Hatch Valley schools have big plans for grant funding, including vet clinic and vertical garden

LAS CRUCES – Hatch Valley Public Schools has been granted $300,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to aid in big plans that the district has for the community.

HVPS Superintendent Michael Chavez said the district is working to put together the Building Experiences through Agricultural Resources (B.E.A.R.) initiative, which is a series of projects to better the district and surrounding Village of Hatch.

"The scope of what we're trying to accomplish is huge," Chavez said.

HVPS is planning several big undertakings to serve this overarching purpose of bettering the village, including hiring a bilingual community engagement specialist, planting a vertical garden and establishing an animal science center and veterinary clinic.

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Chavez said that he had been in contact with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for the past three years. In February, the foundation reached out to talk about some of HVPS's plans for the future and offered them the grant.

"(The foundation representative) was really excited about what she heard, and what we were trying to do, because it's not just benefiting the district in our kids, but it's also benefiting the community," Chavez said.

A project to impact the entire community

Each piece of this larger project is focused on a need for the Hatch community.

"I believe so strongly that the school district should support the community and vice versa," Chavez said. "We expect the community to support the district, but, you know, sometimes we don't think about the district supporting the community. So this is really a partnership between — and a bridge between — the schools and the community."

The construction of an animal science center is intended to provide vet care and teach students to work with animals with an end goal that they return as full-fledged veterinarians. Normally, residents have to drive to Las Cruces, Truth or Consequences or Deming to find a veterinarian.

Students in 4-H and Future Farmers of America would be involved in the animal learning lab.

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The establishment of a vertical garden is intended to try a new agricultural method that could provide fresh salad greens to the cafeteria and could lessen water usage. Chavez explained that area farmers depend on the Rio Grande, but with droughts, farmers have had to rely on well water to irrigate their crops. If the vertical garden conserves up to 90 percent of water, as promised, it could be a solution for the community.

He is also looking into possibly using wastewater to plant alfalfa on an unused field near Hatch Valley Middle that could feed farm animals. One of the biggest barriers for raising farm animals is the cost to feed them, according to Chavez.

"Everything that we're doing is from the perspective of agriculture," Chavez said. "Because agriculture in the Hatch Valley — everybody is either connected directly or indirectly — it is the economic base of this community. So it only made sense as we were talking about really focusing on that relevancy in our education and our lessons."

The bilingual community engagement specialist will spend time helping to break down stereotypes that come with working in agriculture. Chavez said the district hopes to find someone who fits their needs by July, or at least before the school year starts in August.

An ongoing mission

Chavez said this project is a large undertaking, and will be ongoing for years. He described the endeavor as a "leap of faith."

Hatch Mayor Slim Whitlock has been an advocate for the district as well. Chavez said Whitlock contacted U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan, both D-N.M., to help put together a request for a federal grant.

"As we continue to move forward, it's that networking piece that that will help us get there," Chavez said. "If in the end, we're able to be a model to other school districts, then that would be great."

Agriculture in the Classroom and New Mexico State University are also getting involved.

Chavez hopes all this funding and partnership will help HVPS students be more ready for college and to enter the workforce.

"We're just trying to tap into just different funding sources so we can make this vision that we have about education," Chavez said. "The idea that education is more than just sitting in the classroom, opening up a textbook. We want our education to come alive. and we want it to be experience based, we want it to be project base, so that's why it just makes sense that we're going down this this road.

"The more that we share our vision with people, the more that we're getting interest from people that are reaching out to us, and wanting to be a part."

Chavez said he's not exactly overwhelmed, but it's a mix of excitement and nerves for this large project for such a small community.

"(I'm) blessed to be able to work with people that have embraced the vision and can see the possibilities of what we can accomplish in our in our district," he said.

Miranda Cyr, a Report for America corps member, can be reached at mcyr@lcsun-news.com or @mirandacyr on Twitter. Show your support for the Report for America program at https://bit.ly/LCSNRFA.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Hatch Valley schools have big plans for $300,000 grant