Grace Chang – 2nd and 3rd Grade All Contents at The Neighborhood School – Manhattan, NY
Grace Chang teaches a mixed age 2nd/3rd grade ICT class at The Neighborhood School, a diverse and progressive public school in New York City. Inspired by her own childhood teachers to become a teacher in the public school system, she earned her Masters in Early Childhood Education from Teachers College at Columbia University and has been learning alongside students and colleagues for over twenty years. Grace has worked as a summer volunteer on farms and is interested in sustainability and cooking seasonally. She has been involved with incorporating the school garden into her own and other classrooms at her school. In the past, she has taught immigration to third graders through the lens of food. This study included parents visiting the classroom to talk about their heritage, cooking and sharing a traditional family food, and visiting local and historical restaurants and food establishments to explore history through food. As a passionate math teacher, Grace is looking forward to the enormous opportunities to integrate math and science experiences within any work we do with food and cooking. In addition, during these unprecedented times, Grace is interested in finding meaningful ways of integrating food education into socio-emotional learning as well as social justice education, with the help of Pilot Light in this coming school year.