Collins Middle School ‘Gardeners’ Grow, Earn Plaudits at Topsfield Fair Competition
CMS grade 6-8 special education scholars awarded second place in beets, third in carrots
SALEM (Nov. 10, 2025) – Collins Middle School special education grade 6-8 student gardeners received second place and third place ribbons for their produce submissions at the Topsfield Fair Junior Fruit and Vegetable Competition Oct. 2-12.
CMS scholars won second place in the beets category and third place in the carrots category, which were grown over the spring and summer in garden beds outside the middle school. The honors marked the second straight year CMS students came away with awards.
Last year, CMS scholars won first place in the beet category and second in the carrots category. Per the competition rules, students under 18 must grow, pick, submit and arrange a minimum five types of fruits and/or vegetables themselves at their exhibit space. Fruits and vegetables are judged by trueness to type, arrangement, freedom from disease and injury, condition, and uniformity.
“We start our gardening season by germinating seeds in several ways and planting the seedlings in pots under grow lights,” said Barbara McLernon, an instructional paraprofessional educator at CMS who oversees the gardening program. “We learn responsibility by keeping them flourishing. In late spring we plant the seedlings and seeds outside and follow a watering schedule. Weeding can be challenging but confidence grows as the plants do.”
The gardening program at CMS continues to grow more popular, both in participation and product. With a recent grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Ms. McLernon expects continued growth.
In June, Salem Public Schools received the Massachusetts Farming Reinforces Education and Student Health through Coordination and Optimization of Resources and Partnerships (FRESH CORP) initiative which is providing Salem with $133,000 over 18 months to expand and formalize food system education for pre-K through grade 8 students.
CMS special education scholars grow more than a dozen vegetables including peppers, gem corn, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, peas, tomatoes and herbs, as well as sunflowers and cosmos for pollination.
With the grant, Ms. McLernon said, the CMS gardening program can involve all of the seventh grade and allows the expansion of gardening space from 180 square feet to 340.
“We started with a small group of students several years ago and have grown to encompass the sub-separate special education groups, and now the entire seventh grade this fall,” Ms. McLernon said.
Vegetables grown in the CMS garden beds – as well as all schools’ gardens – go straight to the school kitchen to be served to students as part of the District’s farm-to-school effort. The program embodies the District’s 2023-26 Strategic Plan’s core value of elevating learning.
Witnessing her students see the final product is the best part of the process for Ms. MeLernon.
“The most amazing part of the season is when the students get to see and taste the vegetables,” she noted. “So many of our students have never seen, or know about, where fresh vegetables grow.”
About Salem Public Schools
Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district in Salem, Massachusetts, a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Our leaders and our teachers are passionate about education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement with equity and social-emotional needs as the lens through which we view our work. We respect and value the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of our students and their families, and have a strong commitment to the Salem community. Salem Public Schools staff unconditionally serves each of our 4,000 students across 11 schools regardless of ability or language.
