EJ McCloud

Tell us why you became a teacher

As someone who was very well taken care of by the educators who made me, I wish to pay it forward and provide that same love to my students! Growing up I had garden classes that fostered my love for nature and I love to bring that same joy to my students, especially as someone who teaches in such urban areas. Children are everything and deserve to experience all the beauty this world has to offer and I’m blessed to be a part of bringing some of that beauty to into their lives!

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

Once I had a community event for maintenance of the school garden at one of my schools where we expected maybe 10-15 people but we had a turn out of 40 people! It was so beautiful to see families of multiple generations come out to help keep the school beautiful and it was a lovely experience where I got to teach garden maintenance to members of our community ranging from 3 to 50+ years old!

What would you do with the $25,000?

I work at three schools in the East Bay; the bilingual school I provide garden education for may be in danger of losing their garden program due to a district wide lack of funding that unfortunately disproportionately affects this school. I hope to use this money to secure the program for next year and maybe even years to follow!