Photo Caption: Students and staff at Challenge & Reach Academy, along with Worcester Public Schools district staff and representatives from the Toshiba America Foundation, pose for a photo while holding a ceremonial $3,000 check on March 16, 2026.
WORCESTER — Monday, March 16, 2026 — Challenge and Reach Academy was awarded a $3,000 grant from the Toshiba America Foundation (TAF) to enhance the school’s garden space and support a co-curricular science and English project that will engage students in hands-on learning through gardening.
“On behalf of everyone at Challenge and Reach, we are incredibly grateful to the Toshiba America Foundation for this generous support,” said Challenge and Reach coordinator Scott Moriarty. “We are excited about the opportunities this grant will provide for students to collaborate and bring learning to life in multiple content areas through our gardening project.”
The grant will support a collaborative learning project between science and English classes designed to build content knowledge by engaging students through the context of gardening and agriculture. Throughout the remainder of the school year, students will begin germinating seeds and exploring agricultural concepts as part of their coursework.
The learning experience will culminate in the development of a school garden, which will serve as both a hands-on educational space for students and a welcoming outdoor area for the school community.
The Toshiba America Foundation supports innovative science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education projects in schools across the country.