We have begun our second year facilitating our Service Learning grant! 

Cranford was one of a handful of public school

districts in New Jersey to win a 2-year Learn & Serve America (LSA)

School-Based Service-Learning Grant. The goals of the grant are

multiple: to educate teachers and administrators about service-learning

and the benefits of curricular infusion; to create, develop, and offer

service-learning opportunities for K-12 students that enhance academic

learning, workplace readiness skills, character, and citizenship; to

bring volunteers into schools, and to encourage young people to pursue

further education. Walnut Avenue School, one of four district schools

(including Cranford High School, Brookside Place School, and Livingston

Avenue School) involved in the grant, is using grant resources to support

its gardens program. Teachers, students, members of the Walnut Avenue

School PTA, and community partners will work together to tend on school

grounds a veritable ‘Outdoor Classroom’ comprising seven gardens and bird

habitat to educate students across academic disciplines, develop

workplace readiness skills, and foment community cooperation and

collaboration. Students are experiencing hands-on "authentic" learning

about the natural environment, with the gardens providing a forum in

which students and community members can interact and learn from each

other. Under the grant, Walnut Avenue School is also reaching out to

community members across Cranford through a variety of other service- learning activities and venues.

In addition, Walnut Avenue School was one of only ten grantees nationwide

to win a grant from Youth Service America (YSA) and The Bubel/Aiken

Foundation in support of our service-learning efforts. The aim of the

grant is to enable youth with and without special needs to work side by

side to serve the community. Specifically, the grant will fund materials

and refreshments enabling our students, teachers, parents, PTA, and

community members to participate in our "Big Dig" in which we prepare

flowerbeds for planting on National & Global Youth Service Day (April

20). We welcome any and all volunteers to help beautify school and

public grounds on April 21st! Please contact Gardens Program Coordinator

Donna Kull at 908.709.6253