To many, Alanna O’Donnell is affectionately known as “the chicken lady.” The special education teacher at P177Q, The Robin Sue Ward School for Exceptional Children in Fresh Meadows, runs the first public school chicken coop in Queens’ District 75.
O’Donnell has a flock of 9 chickens that she takes care of with her class, a small group of six 19 to 21-year-olds affectionately referred to as her “boys.” O’Donnell, with the support of three paraprofessionals, runs a unique hybrid academic and Essential for Living curriculum that builds a vocational and social skills program for the boys.
The backyard of PS 177Q is an unusual sight: an urban farm complete with a chicken coop, vegetable garden, and sensory garden that disrupts the mundane flow of the otherwise unassuming neighborhood of Fresh Meadows.
O’Donnell and her students take care of the day-to-day upkeep, including feeding the chickens, cleaning their coops, and other related tasks. The tasks are rotating between the students, a tactic she uses to help her students get used to change in routine, build empathy, and other important behavioral skills. “ When we started with this…my boys did not want anything to do with them. Now they’re hand feeding them,” she said. “They’ll pick them up, they’ll move them from one area of the coop to the actual farm on their own.”
PS177Q is a self-contained special education school for children and young adults ages 11 to 22 with autism, emotional and behavioral challenges, Intellectual Disability, and Multiple Disability, with tailored in-school programs to support their needs.
O’Donnell admits that she had no prior experience with taking care of chickens. In fact, she was inspired to start the program to help her students adapt to changing routines and lessen stress responses in other areas of their lives. “It was Tractor Supply who held my hand and walked me through everything that we needed. I was a chicken virgin. I had no experience with chickens,” she laughed. “I just really thought this was something I could see really working. I had a vision for it, and I walked into my principal’s office, and I looked at him and I said, how do you feel about chickens?”
O’Donnell credits the support of her principal, administrators, and classroom paraprofessionals with starting the chicken coop. When she and her students built the coop in October 2023, O’Donnell did upkeep on weekends and holidays. Since then, she’s been able to make it more self-sufficient.
The community has rallied around the program, with neighbors bringing their families to the coop and farm, and there is a consistent demand for fresh eggs. “People can’t get eggs fast enough,” O’Donnell said. “We take whatever money we have left and reinvest in the farm.”
O’Donnell also uses the earnings to take her students on regular field trips to the Queens County Farm, where they purchase vegetables for the birds and have a chance to interact with farm workers. “It exposes them to being in the neighborhood shopping, meeting people outside…the staff over there was very kind to the kids,” she said.
O’Donnell tailors a lesson plan from the New York Agriculture in the Classroom. In 2023, she received a $1,500 grant from the organization to start the chicken coop, and since then, she’s invested over $25,000 of her personal earnings. She hopes to expand the program and have over 40 chickens in the near future.
For O’Donnell, taking care of the chickens is rewarding for the students and their families. With the majority of her students being nonverbal and communicating through devices, O’Donnell said it was heartwarming seeing her students shatter expectations.
“The first time we saw one of them do it by themselves, there were a lot of tears…I’ve said this before, when a parent is told this is the best that your kid is going to do, and then they exceed those expectations, it changes the way you view this program and what we’re doing,” she said. “ Everybody seems to think…they can’t raise chickens. But the reality is, they’ve learned how to be tolerant. They’ve learned how to accept no, they’ve learned how to follow directions, manage their behaviors, and let us know when they’re exhausted,” she said.
Her passion for her students has not gone unnoticed. On Friday, May 30, the FLAG Foundation honored O’Donnell with the FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence, a $25,000 personal cash prize and a $10,000 grant for an arts education initiative in her school.
A few months ago, O’Donnell said a parent nominated her for the award, and she didn’t think much of it after she sent in her application. The award and subsequent celebration came as a shock to O’Donnell. In fact, she thought Friday’s celebration was a retirement party.
”It was such a surprise, and my boys were sitting there. And you could see that they knew something was happening, they just weren’t sure what yet. And then as the event went on, they were completely engrossed in what was happening, so it was really amazing,” she said.
Thirty-three winners were selected from the nominees, with six winners from the five boroughs. Nominees were required to complete a comprehensive application, participate in an interview process that included an interview with their principal, and submit supplementary material. This year’s FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence received the most nominations in its history, with 1,600 submissions from students, parents, principals, and teachers.
O’Donnell said she’s looking forward to going on a small vacation and paying for her semester for her second master’s degree in Literacy and TESL, which she’s finishing in December of this year at Pace University.
O’Donnell said that none of this was possible without the support of her classroom’s paraprofessionals.
”It was probably the most humbling thing because…when they called my name, it’s not just me. It’s the team of ladies that I work with. When you acknowledge me-yes, I wrote the grant and I did that stuff-but you are acknowledging their hard work and their dedication and their love for the kids as well,” she said.
The grant is going towards a project, a homesteading YouTube channel called the 177 School Steading Project, which should be launching in September. “ So we’ve used that money to get a new computer, a new camera, new equipment that would allow us to create these videos where we invite guests on and we ask them questions and we can share our knowledge on farming and chicken care,” O’Donnell said.
The YouTube channel will be available for public viewership, and O’Donnell said she hopes it will foster a sense of community and confidence for her students and allow them to engage with others.
O’Donnell always knew she would live her life in service of others. Growing up in Fresh Meadows as the daughter of a FNDY firefighter, and registered nurse, the foundation her parents laid created a clear pathway for her future.“ When you are raised in that kind of a household where you watch your parents constantly giving back to the community, it’s not an option,” she said. “My mom and dad are just amazing human beings. I am so lucky to have been raised in that life of service. So, of course, I’m glad that I’m able to continue it.”
O’Donnell has worked with P.S. 177Q for the past three years and with the NYC Department of Education for 12 years. “ It is the greatest job. It is not without its difficult moments, but I wouldn’t be the human being I am today if I didn’t work in special ed,” she said.
