Every school has challenges in educating children, both inside and outside the classroom. But it’s how each school handles those challenges that sets them apart.

Principal Dana McCauley knows her school, Crellin Elementary, in Garrett County is unique. She knows Crellin is Maryland’s westernmost school, just about a mile from West Virginia. She also knows it’s likely the only one in the state where elementary students walk chickens at recess.

“The kids have a stake in the school?” asked Project Baltimore’s Chris Papst.

“Oh yes. Yeah. So, they’re responsible for … there’s many chores that need done around here. Many chores,” explained McCauley.

“The kids do chores?” replied Papst.

“They do chores. Yes,” replied McCauley. “There’s all the barn work that needs done. The stalls have to be cleaned, the animals need fed and watered every day. The eggs need collected.”

So, how does this translate to educational success? McCauley says the students feel like the school is “their place” and “they’re invested in it.”

Crellin is a Title I school, meaning it has a high concentration of students living in poverty. Maryland has more than 1,400 public schools; 464 are considered Title I. Of those 464 schools, Crellin is the only one that earned a five-star rating for educational excellence from the Maryland State Department of Education – the state’s highest designation.

So, how did that happen? The story begins 23 years ago.

McCauley has been leading Crellin Elementary since 2001. Not just as its principal, but also as a teacher. And it was in that role that, 23 years ago, she made a life-changing discovery.

“I remember my first year here sitting in class watching some of the kids. And then going outside with them, going down to the stream and watching some of our squirrel-iest kids in the classroom thrive. I thought, there’s got to be something to this,” McCauley told Project Baltimore.

Soon after, McCauley learned Crellin sits on the polluted land of an abandoned coal mine where acid mine drainage has colored the rocks orange. At first, to McCauley, that seemed like a big problem. But it was within the rocks that she had an idea.

“It’s good to not know what you don’t know. That make sense? So, you’re not afraid of the obstacles because you’re not even aware of what they might be,” explained McCauley.

On a whim, McCauley gathered community support and petitioned Garrett County, which awarded the school ownership of a six-acre site of the mine to clean up. That was the moment Crellin’s unique story began.

“We took the walls down to the school and opened it up to the community. So, the community is part of our school,” said McCauley.

Over the next few years, the students, staff, parents and neighbors worked to restore the land. Now, there’s thriving wetlands, a hemlock forest and trout stream, all made possible by a limestone retention pond the school built to naturally filter and clean the acid mine drainage.

Once the school had fully cleaned the six acres, McCauley expanded her vision. Maryland does not have sanctioned agricultural programs for elementary schools. So, in 2013, McCauley started her own. Today, Crellin has an apple orchard, greenhouse, vegetable garden and multiple barns with goats, sheep and — of course — chickens.

Parents, according to McCauley, built the hen house. And now it is maintained by the school community, which includes the students.

Where the students work is also where they learn. A classroom amphitheater is built from a giant pile of coal covered in dirt. Class is held in the greenhouse all winter long.

Crellin Elementary is a public school. But McCauley says no public education dollars were used for any of the school’s agricultural or coal mine reclamation projects. Over 23 years, McCauley has applied for dozens of local, state and federal agricultural and reclamation grants. She won most of them, collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars for the school and its many projects.

“It’s a lot of work,” McCauley told Project Baltimore.

Work that over two decades has culminated in Crellin’s five-star rating, which makes this school one of one in Maryland.

“Is what you’re doing here … could it be done at any school?” questioned Papst.

“I think it’d be different. Because this is unique to our community,” explained McCauley. “Because it’s not about the stream. It’s not about the stream. It’s about those who help make that all possible. That’s what it’s all about.”

Follow Project Baltimore’s Chris Papst on X and Facebook. Send news tips to cjpapst@sbgtv.com.