At Michael T Simmons Elementary, 54% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 59% scored at or above that level for reading. The school’s minority student enrollment is 34%.

About 39 percent of the nearly 700 students at Michael T. Simmons Elementary qualify for free and reduced-priced meals, according to state data, meaning they are from low-income families.

When Andrea Cotey proposed starting a garden about three years ago for her grandson’s kindergarten class at Michael T. Simmons Elementary School in Tumwater, she envisioned two or three flower ...