Pitching in for His Kids: Principal Sleeps in Tent to Win School $500,000

ROSEANNE COLLETTI NBC New York 08/26/2010 16:27

It's not exactly the Waldorf. The tent is about the size of a Manhattan closet, but principal Mark Federman has already spent several nights inside.

"It rained the last three nights and that wasn't much fun," said Federman, who pointed out that his kitchen is two bananas, his library, a book -- and his shower: a bottle of water.

At first some students didn't get it, but they realized he was doing it for them.

"I thought Mr. Federman was crazy, but he will do anything to help his students,"said Justin Garrigo, a 16-year-old junior.

Federman is camping out in front of his East Side Community High School in lower Manhattan to help muster votes in an online school popularity contest. The face-off on Facebook is sponsored by Kohl's Cares and promises half-a-million dollars apiece to the 20 schools with the most votes.

"It's an online contest and one of the things we're short on here is technology and that makes it hard to compete," said Federman.

The neighborhood public school, which houses grades 6 through 12, has now launched a grassroots campaign of flyers and phone calls. Students and parents have also pitched in by putting up companion tents for a group camp-out.