Jaguar Gardens supports special education students through sales
Special education teacher Sarah Evans sells plants and various crafts made by her students at the shop
October 6, 2022
This school year, students can support the special education program by making a purchase from special education teacher Sara Evans’ school shop, known as Jaguar Gardens. The shop, open on Fridays during lunch and after school, is located in room C-106, and primarily sells plants, but other select craft items are often available.
According to Evans, who runs Jaguar Gardens with help from special education teacher Kaila Masters, the shop was started in order to help support her students.
“[We wanted] to help raise money to buy things for our community,” Evans said. “We had an additional classroom here and had a window, so we started bringing in some plants. We realized that we could start growing stuff, planting stuff, and it’s just kind of grown from there.”
Jaguar Gardens has been open since the beginning of the year, and to Evans’ surprise, has seen lots of support from students.
“Our very first day was outrageous,” Evans said. “The second we opened the plants really flew off the shelves. We were really surprised. I had no idea how much students liked plants because that was not something that was popular when I was in high school. We had four or five football players buy succulents. It was pretty popular and every week we have people come by.”
The shop’s prices generally range from $6 to $10, with adjustments to prices being made as necessary. Senior Kate Hereth has bought a plant from Jaguar Gardens every week since purchasing her first one in early September, and enjoys the shop’s atmosphere and low pricing.
“Mrs. Evans is super nice and sweet and the store is just as cool,” Hereth said. “[The] plants are super easy to purchase and easy to take care of. They are good quality for a very low price. If you have any questions about the plants or anything like that, [Evans] is super open to answering them.”
In addition to selling plants, Jaguar Gardens also sells various crafts made by students in Evans’ classes. These products, which range from tie-dyed shirts and scrunchies to paintings, help the students to be part of the school community.
“I think [my students have] learned from it and it just gives them a purpose for fitting into the student body,” Evans said.
Senior Madison Koester, who has purchased a succulent and Golden Pothos plant from Jaguar gardens, appreciates that her purchases help provide for her peers.
“I really like that Mrs. Evans has started selling plants on Fridays because it helps support her students and it’s nice to grow my plant collection with good quality plants,” Koester said.
