From Connecticut to Pennsylvania Amanda Gagne is Hired at Penn Manor Teaching Agriculture!

Ms. Gagne comes to Pennsylvania Agricultural Education all the way from Bristol Connecticut! She has recently accepted a position at the Penn Manor High School in Millersville, Pennsylvania. Amanda will begin teaching a variety of classes including, ag businesses, introduction to animal science, introduction to ag mechanics, welding 1, and vet science 1&2 at this five-teacher program in January. Penn Manor is home to 367 active FFA members that Amanda is super excited to meet!

Amanda completed her student teaching internship at the Conrad Weiser Area School District in both the middle and high school.  She taught both seventh and eighth-grade agricultural science, introduction in agricultural science, and current agricultural topics.

While student teaching, she gained valuable teaching method techniques and skills she can’t wait to put into action in her new classroom!  One unique teaching experience Amanda had the chance to take part in while student teaching was completing a dissection on a guinea pig to determine the cause of death during a veterinary science unit! 

When asked for one quote Amanda would like to share with future agricultural educators Amanda responded with, “If it doesn’t scare you, then it’s not challenging enough.” She explained that jumping into agricultural education changed her life dramatically forever.  She also encourages students who are on the fence about teach ag to give it a shot, “the worst thing that happens is you learn something new and move on.”

Congratulation Amanda on starting your career at Penn Manor! We are all very excited to have you back in Pennsylvania and can’t wait to watch you grow! We know you will positively impact your new students!  Good Luck! Keep up with Amanda on social media @ Agagne08.  

Killiann George 

CPPD Student Worker 

Agricultural & Extension Education 

Class of 2023 

 

Brooke Ostrander Starts a New Position at Troy Area Jr/Sr High School Teaching Agriculture

Brooke has an interesting journey of starting her teaching career as she returns to her roots at her home high school, Troy Area Jr/Sr High School. This one-teacher program thrives with 150 students where Brooke leads an active FFA chapter. She will be teaching classes of Food in Agribusiness, Forestry, Introduction to Agricultural Education, Biotechnology, Welding, Power and Machinery, Wildlife and Natural Resource Management, Animal Studies, and Plant and Soil Studies. 

Brooke's background stems from experiences including youth organizations of 4-H and FFA where she showed Jersey cows and pigs, and serving as a Bradford County Dairy Princess. She shares that her own Agriculture Teacher had a huge influence on leading her to pursuing a career teaching agriculture. While moving onto earning her degree at Penn State, Brooke was involved in the Dairy Science Club, Penn State Altoona Ag Club and Collegiate FFA. 

During Brooke's time gaining student teaching experiences she taught at Wellsboro High School in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania under Melanie Berndtson. While at Wellsboro she taught courses of Animal Science 1 and 2, Plant Science, Natural Resource Management, Introduction to Agriculture, Small Engines and Leadership. Through teaching these courses Brooke has been able to take valuable lessons and skills gained to her own classroom.

It is important to continually grow an Agriculture Education Program for the benefit of students, and Brooke is planning to do this at Troy. She shares "I have big goals and dreams for our program! In the future, I would love to see our program build a greenhouse and I would love to incorporate an agribusiness course. But, my main focus is creating relationships with the students and encouraging them to really get involved and help them accomplish their own dreams and goals for their futures." Not only is Brooke looking forward to teaching classes, but she is extremely excited to be an FFA Advisor. She loved FFA and is looking forward to watching her members grow and succeed through their years in the program.

One piece of advice she wanted to share with other students is based off her favorite quote, "Allow your passion to become your purpose". "The journey may not always be easy, there is going to be bumps, big and small, but if you’re truly passionate about teaching agriculture nothing is going to stop you from following your passion and that passion will directly reflect into your classroom and to your students."

Congratulations Brooke on starting your career at Troy Area Jr./Sr. High School. We can't wait to see what great things you accomplish throughout your time teaching, and the impact you will make on the lives of your students. Good luck on the rest of this year and many more ahead! Keep up with Brooke on social media by following her Twitter @BOstrander2019.

Morgan Bear

CPPD Student Worker

Agricultural & Extension Education

Class of 2023 

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

November 2017 Program of the Month: State College Little Lions

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. November's program of
the month goes to State College Area High School, Little Lions FFA Chapter.

Background Knowledge
State College Area High School's first Agricultural Educator was Edwin Dale in 1929, and since then there has been five others who have or are currently teaching at State College. Those include Robert Smith, Donald Cross, Dave Seamans, Paul Heasley, and Jessica Harpster. Former students that have went through the program at State College that are now teachers are Matthew Rider, Allison Hover, and Morgan Campbell, and previous student teachers are Jennifer-Stinglin-Keefer and Lydia Everhart. 

Classroom Instruction
In the classroom the students have a choice of four career paths which include Animal Sciences, Plant Sciences, Natural Resources, and Ag Mechanics. Some of the courses offered are Ag Science I, Exploring Ag Science, Large Animal Science, Equine Science, Horticulture, Landscaping, Agroecosystems, Wildlife, Ag Mech Construction, and Ag Mech Power. Some innovation that they have done in the classroom include production of hydroponic plants using Dutch Bucket System and Aeroponic system in their greenhouse. They also had processed and marketed 220 bottles of the hot sauce the developed its name is rather interesting, "Peachy Sweet Raspberry Heat."

FFA Accomplishments
State College Little Lions FFA Chapter has been successful in recent months with their 4th place Poultry Judging Team at the Eastern States Exposition, receiving a $3,000 donation to the chapter, and Justin Kurtz, a student, who was elected to a Pennsylvania FFA State Officer position.


SAE Accomplishments
Their recent SAE accomplishments are four students are currently completing work placement experiences and all 16 new freshman are entering SAE records into the AET record book system. 

State College Little Lions are thriving and accomplishing great things! We look forward to seeing what all your program will produce in the future as for the innovative thinking that you have now!

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

Communication Team Member

Twitter Handle: @lmkerstetter96

2020 Agricultural Education Student Teacher

Guest Blog: 5th Annual Domestic Study Away Day 5: "Community is Key to Success"

Editor's Note:
What is a Domestic Study Away? A Domestic Study Away (DSA) is a non-credit experience that is 100% Student-Developed and Student-led. The Penn State Teach Ag! Society runs where a group of students travel to a State to explore the following:

1. What does #AgEdu look like in other states? How is the total model of school-based agricultural education (Classroom Instruction, Youth Leadership Development <FFA> and Work-based learning <SAE>) uniquely provided? 
2. Who are the #AgEdu Stakeholders in the state? Specifically, what agricultural industry is being served? 
3. A unique yearly selected professional development topic! For #psuaged2WI, it is "Gender in the Agriculture Industry, Agricultural Classroom and Agricultural Education Profession. 

You can virtually-engage with this experience by reading and commenting on the daily blogs and following the experience on Twitter and Facebook with our hashtag #PSUAgEd2WI. We could not complete this transformative learning experience with out the incredible support of our partners including: The Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators, The Wisconsin Team Ag Ed, The Penn State Center for Professional and Personnel Development and the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Student Activities Fund.

Below is the fifth day reflection of Michala Kuhlman (@kuhlman_m40), a member of the #psuaged18 Agricultural and Extension Education cohort.  Michala will be completing her student teaching internship with Mr. Curt Turner of the Central Columbia Agriscience Program in Bloomsburg, PA. The reflection focus is on the fifth official day of DSA at the School for Agriculture and Environmental Studies (SAGES), Randolph High School (RCFFA), Jung Seed Company, and visited Bluestem Bison Farm.

First Grade SAGES students showing us
their chicken project.

We began the day with a refreshing look at agricultural education in the view of an elementary school student. The School for Agriculture and Environmental Studies (SAGES) is located in Fox Lake, Wisconsin and is a public elementary charter school. Students from the first, second, and sixth grade each spent some time with us sharing some of their proudest accomplishments from the past school year. First grade students participated in a chicken project where they received a grant to fund the development of a chicken coop. Students kept journals on what they learned each day about the chickens including: the anatomy of an egg, various breeds of chickens, as well as how to properly care for their chickens. Second grade brought geometry to the agricultural classroom as they mapped out barn quilts. Each student created their own design for a barn quilt, the student body as a whole voted on the winning quilt square, to be auctioned off at the school fundraiser. The sixth grade completed the plastic bag challenge, collecting a total of 1,556 pounds of plastic films. Mrs. Sheri Hicken said it best, "little kids can do big things." Check out what other great things SAGES elementary charter school is doing!

Students in the Randolph Cambria- Friesland
agricultural program have access to a land lab
that was donated to the program. 

Next we headed to the infamous Randolph Cambria Friesland FFA Chapter (@RCFFA). Keith Gundlach, better known as Sir has been teaching at the Randolph High School since 1977. He has taught numerous family generations throughout those 40 years. The agriculture program is comprised of students from both Randolph and Friesland High Schools. Since 1992 the chapter has over 200 American Degree recipients, of those 9 were American Star Finalists, as well as over 60 National Proficiency Finalists. Currently the program is investigating genetics in rat populations to isolate the hairless gene. In combination with SAE grants students are developing ways to give back to the community using the programs land lab. 

We have heard numerous times throughout the trip that an FFA chapter will not survive without the support of the local community, Randolph Cambria Friesland FFA looks to Jung Seed as a supporter of their program. Jung Seed is rich in family heritage, starting in 1907 John William "JW" Jung started printing seed catalogs with a small hand press, laying the foundation for the company today. The company has grown to distribute eight different seed catalogs, totaling over 8 million catalogs a year, as well as open multiple Jung Garden Centers. The company employs many FFA members and will soon be selling an FFA members metal art work in the garden centers.

The buffalo herd is on rational grazing.
Here you see them in one of their pastures
with some of the new born calves.  

The Bluestem Bison Farm located in Mt. Calvary, WI, hosted us for dinner. Patrick and Rebecca Reiss have been raising bison for meat production for 13 years. Their herd has grown to about 75 head of grass fed bison. We had the opportunity to take a ride out to visit the herd. We learned that bison farming is hands off and many of the operating procedures are done naturally. All breeding is done naturally using the herd bull "Steve." We also learned that sheep are detrimental to Bison herd's as they are carries of a disease that can wipe out an entire Bison herd. We ended the night enjoying bison burgers and good fellowship.

Day 5 gave us new perspectives on our individual teaching philosophy's , and how to utilize the local community. The community is vital to having a successful agricultural education program. We are thankful to everyone who made our day so successful. We are immensely grateful for all the advice we received throughout the day. 

TO READ MORE ABOUT OUR #PSUAGED2WI ADVENTURES, SEE:

• Day 1 - We are going on an #AgEdu Adventure by @TheGeorge4H 
• Day 2 - Student Ownership by @BeckerAngelaM
• Day 3 - Classrooms, Cranberries and Connections by @Memyselfandlkb (Lisa Boltz)
• Day 4 - Cultivating Knowledge, Connections and Inclusion by @allyson_balmer

                                                                                                                 Michala Kuhlman

                                                                                                                 #psuaged18

                                                                                                                 @kuhlman_m40

The 81st Annual Ag Ed Banquet: Celebrating #studentsuccess

Pennsylvania FFA State Treasurer Maddy Buss

On Tuesday April 25th Penn State Collegiate FFA, Teach Ag! Society, and Alpha Tau Alpha hosted the 81st Annual Ag Ed Banquet. The program featured greetings from Madeline Buss on behalf of the Pennsylvania FFA Assocation.

Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding

Keynote speaker,  Pennsylvania's Secretary of Agriculture, Russel Reading  talked about the importance of agricultural education and it's role in continuing to educate and feed the ever growing population.







To culminate another successful year of student achievements and organizational milestone, awards were presented to Collegiate FFA, Teach Ag! Society, and ATA members. Check out the night's award reciepients:

Collegiate FFA Awards

Outstanding Members-

Honorary Member- Terra Ingram

      

  

Graduating CFFA members

Teach Ag! Society Awards

2017 Teacher Candidates

2018 Student Teachers

Congratulations to all award recipients!  2016-2017 proved to be another successful year.  We are excited to see what the next year brings!

@TeachAgPSU Welcomes the Curry Family!

Penn State Teach Ag is excited to welcome Dr. Kevin Curry (@kevinwcurry), and his wife Melissa (@Melissa_Curry4) to the Penn State Agricultural Education family.  Dr, Curry has been hired to serve as an Assistant Professor of Agricultural Education!

Dr. Curry received his first introduction to agriculture in ninth grade in an Agriscience course.  he credits his amazing agriculture teacher for sparking his interest in agriculture.  Asked to be a part of the livestock judging team, and show club lambs, Dr. Curry quickly fell in love with agriculture.  A knack for competition led him to devote time and energy to livestock and poultry judging, skillathon, and meats judging.  All while showing club lambs and steers.  It comes as no surprise that he met his wife Melissa while showing lambs in high school.

Kevin and Melissa are both proud alumni of North Carolina State University.  Melissa has taught middle school language arts/social studies for nine years.  The Curry's are avid hikers and enjoy being outdoors.  Penn State and State College will definitely satisfy their love for hiking and the outdoors!

To learn more about Kevin and his road to Penn State, take a look at his Curriculum Vitae:

Welcome to Penn State Kevin and Melissa!  We are excited to have you join our team!

Ag Ed Year in Review #success

Don't blink you might just have missed an amazing year for our department faculty and students! 2016 has been a year full of many rewarding experiences for our department. If you did not stay connected with us throughout the past 12 months, we have outlined below a few of the amazing individuals and events. 

JANUARY

Dr. Laura Rice Recognized for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching-

The Paul R. and Joan M. Shellenberger Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching is an honor for any teacher here on the Penn State Campus. This award recognizes full time instructors who exhibit excellence in undergraduate teaching and contribute significantly to the education of undergraduate students. Dr. Laura Rice was honored with this award as an instructor in the Agriculture Education and Extension Department. She teaches AEE 100 and helps prepare student teacher candidates by working with them one-on-one.

FEBRUARY

Dr. Daniel Foster Receives Recognition as PAAE Mentor of the Year-

The Pennsylvania Association of Agriculture Educators recognizes many members each year for their outstanding service, dedication and accomplishments. This year Dr. Daniel Foster is the PAAE Mentor of the Year!  His continued dedication and mentoring to various secondary ag teachers makes him deserving of this award. He was nominated by the Directors of Pennsylvania Agricultural Educators.

APRIL

Teach Ag! Banquet-

Teach Ag! joined with Collegiate FFA to celebrate the 80^th end of semester banquet! The banquet recognized the organization’s and individual members' accomplishments. Guests in attendance were Mr. Cliff Day, retired agricultural educator,  and Mr. Scott Sheely, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The following individuals were honored for their service to our program: Diane Glock Cornman (Educator of the Year), Matthew Snyder (Outstanding Teach Ag! Member of the Year), Katie Andrews (Collegiate FFA Outstanding Senior).

MAY

PSU College of Agricultural Sciences Graduation Ceremony-

The twelve 2016 Student Teachers returned back to University Park to put on their caps and gowns, and walk across stage to receive the diploma they worked hard for throughout the year.  All of these graduates have since been hired, and are creating change in programs across the country!

Domestic Study Away-

Seven future agricultural educators participated in the 4^th annual Domestic Study Away trip. The focus was STEM in agricultural education in urban and rural settings. Although they each had different reasons for going on this trip, they all ended with renewed passion for agricultural education.

JUNE

PA FFA State Days-

This year the Penn State Teach Ag! Essay Contest had 52 participates. The contest allowed agriculture students from across Pennsylvania to experience a day in the life of an ag teacher. Students had to pick an agriculture topic, develop a lesson plan to teach their class, and then write an essay.  Their essay had to answer the following questions; “Why teach Ag?” and “What I learned as an Ag teacher for a day!” The top four individual students awarded at PA FFA State Days were Bethany Comp (Greenwood High School), Alaina Davis (Octorara High School), Thomas Gabel (Newport High School), and KamiLee Woodring (Bald Eagle Area High School).

SEPTEMBER

FAST Symposium-

The 2016 Future Agriscience Teacher (FAST) symposium was held September 20 - 22 in conjunction with the National Teach Ag Day celebrations in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Of the twenty-three individuals selected, two were members of the Penn State Teach Ag! Society, and Agricultural Education Student Teacher Candidates. Congratulations to George Dietrich and Victoria Herr for being selected to participate in the FAST symposium!

Big E-

Eight members of Penn State Collegiate FFA traveled to West Springfield to assist with preparation and facilitation of several CDEs. During the first day, they assisted with the Extemporaneous Speaking, and Vet Science CDEs. Participants then assisted supervisors with Poultry, Environmental and Natural Resources, and Food Science CDEs.

OCTOBER

National FFA Convention-

Seven, 2017 Penn State Student Teachers, and eighteen students studying Agricultural and Extension Education participated in National Alpha Tau Alpha competitions. there were many high placing individuals and teams.  With all the individual and team achievements, the Penn State Teach Ag! Society was able to receive recognition as the recipient of the A.W. Nolan Memorial Leadership Award at the ATA Conclave. These are achievements our members can be proud of! 

Dr. John Ewing Receive Honorary American Degree-

Dr. Ewing was chosen to receive the Honorary American FFA Degree at the 89^th National FFA Convention. He was nominated by the Pennsylvania FFA Association, then the members of the National FFA board of directors approved Dr. Ewing's nomination. The Honorary American FFA Degree is an opportunity to recognize those who have gone beyond valuable daily contributions to make an extraordinary long-term difference in the lives of students by inspiring confidence in a new generation of agriculturists. 

NOVEMBER

Dr. John Ewing Receives Northern Region Award –

Congratulations Dr. Ewing for being recognized as the Community of Scholars 2016 Northern Region Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences.The Community of Scholars Honoring Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences program recognizes outstanding college professors of agriculture, natural resources, veterinary and human sciences was launched in 1992 to recognize university faculty for preparing students for the future. 

Operation Christmas Child-

The Penn State Collegiate FFA and Teach Ag! Society joined together to give back to those less fortunate. Together 35 members channeled their holiday spirit to join in celebration of National Collection Week to pack 60 boxes for Operation Christmas Child! Operation Christmas Child uses gift-filled shoeboxes to ensure that children in need around the world have something worth celebrating.

DECEMBER

Alpha Tau Alpha Initiation-

Seven students were initiated into the Alpha Tau Alpha Eta Chapter. Alpha Tau Alpha is a national, professional, honorary agricultural society founded in 1921. The Eta Chapter was organized at Penn State in 1931, and has continued membership since! The organization strives to promote the high standards and ideals in agricultural and extension education. The seven students that joined will enjoy the fellowship with members in an atmosphere of high scholarship that is dedicated to teaching, and who have a sincere desire to be a leader. These students are the following individuals: Michael Cahill, Rose Cowan, George Dietrich, Victoria Herr, Sara Lang, Matt Snyder, and Halee Wasson. 

As you can see, 2016 was a fantastic year! All three of our faculty members were awarded with academic excellence awards.  We are swelled with Penn State Pride!
Stay tune to find out the larger impact we will leave in 2017 as we continue to Teach Ag!  WE ARE................

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.

Halee Wasson

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @wasson_halee

2018 Agriculture Education Student Teacher