness Team. The Coordinator will also be the point-person at Hamilton for school-day teacher partners and school staff to connect the school garden to the curriculum.

The UACS Garden Coordinator will spend approximately 3 days/week onsite at Hamilton K-8, where they will oversee garden maintenance and all school-based sustainability garden partnerships and activities.  Approximately 1 day/week will be site visits to the other UACS Gardens to meet with UACS Garden educators and school-based partners, and lead trainings and provide overall support. Approximately 1 day/week will be at the Netter office for administrative tasks such as printing, organizing materials, meetings. This position requires frequent on-site work and in-person interaction with members of the Penn community as well as individuals from the surrounding neighborhoods and schools.

Learn more and apply here.