Kayla Hack (@HackKayla) Hired! 2017 Teacher Candidate Hired at Honesdale High School

"I think Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.... because there are so many students that education, especially in agriculture or career and technical education truly does change the course of their life and even their families." 

Kayla Hack is originally from East Troy, Wisconsin, but she is here to stay in Pennsylvania as she becomes Honesdale's Agricultural Educator and FFA Advisor in Wayne County. Throughout her college experience Kayla has been involved in Teach Ag! Society where she had served as an officer for two years; Navigators Ministry; worked for National FFA as a facilitator; studied abroad and conducted undergraduate research in Costa Rica.

Kayla completed her student teaching experience at Pequea Valley High School in Kinzers, PA, in the heart of Lancaster County. She taught five different classes: Foods Unwrapped, Power Technology, Intro to Agricultural Mechanics, Ag Biology and Horticulture. While she was there she had the opportunity to do some interesting things with the students which included: Horticulture students preparing and hosting a workshop at The Factory Ministries for community members teaching flower arranging. The Factory Ministries empowers others to strengthen their community, and the students helped accomplished that with their workshop. The project was possible through a grant from the Pequea Valley Education Foundation. 

At Honesdale High School, Kayla will be opening up a brand new agricultural education program. The last time Honesdale had an agriculture program was in the 1960s. She will be required to build the program from the ground up. This includes curriculum to facilities, but she couldn't be more excited! The community and county are extremely supportive of the program and are giving her a helping hand in getting things started. She recently attended the Wayne County Economic Development Council Annual Dinner where she had the opportunity to meet agricultural leaders in the area.  Agricultural leaders are excited for the program to begin and ready to help in any way they can.  Honesdale agricultural program will be a general agriculture program where in the first year will feature Agriculture 1, a year long introduction to agriculture course with forestry, Foods Processing, Horticulture, and Animal Science. She is ecstatic to meet many community members and producers this summer as she moves up to Wayne County and meet the students in the fall.  Kayla states, "Starting a new program can be intimidating, but when you've been working hard and prepared and mentored well, it's every agriculture teacher's dream." A little fun fact about Wayne County Highlands is 75 miles from Manhattan, NY!

Congratulations Kayla on your recent position at Honesdale High School we wish you the best of luck starting this program!

 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.

Luke Kerstetter

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @lmkerstetter96

2020 Agricultural Education Student Teacher

February 2017 Program of the Month: Columbia Montour AVTS

All across the great state of Pennsylvania there are 145 school districts that have Agriculture Education courses and the FFA program. Each month we like to highlight a chapter that has stood out from the rest of the chapters. February's program of the month goes to Columbia Montour Area Vocational-Technical School or otherwise know as the Columbia Montour A.V.T.S. Chapter!

Background Knowledge
Columbia Montour A.V.T.S has a single teacher Agriculture Program located in Bloomsburg, PA. The first agriculture program was started in 1969 at the inception of the CTC. Two teachers had taught the program prior to Miss Appleman. John McAllister was the first teacher of the program then Tim Mauk took over the program and retired in 2014. This is Miss Appleman's third year teaching the program at Columbia Montour A.V.T.S.

Class Instruction

The school is a comprehensive career and technical center which means, after the students initial freshman year they select a vocational program and commit their last three years to that specific program. The CTC offers seventeen vocational training programs, in addition to the comprehensive academic course load.  Students attend Columbia Montour A.V.T.S. from seven sending school districts. Miss Appleman's agriculture program operates on the Applied Horticulture CIP code but she also educates the students in the following areas: Advanced Botany, Advanced Soil Science, Plant Propagation Methods, Safe Tractor and Machinery Operations, Landscape Drafting and Design, Masonry and Hardscape, Small Gas Engines, Introduction to Plumbing and Electricity, Greenhouse Productions Sustainable Technologies (Aquaponics and Hydroponics), Integrated Pest Management, Turfgrass Science, and Introduction to Leadership and Public Speaking. The learning labs consist of two greenhouses, an aquaponics system, a regulation sized putting green, a small forested area, ag mechanics shop, computer drafting room, and raised garden beds. The program has an annual fish fry with Tilapia from their aquaponics system to culminate the year. They also have a winter sale in December to sell the 1000+ poinsettias they grow, in addition to the wreaths and other greenery items the students make. Columbia Montour A.V.T.S. holds an annual spring bedding sale in May to sell the 10,000+ plants the students raise in the two greenhouses.

Supervised Agriculture Experiences (SAE's)

All of Miss Appleman's students are FFA members with an active AET account, and all students by the end of their sophomore year have a SAE, and a minimum of 15 hours of community service. The school also offers a SAE course for students who have a passion for agriculture and the FFA, but are in different vocational training programs such as welding and carpentry. Her juniors and seniors annually engage in a two week internship in March which they all keep records on an Exploratory SAE, and most of the students maintain a Paid Placement SAE. The school often encourages the students to go out on Co-Op the last semester of their junior year and throughout their senior year, if they are eligible. Miss Appleman's students work at local greenhouses, nurseries, landscape companies, and floral ships during their Co-Op which feeds right into their SAE programs. 

FFA Program

This year Miss Appleman had one Keystone Degree recipient and seven FFA Jacket scholarship recipients at Mid-Winter Convention. Last year she had ten students receive their Keystone Degree. The chapter always attends Fall Leadership Conference (FLC), Farm Show, and State Activities Week. The students are also involved in competing at the Bloomsburg Fair every year. They are also very active in the community, helping maintain the Bloomsburg Fountain and the Columbia County Veteran's Memorial Park. The chapter also buys a pig from the county fair annually, and donates the meat to families in need around the schools community. Some recent successes of the Columbia Montour A.V.T.S chapter include: first place in the area Horse Evaluation CDE, first and second place in the area Agriculture Sales CDE.  This past year, a student also qualified for State Activities Week at Penn State University for the Creed Speaking LDE.

Sounds like Miss Appleman keeps herself busy investing in the future of agriculture at Columbia Montour A.V.T.S.  Congratulations on being named Program of the Month for February!

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

Luke Kerstetter

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @lmkerstetter96

2020 Agricultural Education Student Teacher 

January 2017 Program of the Month: Central PA Institute of Science and Technology

All across the great state of Pennsylvania there are 145 school districts that have Agriculture Education courses and the FFA program. Each month we like to highlight a chapter that has stood out from the rest of the chapters. January's program of the month goes to Central PA Institute of Science and Technology or otherwise know as the Central PA Institute FFA Chapter!

Background Knowledge of CPI The agriculture program at Central PA Institute was first introduced in 1969. This program features one course that pertains to a certain area or aspect of agriculture. Throughout the decades the program has changed. When it first opened it was a Natural Resources Management course then it was changed to Horticulture, Floriculture after that, and today it is a Horticulture and Landscaping course. The current Agriculture Educator at CPI is Mr. Joe Luther, and this is his eighth year teaching at CPI.

SAE Projects and FFA Mr. Luther encourages his students to create a Supervised Agricultural Experience project in the category of exploratory. Some examples he gives students are job shadowing, working with contractors, exploring personal interests, co-op, and one student of his had raised and trained two Seeing Eye dogs through her local 4H program. The students at CPI have became heavily involved with the FFA program over the past two years. Their main area is in the Nursery/Landscaping CDE and Floriculture CDE at State Activities week. In the fall of 2015, CPI's Nursery/Landscaping team placed second at The Big E competition. In the fall of 2016 they also placed second at The Big E for landscape design. This past year several students competed in the Junior and Senior Prepared Public Speaking LDE. Each student that had competed moved on to the regional level.  From the regional event one moved on to the state level. 
Throughout the past several years Mr. Luther has had his class participate in the HeroScape Program which provides new additions of landscaping to war veterans homes at no cost. The students love getting the opportunity to give back to the community in this way because it goes to those who have served our country.

Pennsylvania Farm Show 
Every year, CPI competes at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in several different events including Landscape Design, to small competitions like the hanging basket competition. Over the past three years CPI has won the Landscape Design competition. Mr. Luther was surprised by the results. "Our success this year was a huge surprise to myself and everyone in our class. We expected some very strong competition, which we received, and when we came out on top, we were ecstatic. My students continue to innovate our class by bringing new ideas from their individual minds and imaginations." Since all of his students come from different areas they each have different ideas and interpretations to a design. Some of these range from modern to classical styles; which is drawn from the areas where they live. Many of his students have came into class only knowing basic knowledge and ideas about landscaping designs. After their two or three years in the class they have created a natural talent and eye for designing landscapes and other projects. They also learn how to focus on small details and final touches, which leads to big results.


Collaboration of CPI and Penn State
Dr. John Ewing teaches AEE 349; Shop Processes for Agricultural Educators, at CPI. There are many benefits to this course being held at CPI including the state of the art facilities that all the course work can be offered in one location. This relationship benefits the students in the Horticulture and Landscaping class because they are able to see college level courses happening in their own shop. It also provides an opportunity for the perspective student teachers to get observation hours, and teach  Mr. Luther's students mini lessons before they start their student teaching experiences.

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

Luke Kerstetter

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @lmkerstetter96

2020 Agricultural Education Student Teacher