Oakwood Elementary Plants New Entryway

Prepares to Break Ground on Outdoor Garden Classroom
by Allison M. Pickard

Starting at 10 a.m. Saturday community volunteers, kids, parents and teachers from will get down and dirty in a project that will not only create a welcoming school entry, but hammer home the character-building traits of hospitality, thankfulness and social responsibility.

The Oakwood Elementary School Garden Committee is leading a team of 25 parents, faculty and kids through a School Beautification Project that is just the beginning of the school’s journey into the great outdoors. 

“This day is the result of so much hard work by our gardening committee who spent months securing grant money and professional plans,” said Donna Usewick, principal of Oakwood Elementary School in Glen Burnie.  “Thanks to John Hudson, CLP, of Evergreen Gene's, the Lowe’s, and volunteer and financial assistance from , we have a really sustainable plan that is just the beginning of our ‘hands on’ learning initiative.”

The school looks forward to breaking ground in May on an outdoor classroom featuring a rain garden as well as plants that are important to the health of the Chesapeake Bay; the result of a grant from Anne Arundel County’s Unity Gardens.

Oakwood Elementary serves about 370 pre-K through 5^th grade students and provides Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) in the Glen Burnie area, and is a 2011 recipient of the Maryland and National School of Character designation, as awarded by the Character Education Partnership (www.character.org).