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| Spotlight on Youth - Dec. 29, 2010 |
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Ft. Recovery FFA members attend the national convention
FT. RECOVERY, Ohio — Sixteen members of the Ft. Recovery FFA Chapter attended the 83rd National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind., the week of Oct. 18-23. Over 55,000 FFA members represented all 50 states, and more than 7,200 FFA Chapters were in attendance. The National FFA Convention is held annually to highlight and award member success through the FFA and agricultural education.
The Ft. Recovery FFA Chapter had four students: Chris Gehret, Beverley Lennartz, Kelly Thien, and Tom Will, receive the American FFA Degree; the highest degree a member can receive. To earn the degree, they needed to work more than 2,250 hours and earn or productively invest $7,500 or more in a Supervised Agricultural Experience program (SAE). These four members make up a total of 66 members that have ever received the prestigious American FFA Degree in the history of the Ft. Recovery FFA Chapter. Gehret is the son of Ginny and Pat Gehret, Lennartz is the daughter of Cathy and Tom Lennartz, Thien is the daughter of Sue and Mike Thien. Will is the son of Mark Will.
Educational tours included Spangler Candy, Sechlar’s Pickles, Debrand Chocolates, Tyson hog plant, Kokomo Opalescent Glass, Beck’s Hybrids and many more. Other places and attractions visited were a hypnotist show and a Lady Antebellum concert. The weeklong trip allowed students to return home with long lasting memories, experiences and deep ties to agriculture.
The Ft. Recovery FFA members who attended the convention included: Eric Brackman, Nathan Fortkamp, Caitlin Gehret, Zach Guggenbiller, Taylor Guggenbiller, Nicole Hart, Jessica Kaiser, Andrea Lennartz, Natalie Lennartz, Barbie Link, Gusty Link, Kelly Nietfeld, Heather Pottkotter, Aaron Sutter, Aaron Will, and Stacy Will. Parent/Chaperone Mark Will, and advisors Joe Hawk and Michael Gower accompanied the students on the trip.
Dual ag credit classes now available for some Hoosier students
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Attention high school agriculture students: Thinking of going to college? Take a class now. Earn college credit. Why wait?
It sounds like an advertisement, but consider it free advice that many are heeding.
Young people looking to get an early start on their college education are taking advantage of a statewide program that lets them enroll in college courses while still in high school and earn credit toward both a high school diploma and a college degree. Dual-credit courses also help to build confidence in students unsure of whether college is for them.
“Taking a dual-credit course motivates students to think about going on to college and realize that they could actually succeed in college,” said John Graveel, interim associate dean of the Purdue University College of Agriculture and director of the college’s Office of Academic Programs. The college offers dual-credit agriculture classes for high school students across the state.
Dual-credit classes in agriculture could be especially appealing following a report this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Purdue projecting that more jobs in agriculture and related occupations will be added annually through 2015 than there will be qualified graduates. Most of the jobs are expected to be in business and science occupations, with others in agriculture, forestry production, education, communication and government services.
Dual-credit courses offer a way for high school students to get a jump not only on their college education but also on their career, said Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett. State law since 2007 has required all high schools to offer at least two dual-credit courses.
In the Purdue Agriculture program, college-level classes are taught at the high school level by qualified high school teachers or college instructors during the regular school day. The classes count toward their high school diploma and, if they earn a grade of at least a C, toward a college degree. To receive college credit, they also must pay tuition for each class, although at a reduced rate.
“From a parent’s perspective, this is great because it means fewer credit hours that their sons or daughters would have to take in college,” Graveel said.
Purdue Agriculture’s program has grown from 20 students in the 2007-08 academic year to 282 last year. Figures for this year are not yet available because participating high schools are not required to report their enrollments until January.
Forty-six high schools have committed to offering Purdue agriculture classes this school year, up from 38 last year. Among the more successful programs is at Lebanon High School, where students can take as many as three courses and a third of the students go on to Purdue.
Last year, 103 of 142 Lebanon students taking Advanced Life Science courses paid the tuition for Purdue credit. That increased to 174 students taking courses this year, and about 100 will pay the tuition for the dual credit.
“Even more important than that is to give them the chance to be in a college environment,” said Byron L. Ernest, who heads the school system’s agriculture department that he started in 2004. He teaches Purdue courses in animal science, botany and food science.
Ernest’s work at Lebanon, which includes involving students in research projects that are published online for scientists worldwide to critique, earned him a $10,000 Agriscience Educator Award from the federal Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation this year. He also was selected as the 2010 Indiana Teacher of the Year, the first time an agriculture instructor was so recognized. |
| 12/29/2010 |
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