Ad education award nominees sought

     The Iowa Council on Agricultural Education is seeking nominees to recognize for excellence in agriculture education.

   The Iowa Council on Agricultural Education is a bipartisan effort that is charged to review, develop, and recommend standards for secondary and postsecondary agriculture education in Iowa. One of the projects of the group is to recognize those agriculture education school programs that are doing exemplary work in the areas of program promotion and marketing, agriculture career awareness, integration of science, adult education, and curriculum review and revision.

   The award nomination form can be completed by students, alumni, parents, administrators or other supporters of the local agriculture education program. The nominations will be reviewed and selected by the Council on Agricultural Education. One winner will be selected in each of the award areas and an overall winner will also be recognized. Award winners will be recognized at the Iowa FFA Leadership Conference to be held at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa on April 10-12.

   “The purpose of the award is to identify what makes a highly successful agriculture education program in schools and recognize those who model that success,” said Will Fett, chair of the council. “We hope that other schools will be inspired to implement some of the best practices that are highlighted.”

   Agriculture education is offered in 232 high schools across Iowa. Agriculture education employs a three-component model to deliver teaching through classroom instruction, supervised agricultural experience programs, and leadership development through FFA. Students who take an agriculture education class are eligible to join FFA. There are more than 14,000 FFA members in Iowa.

   The award nomination form can be completed online at https://form.jotform.com/wfett/excellence-in-agriculture. Applications are due March 1, 2017.