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Rancho Cordova Rotary names Mills teacher Educator of the Year
The Rotary Club of Rancho Cordova has named veteran Mills Middle School teacher Joyce Martin the civic organization’s Educator of the Year.
Martin was honored for her decades of dedication to the middle school’s garden, which for years has served as a point of pride for students and the community.
The seventh-grade science teacher took over the garden when she arrived in 1985 and, over the years, has secured numerous grants and contributions from the state, community partners, local businesses – and the Rotary Club, which has contributed thousands of dollars and resources to help keep the garden thriving.
Martin’s students – both in the classroom and in the school’s garden club – plant and harvest year round, learning the science behind agriculture, observation skills, teamwork and more.
Students keep everything they harvest – and most years, that’s quite a lot: there are 40 raised beds, eight stone fruit trees and new citrus trees, just to name a few.