Each month, we'll spotlight the wonderful individuals serving on our school boards or the outstanding work

being done by school systems across the state!

Birmingham City Schools (BCS) and Jones Valley Teaching Farm (JVTF) have shared a common purpose of ensuring every student has access to meaningful, hands-on learning for more than a decade. What started as outdoor teaching farms in the Woodlawn community has expanded to benefit thousands of Birmingham students through Good School Food, a food-based learning framework for Pre-K to 12th grade, that includes in-school lessons, after-school programs and at-home activities.

Expanding Horizons

This school year, BCS and JVTF took their partnership to new heights with a groundbreaking initiative that brought hydroponic farming technology into eight Birmingham public schools for the first time. Made possible through a $500,000 investment and a collaboration with New York-based nonprofit NY Sun Works, this new addition marks the organization's first venture into the Southeast. 

Each participating school in the Jackson-Olin feeder pattern was equipped with state-of-the-art hydroponic systems, including growing towers, vine crop systems, seedling stations and worm composting stations. Students gain hands-on experience in sustainable agriculture and STEM principles at the same time.

The initiative is designed with a clear through-line, students in elementary and middle schools build foundational knowledge in hydroponic farming and that experience prepares them for the Horticulture Academy at Jackson-Olin High School, where they can earn credentials and explore career and postsecondary pathways in agriculture.

Bringing the Classroom to Life

At the core of the JVTF model is a simple but powerful idea: students learn best when learning connects to something real. Through Good School Food, JVTF instructors weave farming, cooking, and nutrition into subjects like science, math, history and health, giving students a hands-on reason to engage with academic content.

In recent years, BCS has seen its chronic absenteeism rate drop significantly from 29% in 2022 to under 14% in 2024. The Good School Food initiative aims to continue that systemwide trend and is being implemented intentionally in schools that are looking for new tools to address higher absenteeism rates. For JVTF the results speak for themselves. A survey of families participating in JVTF programs found that 100% of students were more excited to attend school on days with JVTF programming.

Through its partnership with JVTF, BCS is proving that when a school system and its community invest in students together, the harvest is extraordinary.

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