Meet the Project Coordinator

Millie Tang

Presently, Millie Wong-Tang, serves as one of the Moraga School District’s elementary school’s teacher on special assignment teaching K-5 elementary science in two of the 3 elementary schools in Moraga, CA. In this role, Millie aligns the district’s science curricula with NGSS standards and designs the scope and sequence for physical, earth, and life science units for K-5 students that inspire learning and curiosity through hands-on learning. Prior to being a science elementary educator, Millie was a self contained fourth grade teacher with the Moraga School District. Millie believes that every science lab should be a place where all students feel safe, welcomed, and empowered to discover their potential through inquiry and hands-on exploration. Currently, aside from her teaching, Millie has been leading the "Los Perales Blue Crew," a waste-reduction initiative that has earned recognition as a Waste Buster School with the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority for reducing school-wide waste and promoting sustainability practices like recycling and composting and environmental stewardship across the school community. Furthermore, as a member of the Moraga Teacher’s association, Millie has served on a variety of roles over the past few school years. She has also taken an active participation role in supporting local measures to benefit the Moraga School District. As a proud CTA member for 30 years, Millie is well knowledgeable of CTA’s benefits which include teacher support for professional development programs such as the IFT grants that have supported quality public education with the goal of leaving an impact with out students and local community. She is an enthusiastic educator with a passionate commitment to her students’ emotional, academic and personal growth which led to partnering herself with multiple local and global agencies that value learning beyond the walls of the classroom! During this lifetime of teaching, Millie has been driven by a desire to integrate scientific research, environmental stewardship, and project-based learning to empower the next generation of students. The urgency and a need to bring awareness and a call for action for her students became a challenge to search for funding for this “seed of a dream” that led to this grant proposal titled “Rooted in Learning: Cultivating a Welcoming Space for a Growing Community”. This hydroponics project will provide every K–5 student with an innovative, long-term STEM learning experience while exploring sustainable agriculture, food security, and responsible environmental practices. More than growing plants, Millie hopes that being a CTA IFT recipient, this grant will continue to support equitable science learning, to deepen students’ curiosity and, to cultivate future scientists, leaders, and compassionate citizens who understand that meaningful change begins when a community learns, grows, and works together.