Platinum Golden Radish Recipient for Third Year in a Row

Barrow County Schools were recognized with a Golden Radish System Level Platinum Award for the third year in a row. The Golden Radish Award is given to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) in Georgia who are doing extraordinary work in farm to school. Awards were presented on Tuesday, September 17th in Atlanta. BCSS was one of 22 systems that received the highest level award in Georgia.

Barrow County School System was awarded the System Platinum Level Golden Radish. The Farm to School program has been implemented all elementary, middle and high schools in the county. The award identified some of the best practices BCSS has implemented:

• A 3rd grade class conducted a taste test for their teachers with kale chips and kale pesto that they made themselves. They placed the food in the teacher’s break room, where the teachers tried it and marked their response on a chart.
• A local blueberry farmer donated 60 bushes and taught students at Apalachee High School how to plant them.
• For their monthly nutrition education, cafeteria managers visited classrooms in all Barrow County schools to discuss "Why Buy Locally Grown Food."
• Apalachee High School held a Farm to School Luncheon for Noche de los Rabanos. Students from Apalachee prepared and served lunch to the community.
• Statham Elementary hosted an event called "Taste of Statham," which was open to parents, the community, students, and staff. Tables were set up in the cafeteria with food dishes made from items grown in Barrow County.

The Golden Radish Awards began in 2014 and Barrow County School System has been recognized every year.

• 2014 Honorary
• 2015 Bronze
• 2016 Gold
• 2017 Platinum
• 2018 Platinum
• 2019 Platinum

Director of School Nutrition Pamela LeFrois gives wide credit for the accomplishment. “We have the support of district and school administration, hero teachers who believe “ag” belongs in the classroom, school nutrition professionals who prepare the farm fresh products, and our community partners and farmers. We are Farm to School Barrow Bold.”

Last year at the Golden Radish Awards, the Georgia Department of Agriculture also presented the first ever Teacher of the Year in Agriculture to Barrow County’s own Diana Cole, a teacher at Statham Elementary School. On September 10, 2019, Diana Cole was selected as the Farm Bureau Georgia Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Cole has blended her 34 years as teacher with her passion for agriculture education, nurturing and growing the Farm to School program in our schools. Along with building raised garden beds where students can grow their own fruits and vegetables and then eat them in the cafeteria, she organizes an AGmazing annual Farm Week at Statham Elementary. 

The Golden Radish Award is presented by the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Department of Public Health, the UGA Cooperative Extension, the Bright from the Start: Department of Early Care and Learning, and Georgia Organics.

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Barrow County Schools are BOLDly Committed to Student Success and serve more than 14,000 students in the metro-Atlanta area. For more information, please visit www.barrow.k12.ga.us or contact us at 770-867-4527.

Media Contacts:
Shenley Rountree, Director of Public Relations & Strategic Partnerships - 770-867-4527 or Shenley.Rountree@barrow.k12.ga.us

Pamela LeFrois, Director of School Nutrition - Pamela.LeFrois@barrow.k12.ga.us