Bronx students design rooftop garden, theater

BY JAIME WILLIAMS
A local councilman and
city organization are working together to realize a Bronx
schools dream.
Councilman Ritchie Torres
recently announced he will allocate $750,000 to build a rooftop garden and performance
space at the Theater Arts Production Company School, the
plans for which were developed
in a digital design class run by
the 92nd Street Y at the school.
On July 29, 92Y Serves
partnered with volunteers
from Blackstone for a service
day at the school, where they
built two garden towers and
an indoor stage for the arts
school, in addition to painting
the teachers lounge.
The smaller projects offer
students a taste of what will
come with the eventual rooftop garden and performing
space, which will offer opportunities for interdisciplinary
learning, said principal Ron
Link.
The school plans to use the
garden to grow produce for
the schools cafeteria and Part
of the Solutions food services
down the street, said Link.

The garden will also provide chances for interdisciplinary educational opportunities
in the Science, Technology,
Engineering, Arts and Math
fields.
The school already focuses
on incorporating STEAM in
student projects, said Link, be
it creating a music video about
exponents or building stage
set designs.
Our teachers are working
in a cross-curricular fashion
to make the academics relevant, said Link.
The rooftop garden and performing space will offer even
more opportunities to do that,
as well as providing beautiful
greenspace in a neighborhood
where its lacking, he said.
And as excited as Link is
about the long-term prospects
of the rooftop garden, he was
equally excited about the projects undertaken by volunteers.
Youve got an amalgamation of public and private working hand in hand on things
that matter every day to teachers and kids, said Link.
Councilman Torres also
provided support for the part-

Students from the Theatre Arts Production Company School joined with volunteers from Blackstone, who
partnered with 92nd Street Y serves for a day of service at the school on July 29. Volunteers built plant towers
Photo Courtesy of 92Y Serves
and a small stage and painted the teachers lounge.
nership between the 92nd
Street Y and the school for the
digital design class, and said
the rooftop garden will provide additional enrichment
for the students.
The students of the Bronx
deserve nothing less than
a first--class education, he
said.

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The digital design class, entering its third year at TAPCo,

is helping students get that education.
It allows students to combine STEAM skills with creativity and imagination, said
92Ys director of educational
outreach Larisa Gelman.
It also helps them develop

problem-solving skills, and

lets them design things that
meet their wants and needs,
such as the rooftop garden,
which students designed renderings for.
We inspire them to think
about their school and their
community in what theyre
doing, said Gelman.

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