Pilot Light works with educators and school district partners across the country to support Food Education as an engaging, effective classroom teaching model.
By incorporating food as a lens for traditional subjects such as math, reading, history, and science, Pilot Light educators make classroom learning exciting for students as they learn through food and about food’s relevance to themselves, their education, and their communities.
To do this, we work with an incredible team of educators in schools across Chicagoland and beyond to build lessons aligned with Common Core, Next Generation Science, and our own Food Education Standards. These lessons are centered on their students’ knowledge, interests, curiosities, and lived experiences. Educators range from PreK–12 grade and across all subject areas; they deliver their own lessons in addition to lessons created by past and present teachers.
In the 10 years since Pilot Light began, the program has reached over 5,000 students across Chicago. In 2019, we launched the Food Education Fellowship to cultivate leaders in Food Education, and we welcome you to meet these incredible educators. Now, entering its fifth year, we’re excited to have educators COAST TO COAST, and we hope you join us too in teaching Food Education wherever you may be using our Pilot Light Anywhere eLearning lessons!
We’re always looking to grow, and we welcome interested teachers and schools to reach out to us and check out our resources on the Food Education Center to teach food education in their classrooms.
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School Partners by Neighborhood, Year, and District
(*denotes School with 2019-2020 Food Education Fellow, +denotes School with 2020-2021 Food Education Fellow, #denotes School with 2021-2022 Food Education Fellow, !denotes School with 2022-2023 Food Education Fellow, ^denotes outside of Chicago Public School District)
Archer Heights
Academy for Global Citizenship *+#
Ashburn
Ashburn Community Elementary School #
Albany Park
John M. Palmer Elementary School *
Alsip
Hazelgreen Elementary +^
Auburn Gresham
Oglesby Elementary School +
Scott Joplin Elementary +
Back of the Yards
Robert W. Fulton Elementary School !
Baltimore (MD)
Dickey Hill Elementary/Middle School !^
Hamilton Elementary/Middle School #^
Stuart Hill Academic Academy #^
Baton Rouge (LA)
Scotlandville Pre Engineering Magnet Academy #^
Villa Del Rey Creative Sciences & Arts Magnet School !^
Brighton Park
Acero Brighton Park Elementary School +#
Bronzeville
Bronzeville Classical Elementary School *
Donoghue UChicago Charter School
Ida B. Wells Preparatory Elementary School #!
Bucktown
Pulaski International School #
Bushwick (Brooklyn, NY)
PS 376 !^
Charlotte (NC)
Charlotte Lab School #^
Chicago Lawn
Claremont Academy Elementary School
Morrill Science and Math Elementary School
Denver (CO)
Merrill Middle School !^
STRIVE Prep — SMART !^
East Palo Alto (CA)
The Primary School +^
East Village (Manhattan, NY)
The Neighborhood School +^
Englewood
Dewey School of Excellence *
Johnson College Prep
Lillian R. Nicholson STEM Academy
Perkins Bass Elementary School
Southside Occupational Academy High School !
The Montessori School of Englewood +
Gage Park
Acero Jovita Idar Elementary School #
Grand Boulevard
Ludwig van Beethoven Elementary School +
Grand Crossing
Paul Revere Elementary School #
Gulf Shores (AL)
Gulf Shores Middle School !^
Hermosa
Pritzker College Prep +
Hoschton (GA)
West Jackson Elementary School !^
Humboldt Park
Alfred Nobel Elementary School *
Hyde Park
Bret Harte Elementary School
Ray Elementary School *
Lake Fairview (Orlando, FL)
Lake Weston Elementary School +^
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park High School +
Waters Elementary School !
Logan Square
Charles R. Darwin Elementary School
Lower Manhattan (Manhattan, NY)
Tompkins Square Middle School !^
Manila (AR)
Manila High School #^
Maplewood (MN)
Mounds Park Academy #!^
Medford (OR)
The Valley School of Southern Oregon !^
Minnetonka (MN)
L.H. Tanglen Elementary School !^
Near West Side
John M. Smyth Elementary School !
Newport (OR)
Newport High School !^
Northampton (MA)
HEC Academy !^
North Austin
West Park STEAM Academy #
North Kenwood
North Kenwood Oakland UChicago Charter School
North Lawndale
Chalmers School of Excellence +
Lawndale Community Academy #
Old Irving Park
Disney II Magnet Elementary School *
Disney II High School *
Pottsville (AR)
Pottsville High School #^
Pullman
Butler College Prep *
San Francisco (CA)
Alice Fong Yu Alternative School !^
Short Hills (NJ)
Far Brook School #^
Springfield (IL)
Butler Elementary School !^
St. Paul (MN)
Harding High School #^
Tyngsboro (MA)
Innovation Academy Charter School #^
United Center
Wilma Rudolph Learning Center !
Washington Park
Edmond Burke Elementary School
West Englewood
Anna R. Langford Community Academy
Charles W. Earle Elementary School
West Lafayette (IN)
West Lafayette Elementary School !^
West Roseland
Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep +!
West Town
Ellen Mitchell Elementary School
Rowe Middle Charter School *
Wilmington (Los Angeles, CA)
Gulf Avenue STEAM Elementary School and Magnet Center +^
Wilmington (DE)
Odyssey Charter School !^
Wilmington Friends School #!^
Woodlawn
John Foster Dulles Elementary School +
O’Keeffe School of Excellence #