Wednesday, April 6, 2016

April 2016 Program of the Month: Wellsboro High School

In Pennsylvania we have over 150 FFA chapters that represent the Blue and Gold at its finest. There is one chapter that has stood above the rest this month to become our April program of the month. The Grand Canyon FFA Chapter at Wellsboro High School!
The Grand Canyon FFA Chapter was chartered in 1929 as the Wellsboro- Charleston FFA where it was housed in a different high school. The chapter has been housed in Wellsboro High School since 1942. Ms. Melanie Berndtson is the current agricultural educator and FFA advisor at Wellsboro. She says "The Wellsboro Agriscience Program is a modern, innovative agrisciece program that prepares students for careers in food, fiber and natural resources through being enrolled in classwork, having supervised agricultural experience, and participating in FFA." There are 115 students in the Agriscience Program that are all offered affiliate membership in the FFA, and since Ms. Berndtson has been the students at the participatory/active level of membership have increased from 15 to 56. This year Wellsboro High School is also a cooperating center for our very own teacher candidate Ms. Stacia Gouger.




Ms. Stacia Gouger & Ms. Melanie Berndtson
The Wellsboro Agriscience department is home to a 13 acre woodlot and a classroom and lab area which is full of animals!  Students in the program raise trout and tilapia and have a ball python, corn snake, bearded dragons a parakeet, guinea pigs, rabbits and every so often a hamster and chinchilla.  The chapter has continued to grow over the years, and every time they have participated at the state Forestry Career Development Event under Ms. Berndtson, they have received 1st or 2nd.  Among their Career Development success, they are active in service projects, leadership conferences and participated in various state level events.  


 Current Classes Offered: 

Introduction to Agriscience (CASE AFNR)
Plant Science I
Plant Science II
Animal Science I
Animal Science I
Natural Resource Management
Ag Leadership (Face to face and online)
Supervised Ag. Experience


Recent Chapter Accomplishments:

1st American Degree Application submitted since 1956
Gold, Silver & Bronze Proficiencies at the National Level 
Improvement on the National Chapter Award, from a 1 star to a 2 star chapter
2 Gold Forestry CDE Teams at the National level
High School FFA members at Wellsboro


The growth and commitment to preparing the next generation of students for careers in agriculture, food and natural resources at the Wellsboro High School and Grand Canyon FFA is an example for all of us to look to. Congratulations on being named our April Program of the Month! 




To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of students across the globe by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter at TeachAgPSU, on Facebook, or on our blog.


Kayla Hack

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @hackkayla

2017 Agriculture Education Student Teacher

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