Thursday, July 16, 2020

PAAE Outsanding Early Career Educator: Janae McMichael @kjmcmichael

The Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators (PAAE) just wrapped up their summer conference for this year. PAAE spotlights Agriculture Educators and the work they do in and outside of classrooms. The passion Pennsylvania Agriculture teachers express through the work they do in their classrooms show in their students and communities across the state. Many awards and spotlights take place along with training for educators to further develop and engage themselves as teachers.

Among the great success of teachers, the Center for Professional Personnel Development would like to recognize the great success of Janae McMichael, the recipient of the PAAE Outstanding Early Career Educator. Janae is part of a two-teacher Agriculture program (@GardenSpotFFA) at Lampeter-Strasburg High School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The program offers many courses from Agriscience to Power, Structural and Technical Systems. Janae mentions "Like many programs across the country, our program is challenged by the consistently changing community. We work hard to be reflective practitioners as teachers, modeling that for our students. In doing this, we have the ability to listen to community and program supporters to reinforce the demands of the industry, making our agricultural program stay relevant in the community and, more importantly, relevant to our students." This is reflected by student potential to earn up to seven industry-recognized certifications in the program. Along with active Supervised Agricultural Expereiences (SAE) and interview experiences.

Students in Mrs. McMichael's program have unique opportunities to succeed including experiences through SAE's that help them to become marketable employees. Janae shares "Through experiential, work-based learning opportunities such as Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE), students have been given opportunities to gain the experience that employers desire to see in their future employees. Of our 192 active SAE’s, 65% of students are involved in a Placement or Employment-related project. 19% of students keep records on an Entrepreneurship project and 32% of students are exploring foundational agricultural concepts. The remaining 2% of students are conducting a research project based on the scientific method."

Community involvement is an important portion of the Agriculture program at Lampeter-Strasburg High School. The program is nearing its 90 year anniversary and with that there are a number of chapter alumni who are active supporters of curriculum development, CDE team resources, and SAE project assistance. They have been able to connect with various community members and alumni members to conduct mock interviews and helping students develop 21st-century skills. In addition, the Local Occupational Advisory Committee has been built with quality individuals from a wide range of industries and backgrounds. They volunteer their time and expertise for the betterment of the program.

Janae McMichael's advice to new Ag Teachers is to "Seize the moment. Your plate will likely always be full, but take advantages of the opportunities put in front of your to better yourself. Attend the workshop. Listen to the podcast. Join the webinar. Read the article. Ask the hard questions. Ask yourself frequently, what did I today, this week or this month to make myself better for the sake of my students? "


We are proud to see this Penn State Alumni's success and we know she will continue to build, engage, and share her passion as a Agricultural Educator. Your PAAE Outstanding Early Career Educator, Janae McMichael!





Agricultural & Extension Education
CPPD Student Worker
Penn State Class of 2023









Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Elizabethtown High School Teacher Named Ag Educator of The Year: Mark Anderson


Mark Anderson, a High School Agriculture Educator, at Elizabethtown High School in Lancaster County was named Pennsylvania’s Ag Educator of the Year as part of the 2019-2020 Golden Owl Awards. “Nationwide created the Golden Owl Award in 2018 to bring attention to the growing need for agricultural teachers in this country,” said Nationwide’s president of agribusiness, Brad Liggett.

Mr. Mark Anderson stood among four outstanding Agriculture Educator finalist from across the state in 4 different regions. In Pennsylvania, there were 98 nominations for 66 Agriculture teachers. There was a special surprise presentation for each of the 4 finalist as they were named a Golden Owl Award recipient in January. He was then selected to earn the Ag Educator of the Year Award for his profound impact on students, the community, and education that is recognized by many community members, colleagues, and supporters. In addition to this recognition, Mr. Anderson has recently been awarded from the Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators (PAAE) the Teacher Mentor Award Recipient for 2020. 

He has been recognized for this achievement by the Pennsylvania FFA Association, Nationwide Insurance, and The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. The award was given to Mr. Anderson and includes $3,000 to expand new educational opportunities to his program and students at Elizabethtown High School. Nationwide has also proudly invested $5,000 in each participating state’s FFA organization to further support aspiring agriculture professionals. Please help us in congratulating Mr. Mark Anderson on his achievement of receiving the 2020 Pennsylvania Ag Teacher of the Year Award!









Morgan Bear
CPPD Student Worker 
Agricultural & Extension Education
Class of 2023