By Alice Moreno
Alanna O’Donnell thought it was a normal day at school on May 30, going to her usual meetings to discuss her farming initiative. She found it weird that none of her colleagues would speak to her that day, but didn’t think too much of it. She was told it was an end-of-the-school-year party, and as she arrived at her classroom, the principal, Christopher Duffy, said that they might not be telling the whole truth — in fact, they were there to honor someone. The entire time, she thought someone was retiring, and they were hosting a party for them.
Little did she know, she was about to be rewarded with a $25,000 unrestricted cash prize as well as a $10,000 grant, as she is the Queens recipient of the FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence.
O’Donnell is a veteran of the New York Department of Education, having worked as a special needs teacher for over 12 years. A Flushing native, she is currently working on her second Master’s degree at PACE University, in literacy in TESOL (teaching English to students of other
languages).
Though she doesn’t consider herself a farmer, she and her students run a farm within school grounds. She began this initiative three years ago when she first began teaching at PS 177, Robin Sue Ward School for Exceptional Children, when she noticed that there was a run-down space due to an oil spill that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. She wanted to find a unique way for children with disabilities to learn, and with that, the farm idea came to be.
“Our first year was a bit of a struggle, but then it just kind of blossomed,” said O’Donnell. “And we wrote a grant to New York [Department of Agriculture and Markets] in the classroom, [and] we got $1,500 to raise chickens.”
O’Donnell and her students — in which all except one are non-verbal — run a chicken coop. She jokingly calls the seven chickens, “morbidly obese young ladies,” and has two baby chickens on the way to be integrated.
She notes that the farm has helped students gain independence, developing a certain level of empathy and respect. The students started off afraid, but after two weeks, the students began to hold the chickens and perform various chores to take care of them.
“Every day, we provide them with a job that has specific tasks and steps that they need to complete,” O’Donnell said. “So, one day it might be they’re in charge of garbage. The next day, they’re in charge of sweeping out the coop. The following day, it’s getting all their food prepared. The next day, it’s getting all their water and spraying down the coop, removing any of the dirty poop.”
O’Donnell’s biggest accomplishment, however, was seeing one of her students initiate a task without help. The student went to the farm, opening the gates, letting the chickens out, shaking the bag (as a way to get the chickens to follow them), and bringing the chickens back. The room fell silent as everyone watched; not a dry eye was in the room.
“His mom said to me, I didn’t know my son [could] do that by himself. And I was like, yeah, he can,” said O’Donnell. “And now it’s like secondhand nature to him, and other students have followed him. So we’re up to, I think, three or four [students] that are doing it independently.”
The FLAG Award, according to their website, states that it “recognizes and celebrates extraordinary public school teachers who inspire learning through creativity, passion, and commitment.” The award is given to a teacher in each of the boroughs, plus one 3K-5th grade teacher from any borough.
O’Donnell was nominated by one of the parents of her students, an honor that she is privileged to have. She feels that being nominated by a parent feels as if she already won — a parent seeing her efforts is different from when a stranger sees her efforts.
“I’m super humbled by the award, but to know that a parent sat down one night and wrote an essay about me says does a lot about who they are and how they feel about me, so that was really important to me,” said O’Donnell.
Upon revealing the award, O’Donnell reacted in shock, but nonetheless, was grateful to receive it. The crowd roared with cheers as her name appeared on the big screen, showing the
outpouring of love and respect the students, parents, and faculty have for her.
“This is amazing, and I am so humbled [that] one, to accept an award like this, because when one of us shine, we all shine,” said O’Donnell in her speech. “[And] two, because I’m here at 177th.”
