KSHB 41 reporter Grant Stephens covers downtown Kansas City, Missouri. He also focuses on stories of consumer interest. Share your story idea with Grant.
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Kansas City Academy's summer gardening program is giving students a green thumb and building skills they'll carry well beyond the classroom.
The private, college-prep school in Waldo blends academics with arts, sciences and real-world projects. Science teacher and garden coordinator Janet Porter takes those lessons outside.
"We learn about agriculture, we learn about what agriculture means, and we talk about how it's such an important concept for our area where we live in the nation," Porter said.
The program covers everything from growing tomatoes and beans to larger sustainability efforts.
"There's a lot of value in our program," Porter said.
One of those efforts is a composting project. Recent graduate Calum Wallace returned to talk about the work students did tracking the school's compost output.
"I remember it being like 70 pounds a day... It was a lot," Wallace said.
Research from Texas A&M supports the approach, showing outdoor, hands-on projects boost literacy, well-being and confidence in students.
Wallace said the experience helped prepare him for life after high school.
"Having a job and prepping for college... I feel like I'm a little bit more prepared for what the world is like outside of high school," Wallace said.
The food students grow doesn't stop at the garden. It's also used in the school's culinary program, where students cook lunches for each other.
Porter said the hands-on model is intentional.
"So, there's a lot of research that shows that if you are doing things hands-on, you're going to remember it so much better," Porter said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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