The Iowa Council on Agricultural Education has awarded Lone Tree Community School in southeast Iowa with the 2019 Excellence in Agriculture Education award. The award was presented at the Iowa FFA Leadership Conference on April 14-16 in Ames.

The purpose of the award is to identify what makes a highly successful ag education program in schools and recognize those who model that success. Bridget Mahoney is the ag teacher at Lone Tree Community School and the FFA adviser. The program was nominated for the award by a student in the ag education program, Molly Milder.

“The Lone Tree Agricultural Education Department opens the doors to many activities and opportunities for students within our school district,” Milder wrote. “These students have many options to learn about vast career opportunities within the agricultural field. The Lone Tree FFA Chapter welcomes kids from all backgrounds and encourages kids who live in the more urban areas to join FFA.”

The council also recognized four other award areas for schools who excel in ag education programming:

Advisory Committee Award. The Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont ag education department, with ag teacher Melissa Appel, works closely with a district advisory council, as well as the advisory council for the regional planning partnership through Indian Hills Community College. Both give feedback about the current curriculum and direction of the program. Appel has established a three-year rotational review of her program and course offerings, with the committee reviewing parts of it every year. The group also approved expanding the program course offerings to include two additional career pathways of animal science, and landscape and turfgrass technologies.

Program Promotion and Marketing Award. This award went to Central DeWitt High School in DeWitt in eastern Iowa, with ag teacher Amy Grantz. During National FFA Week this year, FFA flags lined the downtown and a banner hung over the main road in the town of DeWitt. The chapter uses its website, a chapter newsletter and social media to inform the public of chapter activities. Articles are sent to the local newspaper, and local businesses display “Proud to support” signs in their windows. Other public events like a petting zoo and pumpkin fest help promote chapter activities.

Agriculture Career Awareness Award. Lone Tree Community Schools in Lone Tree in southeast Iowa was honored, along with ag teacher Bridget Mahoney. The Lone Tree ag education department sees more than 50% of its members participating in career development events in agriculture. As part of an exploratory class, eighth-grade students conduct research and develop a project based on jobs in their assigned area of focus. Program offerings related to careers are rounded out with guest speakers sharing their personal experiences and students participating in supervised agricultural experience programs.

Integration of Science Award. Lone Tree Community Schools  with ag teacher Bridget Mahoney began using the Curriculum for Agriculture Science Education in 2014. Classes are taught through inquiry-based lessons, where students discover and experiment through guided activities. The courses align to the national ag, food and natural resources content standards, and overlap with Iowa core standards in science, math and English.

Ag education is offered in 235 high schools across Iowa with more than 21,400 students enrolled in ag education courses, says Will Fett, executive director of the Iowa Council on Agricultural Education. Ag education uses a three-component model to deliver teaching through classroom instruction, supervised ag experience programs and leadership development through FFA. Students who take an ag education class are eligible to join FFA. There are more than 15,479 FFA members in Iowa.

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