1. How to Begin the Farm and School Partnership
I. Guiding Questions - Who Do You Know?
What school district(s) do you want to partner with?______________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
What is your broad goal for the partnership? Explain in two or three sentences:________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
School District Contacts - List the highest level contacts you know within the district:
1. Name _______________________________ Position ___________ District ________________
Contact Information: Email ________________________ Phone: __________________________
When will I contact - list a date: _______________________________ Interest Level? _________
Follow-up: ______________________________________________________________________
2. Name _______________________________ Position ___________ District ________________
Contact Information: Email ________________________ Phone: __________________________
When will I contact - list a date: ______________________________ Interest Level? __________
Follow-up: ______________________________________________________________________
3. Name _______________________________ Position ___________ District ________________
Contact Information: Email ________________________ Phone: __________________________
When will I contact - list a date: _____________________________ Interest Level? ___________
Follow-up: ______________________________________________________________________
Board Member Contacts - Who else on your board or what volunteer do you know that might
connect you to district administration?
1. Board Member Name _____________________ Who might they know ____________________
Contact Information: Email ________________________ Phone: ___________________________
When will I contact - list a date: ______________________________ Interest Level? __________

2. Initial Conversation Notes: _________________________________________________________
2. Board Member Name _____________________ Who might they know ____________________
Contact Information: Email ________________________ Phone: ___________________________
When will I contact - list a date: ______________________________ Interest Level? __________
Initial Conversation Notes: _________________________________________________________
II. Broad Conversation Steps
1. Begin the conversation - Start at the highest level
you can reach (example: superintendent and your
director)
○ This is a time to gauge and garner interest
2. Continue the conversation while making broad
plans
○ Refine, specify, and solidify the plans
i.Involve many levels of participation
ii.School and farm administration, teachers, instructional coaches, school and farm
volunteers, parents, students
iii.Define your specific farm’s logistics. Example: We can accommodate up to 50
students on any given day. We only schedule programs Mondays, Wednesdays,
Fridays.
3. Write down and circulate target goals
○ Ranges are fine for goals.
i.Example: We will serve 300-400 4th grade students.
ii.Example: Students will visit the Farm 1-2 visits per year.
4. Complete the plans and schedule visits
i.It is great to visit the classrooms before the students ever visit the farm and provide
an introduction and questions and answer time
○ Assess each visit with teachers and make changes
Program Dates
Press release, email blast, school and farm communications date for program kick-off:__________________
First program date: Students visits Farm:______________________________________________________
Pre-visit date: Farm visits school: ____________________________________________________________
Post-visit student presentations of learning: ____________________________________________________
Post-visit assessment: Teachers and farm staff: _________________________________________________
III. Program Decision Points
Partnership Title:_________________________________________________________________________

3. Program Goals:___________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
District Lead Person:____________________________________Title:______________________________
Farm Lead Person:______________________________________ Title:_____________________________
Target Students (ex. 4th grade): _____________________________________________________________
How many students: ______________________________________________________________________
What will students learn? List broad topics and integration points. __________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
IV. Communication Tools
What communication tool will you use to keep all Farm and School staff on the same page?
Suggestions: Group emails, blogs, posterous groups,
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
What communication tools will you use for students to collaborate?
Suggestions: Blogs, Skype, shared presentations, videos, photos
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Any tool you use with have Help Sections and FAQs. Some tools will have forums where people ask
and answer questions. Use these resources to learn more about the digital and internet tools you use!
V. Technology Specific Components
Teachers Must Train Their Students
Teachers must train their students to work with the specific technology you are using. Don’t have students
come to your site to use technology if they have never been trained on the technology. The teachers we worked
with did a great job to train their students on the iPod Touches.
Prepare Expectations for Digital Tool Use on the Farm
Also, prepare expectations for the visit. When will students be able to use the iPods during the program? We
initially told them they could only use them at the end of any activity but quickly found out they wanted to
document what we were teaching in the moment. Pretty cool! So we let them assign one person to record when
we might be teaching a specific concept or the group was doing a specific activty.
Ensure Their Is a Follow-up Plan for Students to Use the Digital Data They Collect
Make sure there is a solid plan in place for students to use the data they collect on their digital devices. This
is a great reflection and learning opportunity, but a significant amount of time will be needed in the classroom
for students to develop a presentation of learning.