<p>Farm to School Consultant, Salem Public Schools INTERNAL CANDIDATES ONLY [SY 2025-2026]</p> <p>Scope of Work</p> <p>Connecting Cafeterias, Classrooms & Community</p> <p>Salem Public Schools(SPS) seeks a Farm to School (FTS) consultant to work with the SPS FTS Team to integrate a Pre-K through fifth grade FTS lesson plan into classrooms and Outside of School Time (OST) programs (after-school, vacation academies, and summer programming). The FTS Team members include: the Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment Department; Food & Nutrition Services; the City of Salem's Health & Wellness Coordinator; SPS educators, and the Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations. A K-5 lesson plan has been developed through a previous grant, but more work is required to align these lessons with SPS curriculum standards and to include Pre-K lessons. It is estimated that this project will require between 5-8 total hours per week for up to a 16-month period.</p> <p>This Scope of Work includes:</p> <ul> <li>Completing the Pre-K-5 FTS lesson plan and working with SPS staff to align lessons with curriculum standards </li><li>Creating a Pre-K-5 Professional Development plan </li><li>Identifying and training FTS Coaches at each Pre-K-5 school to coordinate and lead FTS Professional Development workshops by the end of the grant period </li><li>Identifying School Garden Leaders at 5 of the Pre-K-5 schools (may be a family volunteer or outside organization) </li><li>Collaborating with grade 6-8 Consultant to create a sustainable School Garden Master Plan that includes using and maintaining the gardens during school hours and OST programs </li><li>Providing school garden technical assistance to educators (classroom and OST) and School Garden Leaders as needed </li><li>Data collection and evaluation </li></ul> <p>Hours of Work: Will require up to 10 hours of work total.</p> <ul> <li>Open to collaborations and partnerships on this work to complete approximately 10 hours of work a week. </li><li>Applicants can indicate whether they are interested in FY25 or both FY25 & FY26 scopes of work. </li></ul> <p>Timeline</p> <ul> <li>Review of applicants will begin on Wednesday, April 23rd. It is encouraged to apply as soon as possible for strong consideration. </li></ul> <p>To Apply:</p> <ul> <li>Apply Talend-Ed and email a letter of interest indicating the duration of the project you are interested in to spsfoodservices@salemk12.org </li></ul> <p>FY25: Onboarding/Planning</p> <p>March-June 2025</p> <ul> <li>Attend weekly meetings with members of SPS Farm to School Team to set shared goals and deliverables. </li><li>Create data collection and project evaluation plan; begin data collection </li><li>Work with Curriculum team to create a Professional Development calendar for 2025-2026. </li><li>Work with Curriculum team and Administration to identify Farm to School Coaches at the 7 SPS schools serving Pre-K-5. </li><li>Coordinate with grade 6-8 FTS consultant to conduct on-site visits to each school garden. </li><li>Collaborate with grade 6-8 FTS Consultant and School Garden Leaders on the development of a School Garden Master Plan, ensuring gardens are used consistently and equitably, each has a point person, and to coordinate OST use. </li><li>Begin creating Pre-K FTS lessons and work with SPS staff to align all Pre-K-5 lessons with SPS curriculum standards. </li></ul> <p>FY 26: Planning/Professional Development</p> <p>July-October 2025</p> <ul> <li>Attend weekly progress meetings with members of SPS Farm to School Team. </li><li>Host one summer Pre-K-5 Professional Development workshop. </li><li>Continue FTS lesson development and curriculum alignment. </li><li>Continue work on the School Garden Master Plan. </li><li>Continue data collection for evaluation report. </li><li>Work with School Garden Leaders to ensure all gardens are in use and maintained; provide weekly technical assistance as needed. </li><li>Begin training FTS Coaches, building their capacity to support educators in delivering FTS lessons in schools and gardens. </li></ul> <p>Implementation</p> <p>November 2025 - June 30, 2026</p> <ul> <li>Continue weekly progress meetings with SPS FTS Team. </li><li>Work with FTS Coaches to plan and lead up to four Professional Development Workshops. </li><li>Finalize School Garden Master Plan; continue providing school garden technical assistance. </li><li>Finalize Pre-K-5 FTS lesson plans with FTS Team; Work with FTS Coaches to complete evaluation and sustainability plan </li><li>Finalize data collection and complete evaluation report. </li></ul> <p>Project Deliverables:</p> <ul> <li>Pre-K-5 FTS Lesson Plan </li><li>Pre-K-5 FTS Professional Development Plan </li><li>School Garden Master Plan </li><li>Evaluation Report </li></ul> <p>Qualifications/Requirements</p> <p>Candidates must have:</p> <ul> <li>At least 3 years experience working with school districts on FTS and school garden training. Referrals should be provided upon request. </li><li>At least three years of agricultural experience. </li><li>Experience creating and leading professional development activities for educators. </li><li>Experience leading data collection and evaluation activities </li><li>Ability to attend weekly meetings with the SPS FTS Team. Most can be attended virtually, but some in-person meetings will be required. Candidates should expect one meeting per month to be in-person. </li></ul> <p>Referrals should be provided upon request.</p>