Community group asks Port Arthur ISD board for letter of support for 'Garden of Hope' at Staff Sergeant Lucian Adams Elementary

Wanda Lewis Biden, president of the Port Arthur Beautification Commission, told the Port Arthur Independent School District Board of Trustees she is seeking a formal letter of support to help create a “Garden of Hope” at Staff Sergeant Lucian Adams Elementary.

Biden said the school’s original garden was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey and has not been replaced. She described the campus as serving 663 students, of whom she said about 76% live in apartments and 82% rely on government assistance, and argued a teaching garden would provide therapeutic, outdoor learning and social-emotional supports for students.

“We are embarking on a deeply meaningful initiative, the Garden of Hope, and we humbly seek your invaluable support, not in the form of financial aid, but through your influential voice,” Biden said. She noted a local group called the Nehemiah crew already provided raised garden beds after the campus suffered the loss of a music teacher, Coach Marlon Sanders, and asked the board to lend credibility to the project with a letter of endorsement.

Biden offered to provide photographs and letters and left contact information for board or staff follow up. The request was presented during the meeting’s public participation period; board members did not vote on the request during the meeting because public comment items are not action items.

The board did not take action on the request at the meeting; Biden asked that staff or trustees contact her to discuss next steps.