CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Grange Hall Elementary first grade teacher Jessica Drahms was recently named a finalist for Virginia's Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year.
Last year, Ms. Drahms received a grant to build a school greenhouse and raised additional funds by organizing flower sales for the first grade classes.
"It became this school wide goal where we sold flowers to raise the money," she said. "I wrote for a grant from Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom and they supplied $500 to help."
Grange Hall Elementary first grade teacher Jessica Drahms
She also received volunteer hours from a local construction company to build the greenhouse.
Each class came out and assisted with a step of the construction process from leveling, to shoveling gravel, to measuring and reading plans, and finally, the construction.
The students learned about the construction process, but more importantly, they learned to work together as a team.
"I'm extremely proud of her for taking the initiative and helping her team to develop this project based learning," Principal Courtney Jones said.
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