Albuquerque Public Schools
From Garden to Greatness
A. Montoya Elementary teacher honored with National Agriculture in the Classroom Excellence in Teaching Award.
When A. Montoya Elementary teacher Faye Richards sat in her Tijeras school garden during the spring of 2020, she didn’t know she was planting the seeds of a nationally recognized program. This summer, her dedication to weaving agriculture into the classroom earned her the 2025 National Agriculture in the Classroom Excellence in Teaching Award, presented at the national conference in Minneapolis.
Richards, who has taught with Albuquerque Public Schools since 2009, began her career at Eubank Elementary (now Janet Kahn) before moving to Mission Avenue and then A. Montoya, where she has taught first, second, fourth and now a fourth/fifth grade combo class. Over the years, she has transformed a once-barren outdoor space into a thriving school garden.
“I believe it's essential for all of us to know where our food comes from,” Richards said. “I also believe that agricultural literacy can be woven into all subjects, creating a year-long cross-curricular experience for students.”
Her efforts began modestly—with a few lessons and composting experiments—but quickly grew into a schoolwide movement. With grant funding, community partnerships and strong family support, Richards and her students revitalized the school’s outdoor garden, introduced composting to reduce cafeteria waste and connected their work to writing, math, science and social studies standards. Students learned to weigh waste, create videos and posters to educate their peers, and even present at school assemblies. Over time, the school diverted hundreds of pounds of food scraps from the landfill while building healthy soil for the garden.
The initiative also allowed Richards to share her expertise with other educators. She presented composting workshops at the APS Garden Conference, collaborated on an EPA-funded compost curriculum for New Mexico schools, and joined the district’s Outdoor Learning Teacher Advocacy Group. She’s even partnered with nearby middle school students, who bring aquaponics lessons to A. Montoya in exchange for composting expertise.
Richards said the national award is both an honor and a reflection of her students’ hard work.
“It feels amazing,” she said. “In Minnesota, I facilitated a workshop with over 60 teachers from around the country, showcasing my students’ work with composting at A. Montoya. It's been such an incredible journey. I want to give so much credit to the 4th- and 5th-grade students that I've had in my class over the last few years. They have earned this award, too.”
For Richards, agricultural literacy isn’t just about plants and soil—it’s about preparing students for the future. As she explained, “With an ever-changing world, climate chaos being at the forefront, students need to have the skills to understand and adapt to what is happening around them.”