Oakland Economics Teacher Honored For Running Food Co-Op, Battling Poverty

OAKLAND, NJ — A borough economics teacher has been honored by a national nonprofit for educating students in and out of the classroom.

Theodore Opderbeck is a 10th- through 12th-grade teacher at Waldwick HIgh School. He has been named an Alfred P. Sloan Teaching Champion by the Council for Economic Education, one of two Bergen County teachers to receive the honor this year. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic grantmaking institution based in New York City.

The award honors teachers who effectively deliver content to students in and out of the classroom.

Opderbeck believes strongly that learning about economics should extend outside the walls of a classroom. To that end he has organized and advised several student clubs and activities, including the Fed Challenge, Euro Challenge and the Waldwick High School Students for Global Awareness, a group that assists organizations battling poverty and hunger around the world.

Recently, he administered the Waldwick High School CSA, a functioning agricultural cooperative on the school campus with student interns running the program.

"By nature, economics is an academic subject that is dynamic, vibrant, and alive," Opderbeck said in a statement. "As an economics teacher, it is my highest privilege to design learning activities that allow students space to weave the concepts we explore in the classroom directly into the fabric of their lives."

Opderbeck was named Waldwick district teacher of the year in 2004 and 2013. He has also received several awards and grants, including the New Jersey School Garden of the Year award in 2015, and the NJEA Frederick L. Hipp Foundation for Educational Excellence in 2005 and 2009.

Outside of school, Opderbeck created and currently manages a food ministry that provides fresh, healthy produce to hungry families facing food insecurity. He also designed and currently administers a summer educational enrichment technology-based program for underserved youth and assists in the planning of a local Jobs for Life program.

Opderbeck will receive $5,000 and Waldwick High School will get $2,500 for him receiving the award. Opderbeck will be honored at an awards ceremony Oct. 25.

"Each day, I strive to create a classroom environment that fosters strong connections between seemingly abstract concepts and real life for my students," Opderbeck said. "Through their deep engagement with economics, students are empowered to understand the world around them and to work towards improving it."

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Photo: Theodore Opderbeck/Courtesy of The Council for Economic Education