New school garden seeks to raise science scores

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - A new garden program at Tanque Verde Elementary seeks to raise student science scores.

State testing shows only 50 percent of students in the district passed science last year, and other districts don’t fare much better.

Gardens that promote hands-on learning, however, can nurture the skills to succeed.

This garden is the second one run by Deb Goepfrih, the garden teacher at both Tanque Verde Elementary and Agua Caliente Elementary. She said the gardens teach a variety of skills.

“Things like stability and change, systems, so understanding patterns is another one that we really focus on in kindergarten,” said Goepfrich. “Just understanding that everything in the world has these kinds of big themes that we can fit science ideas into.”

Isabela Lisco is a