Nancy Smith, a first-grade teacher at Bentwood Elementary School in Olathe, was recently named the 2019 Janet Sims Memorial Teacher of the Year by Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom.

KFAC's Janet Sims Memorial Teacher of the Year award recognizes teachers who instill passion for learning about agriculture within their students. KFAC honors one teacher annually who has successfully integrated agricultural education into his or her pre-existing curriculum.

Smith is in her 15th year of teaching. She says she devotes classroom time to monthly agriculture themes. The classroom is active, engaged and hands-on. Smith’s classroom took on a very unique project this last year. The class watched the chicken hatching process, built a “chicken playground,” and learned about business principles by taking out a loan and selling the playground equipment to a school employee.

The Bentwood community has responded positively to Smith’s efforts. The chicks that are hatched are now displayed at the school open house to expose more of the community to the learning occurring at the school.

“The impact of being able to integrate an agriculture/farming unit was enormous,” Smith says. “My students have never been so engaged as they were during the chicken hatching, chicken playground building and seed planting.”

Smith will be recognized during the 2018 KFAC Annual Meeting to be held in Manhattan, Kan., in November, and will receive an all-expense paid trip to the 2018 National Agriculture in the Classroom conference to be held in Little Rock, Ark. Her trip will be sponsored by High Plains Journal and Ag AM in Kansas. Smith will also be considered for the 2019 National Excellence in Teaching About Agriculture award, presented by National Agriculture in the Classroom.

Kansas Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture excellence in teaching awards
In addition to the KFAC Teacher of the Year, three teachers will be recognized during the KFAC annual meeting with the Excellence in Teaching award sponsored by the Kansas Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. The Excellence in Teaching awards are given to exemplary teachers who integrate agriculture into their classroom lessons and curriculum.

Amber Kriley is a third-grade teacher at Ogden Elementary School. Kriley has integrated agriculture into her classroom through partnering with community or outside resources. Taking her students on as many field trips as possible allows her students to get a solid visual of the subject she is trying to teach. Some of her field trips in the last year include Sunset Zoo, her family farm, Flint Hills Discovery Center, and different 4-H Youth Development KSU Research and Extension stations.

A third-through-fifth-grade science teacher, Melinda Littrell, has been able to supplement their strong 4-H community with her different classroom labs that produce products students can present at the county fair. In the past, students have taken chickens, ducks, and tomatoes to the local county fair.

Karisa Cowan, a seventh and eighth grade STEM teacher, uses a school greenhouse to provide students with a hands-on learning experience. She is able to teach her earth science class in the greenhouse, so they gain first-hand experience with the water cycle, soil samples, water ph and experimenting to increase their yields.

Each of these winners will receive their choice of a $600 scholarship to attend the 2019 NAITC conference or a $200 gift certificate to purchase classroom supplies.

More information about these awards, including past winners, can be found on the KFAC website at ksagclassroom.org.

Source: Kansas Foundation for Ag in the Classroom