Ag in the Classroom Summer Institute Scheduled for June 13
Applications will be accepted through April 10 for the Ag in the Classroom (AITC) summer institute.According to Ag in the Classroom Chairman Jane Alice Lee, this summer’s program will be divided into two sessions, the first of which will be June 13, from noon until 4:30 p.m. The guest speaker will be Utah’s Ag in the Classroom chairman, Debra Spielmaker. She will be presenting a lecture, “Growing in Nation,” on the history of agriculture.”This session will be especially for high school history and vocational ag teachers,” said Lee. “Applicants should act quickly because space is limited to 50 people.”The second session will begin June 14, at 10 a.m. and conclude on June 16, at noon. This session will be for full-time teachers, principals or administrators of grades K-6 and will be limited to 90 participants. It will consist of workshops during the day and a banquet in the evening. Participants will go on a field trip and finish the program with graduation. Activities will be divided into programs for grades K-3 and grades 4-6.Debbie Hollyfield, a participant in last year’s program and a kindergarten teacher at Fort Dale Academy in Butler County, encourages teachers to take advantage of this opportunity. “It’s one of the most relaxing, pampering and educational workshops a teacher can attend,” she said. Going on the field trip was Hollyfield’s favorite part of the conference. “I’ve learned about the technology that goes into harvesting a crop. Now, I’m able to share this information with my students so they have a greater understanding of how their food gets from the farm to their tables,” said Hollyfield.Dewandee Neyman, a retired educator of 31 years at Centre Elementary School in Cherokee County, agrees this is a beneficial program. “As a result of Ag in the Classroom, I was inspired to coordinate yearly farm field days,” said Neyman. “Our community raised $6,000 this past year to support these field days, and it is all a direct result of attending AITC.”Applications are available on www.AlabamaAITC.org or can be obtained by calling Amy Belcher at 1-800-642-7761 ext. 7126.