CREAM OF CROP

Bronx teacher gives his students taste of life on farm

J.M. RAPPORT High School teacher Michael Masefield wanted to give his Bronx students access to fresh food and a break from city life.

So he built a farm with vegetables and a chicken coop on school grounds, and taught his students how to grow crops and raise animals.

For giving kids from some of the city’s toughest neighborhoods a fresh perspective on food and their lives, Masefield is nominated for a Hometown Heroes in Education award.

The work has been a labor of love for Masefield, an English instructor who’s taught in city schools since 2009 and operates his on-campus farm after normal classes end.

All of his students have serious learning disabilities or behavioral issues, and few of them have ever worked on a garden before.

But Masefield (photo inset) said working with underserved students comes easily to him.

“Things that drive other people crazy don’t get to me,” said Masefield, 30, whose passion for gardening earned him the nickname “Farmer Mike” from his friends.

“These kids are used to being seen a certain way, but I give them the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “A lot of times they just haven’t had the right outlets or people didn’t give them a chance.”

J.M. Rapport students mostly hail from the school’s hardscrabble Mott Haven neighborhood.

Many are behind in their schooling and some of them have been involved in crimes. Masefield’s farm is an unusual sight to them.

It wraps around the J.M. Rapport campus in a narrow strip, with about a dozen elevated beds holding tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables.

The farm also boasts a chicken coop with seven birds who all lay eggs, plus a greenhouse for seedlings.

And Masefield uses an indoor classroom space to grow hydroponic crops and cook food from the farm with students.

About 10 kids participated in Masefield’s after-school farming club during the school year that ended in June.

Another half-dozen kids are working with Masefield on the farm over the summer.

Only a small number of students are involved so far, but more are signing up each year for the farming activities that Masefield began in 2015.

And for those students who do work on the farm, a transformation often takes place.

“Kids who have violent backgrounds become really calm when they hold a chicken,” Masefield said.

“And kids who have a hard time explaining a math problem can do very well when it comes to explaining what’s going on at the farm.”

The new experiences may help kids perform in their regular classes or handle issues they face outside school, Masefield said.

“Farming is a hands-on activity,” Masefield said. “A lot of the kids who don’t do so well academically excel at the farm.”