Written by Katie Rose Griffith, Farm and Garden Coordinator, Mountain Academy Teton Valley Campus
Over the past six years, the Jack Shea Innovation Fund has been a gift to my programming, providing vital equipment and funding for hands-on learning in our farming, gardening, and outdoor education programs at Mountain Academy. This fund has not only supported me as an educator, but it has also meaningfully shaped our students’ everyday learning experiences across seasons, subjects, and settings.
Thanks to this fund, our garden now features a 50-foot caterpillar tunnel, extending our growing season and allowing students to learn about season extension, climate, and food systems in a deeply tangible way. With the support of the fund, we also installed a brick pizza oven, which has been a centerpiece for community meals and a way to turn garden produce into nourishing, shared experiences. These are more than just tools; they are outdoor classrooms for lessons in sustainability, chemistry, collaboration, and culture.
The Jack Shea Innovation Fund has helped expand our outdoor education program to meet the realities of our long winters. With the purchase of cross-country skis for all students, we’ve transformed our snow-covered campus into a setting for skill-building, endurance, and joy, ensuring that no season is a barrier to learning outside and minimizing the need to travel to Jackson to borrow equipment.
On the farm, we’ve embraced the creative problem-solving spirit of this fund by evolving our animal program. With funding, we introduced four Angora goats to replace our alpacas, which will provide students with a new fiber arts experience this school year, “goat to garment.” Additionally, automating our chicken coop with an automatic door not only models efficiency and innovation but also gives students more agency in managing animal care. Most recently, a chick incubator allowed students in my classroom to explore life science, care ethics, and the wonder of new beginnings.
The Jack Shea Innovation Fund lives up to its mission. It encourages educators like me to push boundaries, experiment, and grow. Literally and figuratively. Each project has brought one or more of the Teton Science Schools’ values to life: innovation, stewardship, collaboration, and accountability. More importantly, these projects ripple out into our school culture, empowering students to be curious, hands-on problem solvers who are deeply connected to place and community.
We are so grateful for the support, trust, and bold vision this fund offers. The seeds it plants continue to flourish in our students, our programs, and our shared future.
