6th-8th Grade Occupations and Practical Life Teacher in Medford, OR
The Valley School of Southern Oregon
Craig Lamm grew up in the hills of Southern Oregon and attended the University of Oregon, where he received a degree in Theatre Arts. Through the performing arts, he discovered a passion for education that has led to all sorts of adventures. Since then, he has worked with thousands of students across five states to explore, learn, and create together. He has taught camps, after school programs, workshops, and classes in a wide variety of subjects across art, science, sports, and food.
Craig has volunteered on projects ranging from animal conservation in Bolivia to food service in Laos. He currently teaches at The Valley School of Southern Oregon, a Montessori-inspired charter middle school, where he leads a growing culinary program. There, he challenges his students to get their hands dirty and connect with the world around them through real projects that they are passionate about. Working with students to prepare hot meals for the school, they source ingredients from the expanding school garden. As he continues to build a culinary program at a young school, he is passionately curious about ideas, resources, and inspiration in the fascinating world of food education.
A favorite Food Education memory:
The guest chef experience was incredible for us! We had a talented local chef come in and teach a great workshop all about the Bahn Mi sandwich. It’s a great project because it includes some history/culture (French colonialism in Vietnam and fusion), technique (making fresh baguettes), and science (aioli emulsion, pickling).
Favorite Food Education Standard:
#1 – Food Connects Us to Each Other! This is really the heart of it for me; the look of pride on a student’s face as they serve up a dish to their peers that they worked super hard to prepare.
How Pilot Light changed my teaching:
The most exciting thing happening for us is that we are launching a three year partnership with Rusted Gate Farm, a local agriculture non-profit, to develop a farm-based middle school curriculum! It’s a great way for us to grow our culinary program and also make more connections to the values laid out in the food education standards.