At Pilot Light, we know that every school community is unique, from the students to the curricula to parent and guardian engagement. We believe that integrating food into classrooms is a collaborative process in which we are always learning from the educators around us.
Pilot Light’s Food Educator professional development is centered around building teacher capacity to develop and deliver food-based education. Participants receive Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) and meet and collaborate with a community of educators who are passionate about Food Education.
Through our professional development sessions, teachers are coached by our team and partners in:
- Creating and utilizing curriculum and instructional materials aligned to our Food Education Standards that integrate into existing eLearning and in-person lessons
- Adapting the lessons of fellow educators on the Food Education Center to suit their students, schools, and communities
- Understanding the food environment at their school and the communities their schools are located in
- Learning techniques for bringing and preparing food in classrooms (virtually and in-person)
- Identifying opportunities to connect the classroom to the cafeteria, homes, and communities
- Creating curriculum that includes a student-initiated food advocacy project centered around the cafeteria or community