Schools

Handywoman Misses Out on Reality TV Title

Allison Oropallo, who taught at Novato High for three years before moving back east, still had fun on HGTV's All American Handyman show.

A former teacher was eliminated on the final night of a handyman reality TV show Sunday on the HGTV network, but Allison Oropallo sure enjoyed her season of fame.

“The best part of the experience was definitely making it to the end,” Oropallo told Arlington (Mass.) Patch. “I did this competition because I knew I could win. No matter whether I did win, I made it to the end.”

Oropallo, who taught at Novato High from 2007 to 2010 before moving to Massachusetts, and was of 3,000 contestants nationwide for the show, All American Handyman. In the show, the 20 contestants were taken to the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York where they were given tools and a project to build. They were timed and their projects were later scrutinized by two judges.

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In the final show, the first challenge was to build a shed in five hours. Oropallo cleared that stage and was one of the remaining three contestants after one of the four was eliminated. Next, the surviving trio had to build a kitchen in five hours. The judges said all three did well, with Oropallo making the fewest mistakes and doing the most out of her area.

“The only thing I didn’t do was putting a window in front of my sink,” she said.

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Contestant Jared Pollston took the title. He won $10,000 and a development deal with HGTV.

Oropallo, though, took home a great number of fans and admiration, from teaching colleagues to students at Ottoson Middle School in Arlington, Mass.

“I feel pretty proud,” she said.

Oropallo, who grew up in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., now lives in Stoneham, Mass, and teaches engineering and technology at Ottoson. She teaches technology and engineering, where she takes math and science and puts it into hands-on learning. She also has coached a Legos robotics team.

Click here and here for fresh news clips about Oropallo. Click here for a story about her.

—, Arlington (Mass.) Patch and Brent Ainsworth of Novato Patch


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