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Julie Smith honored for ag education excellence |
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January 21, 2018 |
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Julie Smith, agricultural educator at Bonners
Ferry High School, is one of a select group of
agriculture teachers nationwide who received the
2017 Teachers Turn the Key professional
development scholarship from the National
Association of Agricultural Educators.
As a scholarship recipient, Smith attended the
NAAE annual convention in Nashville, December
5-9.
The Teachers Turn the Key scholarship brings
together agricultural educators with four or
fewer years of experience and immerses them in
three days of professional development that
addresses issues specific to the early years of
teaching agriculture.
Participants also have the opportunity to become
involved in NAAE leadership and network with
other NAAE convention attendees. TTTK awardees
come away from the experience with a
long-lasting peer cohort and tools that will
help them have successful careers as
agricultural educators.
Smith centers her educational strategy around
the phrase “learn by doing.” One way she puts
that philosophy into action is by co-teaching a
three-tiered lesson with her school’s woodshop
instructor. Students learn to identify native
wood, score boards, and then build a birdhouse
as a team.
Smith guides her students as they complete their
Supervised Agricultural Experiences. SAEs are
independent student projects that combine
academic and workplace skills, preparing
students for occupations or college.
One example is a local division of
Anheuser-Bush, Elk Mountain Farms, that provides
a student internship to research hops, record
data, and identify pests. Students have received
recognition through FFA at the state and
national levels for their SAE projects.
Thanks to Smith’s influence, the school’s FFA
Chapter has tripled in size since she become the
advisor. Through FFA, Smith’s students have the
opportunity to participate in a variety of
career development events, including
agricultural mechanics, dairy foods, and
prepared public speaking.
“Julie is an alternatively certified teacher who
stepped in to a program to save it from closing.
Instead of just managing a program, she has
thrived and expanded the program to its current
capacity,” said Sue Poland, Homedale FFA Advisor
and Idaho Vocational Agriculture Teacher
Association President Elect.
In addition to attending professional
development, each of the TTTK scholarship
recipients was also recognized at a general
session during the NAAE convention. RAM Trucks
sponsors the TTTK program as a special project
of the National FFA Foundation.
NAAE is the professional organization in the
United States for agricultural educators. It
provides its more than 8,000 members with
professional networking and development
opportunities, professional liability coverage,
and extensive awards and recognition programs.
The mission of NAAE is “professionals providing
agricultural education for the global community
through visionary leadership, advocacy and
service.” The NAAE headquarters are in
Lexington, Kentucky. |
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