The proposal penned by teachers James Maloney and Jackie Rippert would implement classroom enhancements and a greenhouse to promote social and life skills
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
Earlier this year, hundreds of applications flooded in from educators nationwide, all vying for the same thing — a massive grant from Farmers Insurance. As part of its Thank America’s Teachers initiative, the Dream Big Teacher Challenge awards $100,000 each to five finalists, helping them to fund ideas to create a lasting, positive impact on their classrooms, schools and communities.
In August, Farmers representatives whittled the proposals down to the top 15. Among those chosen was one submitted by Neshaminy High School science teacher James Maloney, and special education teacher Jackie Rippert. The two outlined a detailed plan for a “living classroom,” which would teach life skills, get students involved in agriculture, and help feed the hungry — all things Farmers felt aligned with the mission of the Dream Big Teacher Challenge.
Now, it’s up to the public to decide which five of the 15 finalists will receive $100,000. Through Nov. 3, people can vote online once per day, and the winners will be announced in December. In the midst of the stress and excitement, The Times sat down with Maloney and Rippert, who explained their “living classroom” idea further and why it’s deserving of votes.
According to Maloney, the project as a whole would give students the opportunity to tend to plants and prepare vegetables for consumption and distribution in the Langhorne area, as well as build life, job, cooking and entrepreneurial skills. This would be done through classroom enhancements and the construction and expansion of an on-site greenhouse.
Rippert, who is celebrating her 10th year at Neshaminy, teaches a handful of subjects to special education students, all in the same classroom. While the singular location makes things easier in some aspects, including not having to lug her belongings to different spots each period, it also has its challenges, especially during science.
“There’s no sink. There’s no plumbing. She’s inadequately prepared to teach in here,” Maloney said of his colleague.
For the first time last spring, Rippert’s students hosted their own craft sale, for which they made lip balm and other spa products from scratch. Many of these items required heat, but the classroom also lacks an oven. Though they made do by using the kitchens of a next-door building, those precious minutes spent transporting the materials significantly cut into the limited 46-minute class time.
If awarded the grant, these enhancements would be implemented to keep initiatives like the craft fair thriving. Not only it is a fun service project for Rippert’s students, it also teaches them key life skills, such as how to handle money.
“To have it (a kitchen) here would be a huge benefit because then we can have an ongoing process where we don’t have to take the time to walk across. We can be a little bit more flexible in our schedule,” Rippert said.
Another portion of the grant would be put toward the greenhouse that’s currently being constructed. The funds would help expand Neshaminy’s agricultural curriculum, give students hands-on lessons, and promote collaboration between Rippert’s special needs students and Maloney’s AP ones.
“Her classes get to go to Snipes Farm, who’s a great partner for us, and then her kids become the experts and can teach my AP students how to plant things, different skills that, again, not many kids see nowadays,” Maloney said. “It’s the social skills benefit. It’s the agricultural education benefit. If the project is fully funded, it’s going to cover a lot of different facets of our curriculum.”
The temperature-controlled greenhouse would also serve as a safe haven for plants, which have a tendency to not do well in Rippert’s often too-warm classroom. With a dedicated agriculture space, students would be able to immerse themselves in the art of planting a seedling. They could watch it grow and then hone their entrepreneurial skills by selling it at the craft fair, which helps raise funds for field trips to places like Snipes Farm. In Rippert’s opinion, the possibilities of the greenhouse are endless.
“We could also grow things like vegetables that we could add to our food pantry, which is called the Silo. There are students in this building that are food insecure that come and collect canned items and packaged items. We use some of our proceeds from the craft fair to supply that, but it would just take it to another level to be able to provide fresh items,” she said.
So far, students and staff have shown unwavering support for Maloney and Rippert, coming in during the summer to help film a promotional video for Farmers and submitting votes as often as the rules allow.
“It is a marathon. It is not a sprint by any means,” Maloney said, adding the number of votes received won’t be unveiled at any point before Nov. 3. “You could be winning by 10 million, you could be winning by 10. We have no clue.”
After the five winners are announced in December, the grants will be distributed in January. If Neshaminy is fortunate enough to earn $100,000, Maloney said the greenhouse could begin taking shape as early as the spring, while the classroom enhancements would be completed over the summer.
“In education, it’s weird in that you work so hard with what you have. And when you have the opportunity to get something that you don’t have, you get really excited,” he said. “It could be setting the foundation to continue to grow. Years from now, maybe we’ll have a produce food stand or something like that, who knows? Doing it right the first time allows us to expand. We really want to make sure we’re doing it right, we’re not just piecing it together. The sky’s the limit.” ••
Voting is open through Nov. 3 at ThankAmericasTeachers.com.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
