Looking for suggestions on how to plant a tree at a grammar school garden.  My Grand Kids school will be starting one in the spring and they already volunteered me to give them a fig tree along with a lesson on how to take care of it .  Apparently as a fig4fun member I`m a newbee but the outside world thinks I`m a pro.  Trying to make it easy for them to grow but don`t know whether to plant in ground or pot {New Jersey}.  Have read some info about pots buried in ground with another pot inside of it with the tree for easy winter removal which seems like a good option if it works.  I figure with over 4444 members there must be somebody who can help with my project.

Joe, I can tell you that planting inground in a pot is sometimes a struggle, because many varieties will still send roots beyond that pot, through the drain holes, and exploit the nutrients and moisture in the soil.
By the end of the season the plant will likely be firmly anchored.
For that reason, you may want to have the drain holes on the sides of the pots, to be able to sever those roots by jamming a shovel along the pot. If the roots poke through the bottom of the pot they will be a lot tougher to cut, and a lot more digging will have to be done.

I don't know if anyone uses a "sealed" outer pot to keep the roots from escaping, but I would imagine that's a bad idea, unless you're willing to remove the inner pot once in a while, to remove the excess water from rain and keep the roots from drowning and rotting.

Depending on the variety, it may be feasible to plant in ground, prune it heavily in the fall, then pile up the stubbed tree with leaf litter to get it through its first couple of winters. A chicken wire cage around the plant would allow you to pile the leaves up over 2'.
Otherwise, there may be plenty of places in a school to store a potted tree. It may even do really well as an indoor plant at the right location. It may get leggy due to lack of sun if it isn't allowed to go dormant, but that growth can be pruned out in the Spring, when the plant is brought outside again.

If you're able to plant it against a south-facing wall, it may thrive without much help. The harsh Winter winds seem to do the most damage, and plants that aren't overly fertilized do better at preparing for normal cold temperatures in our area.

What variety are you considering?
Will you be doing multiple plants?

Describe the location that the fig will be planted. How old is the fig that you will be planting? What zone are you in? Can it be placed near a south facing wall? If you are in zone 6-7 and can give it a little wind protection in the winter, and the tree you plant is 3 years old or so, and you wrap and protect it in the winter... You should be fine. I would go with a Hardy Chicago or similar.

     Aaron: The location of the garden at the school is still a mystery to me since I was just told about this project last night. Hardy Chicago seems to be a great choice for my 6B zone and I should be able to pick one up at Bills Figs in the spring that is all ready to go into the ground or a pot.  I have not had a chance  to speak to anyone as to how many plants they want to grow yet. Right now I`m just trying to figure out a game plan.
     Rui:  I was thinking the same thing about the water between the pots and non of the blogs about sleeves in the ground answered it.  Probably won`t go that direction if nobody here has had any experience or success with it.

I'd let the school know what kind of site will work, i.e. a south wall, then choose any well known hardy variety and plant inground