Board approves Living Classroom gardens partnership to bring hands‑on instruction to five sites

The Sunnyvale School District board unanimously approved a partnership with Living Classroom on May 5 to introduce garden‑based, standards‑aligned lessons at five school sites beginning next school year.

Vicky Mortensen, founder and board chair of Living Classroom, and executive director Sarah Van Zant described the organization’s hub model and its experience operating school gardens across neighboring districts. Living Classroom plans to deliver roughly three lessons per grade level annually, maintain gardens, train volunteers, and integrate nutrition and environmental literacy into lessons. Presenters said the model supports both in‑class instruction and wraparound uses such as after‑school and summer programs.

Parents and teachers who spoke at the meeting praised the program and noted it can reduce inequities caused by uneven parent volunteer capacity across sites. Trustee discussion focused on site selection, potential expansion to additional schools in the future, and funding models to support sustainability; staff noted the Mountain View partnership uses a mix of district, foundation and other community funding and that Sunnyvale will pursue sustainable funding arrangements. The motion to approve the Living Classroom partnership passed 5–0 (moved and seconded as announced on the record).