Blue Peetz and Matt Grant

Peetz and Grant’s winning program, “GRuB (Garden-Raised Bounty)”, is a pilot project that was created from a challenge to create a “school within a school.” The challenge came a couple of years ago when Grant, principal at Olympia High School, approached Peetz who was working with GRuB, a non-profit organization that had a successful youth program. In the school’s county, one in three youth does not finish high school and many are failing their classes and are behind on credits. This fall, the school and organization will begin a partnership to provide a two-year pilot program based on GRuB’s Youth Employment Program model. Through the program, disengaged students will have the opportunity to realize their potential through education, leadership development, and community building. Peetz will be certified as a career tech educator and as an employee of the high school, will serve as the lead teacher. With the funds from the ING grant, Peetz will purchase education supplies such as books and curriculum resources for the project. The goal of the program is to partner in replication efforts to establish similar programs throughout the region.