By Scout Nelson
Information shared by the Kansas State Department of Education highlights how agriculture educators across Kansas already apply to the Four Fundamentals of the school improvement model in their classrooms. These fundamentals include structured literacy, standard alignment, balanced assessment, and quality instruction, which are designed to improve student achievement and strengthen learning.
Agriculture education often combines classroom instruction with real-life experiences. Through hands-on learning and leadership activities, students develop both academic knowledge and practical skills that prepare them for careers in agriculture.
Amy Jenkins, an agriculture teacher at Emporia High School in Emporia USD 253, explains how balanced assessment appears in agriculture education, especially through Kansas FFA activities.
“We traditionally think assessments are a quiz or a test,” she said. “When (FFA) officers are applying for a position, they're interviewing, they're doing community engagement; they're having displays at the state fair. But now, I'm thinking I need to really be looking at the bigger picture. Like, did they know how to do an interview? Did they know how to walk up and introduce themselves? It’s an assessment. We just don't think about it as that every day.”
Agriculture teachers often evaluate students through leadership activities, presentations, and community engagement rather than only written tests. These experiences help students apply classroom knowledge in practical situations.
Anthony Meals, a former agriculture teacher at Blue Valley USD 384 and now responsible for agriculture education pathways at the Kansas State Department of Education, says agriculture educators have used structured teaching models for many years.
“It frames the work we do as ag educators,” Meals said. “We are actually part of school improvement.”
Meals also explain that agriculture classes help strengthen structured literacy. Students frequently read technical materials such as equipment manuals that require strong reading and comprehension skills.
“We are asking high level reading skills of our students,” he said. "High quality instructional materials give us a starting point for our curriculum.”
Teachers also focus strongly on standard alignment, which ensures lessons match career and technical education goals. Victoria Thompson, an agriculture teacher at Seaman High School in Seaman USD 345, says alignment helps prepare students for future opportunities.
“We’re teaching the same content and making sure everything aligns to the competencies and all of the (CTE) clusters and pathways and making sure those students are ready when they exit that class, that they’re ready for the next thing,” she said.
School leaders also see the value of agriculture education. Jeremy Long, principal of Lakeside Jr Sr High School in Waconda USD 272, says agriculture classes connect classroom learning with real world applications.
“There's a lot of technical knowledge that needs to be gained by students for them to be proficient in a career in agriculture,” he said. “Students, with their vocabulary, with their comprehension, they can think deeper about what they're reading. Ag takes those core ideas that we're trying to teach to our kids and makes it real. Ag teachers can be the model for that.”
Agriculture education continues to play an important role in supporting student learning while preparing young people for careers and leadership in the agricultural industry.
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Categories: Kansas, Education