As agricultural education teachers, you are frequently asked by community members, local farmers, and business owners for help in identifying skilled labor for the spring and summer seasons. Students in agricultural education are often uniquely qualified for many of these positions because they have gained knowledge through their course work, have participated in Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) to build their skill, and are hard-working individuals that possess good leadership skills. You often mention these opportunities to your students through a quick conversation at the end of class, or by placing a sign-up sheet in your classroom to help identify their interest. When students prove themselves through these opportunities and that translates into a future career, it also gives you a sense of pride as a teacher.
While preparing students for these spring and summer opportunities, it is also important to remind them to make safety a priority at work. Students often learn unsafe practices from people they interact with daily, but by engaging them through demonstrations, inviting local farmers into your classrooms to discuss the importance of safety, and identifying important safety practices while operating equipment, you can instill safe habits that will translate to their new jobs as well. You set the example each day by being a positive role model in the classroom and by practicing safe habits around your students. Continue to make a difference for them as you generate gentle reminders related to safety before they start their spring and summer season jobs.
To find out more ways to practice safety with your students and discover how "a teacher's relationship is crucial in changing a long-lived adopted behavior", we encourage you to view the current issue of The Agricultural Education Magazine, Volume 95, Issue 5 (March/April 2023): Agriculture Safety Training Effectiveness, that is now available. Online access is free to agriculture educators, and all issues of the magazine are archived on the magazine webpage.
Source: Agricultural Education Magazine March-April 2023 edition, Accessed on 4/4/23
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Washington FFA state officers, staff, and our Washington State Foundation are excited to play host to 2,000 FFA members, advisors, and guests from across the state as they gather to learn about careers in the agriculture industry, compete in state Career and Leadership Development Events, and shape the future of the Washington FFA Association. The 93rd Washington State FFA Convention and Expo is scheduled for May 11–13, 2023 at the Three Rivers Convention Center Campus in Kennewick, Washington.
The official State FFA Convention link on the Washington FFA Association website is easy to navigate and has quick links for all your FFA chapter's planning needs. We also encourage you to check out the preliminary convention schedule to plan your FFA State Convention experience.
Each FFA member is required to review and complete the State FFA Convention Conduct and Medical Release Waiver form with a parent/guardian. Advisors will be responsible for turning in the completed forms to Washington FFA state staff at convention registration.
The National Chapter Award (NCA) Application (Form I and II) and State Superior Chapter Award (Form I) are both Due on April 15. These applications can be accessed through FFA.org or AET as a part of the NCA Application.
The National Chapter Award Program is designed to recognize FFA chapters that actively implement the mission and strategies of the organization. These chapters improve chapter operations using the National Quality Chapter Standards (NQCS) and a Program of Activities (POA) that emphasize growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture. Chapters are rewarded for providing educational experiences for the entire membership.
Additionally, the NCA Application Review is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 29 at Ellensburg High School in Ellensburg, WA. Many thanks to Steve Russell and Sammi Jo Sims for hosting us. The event will take place from 9:00 am–1:00 pm with a check-in time at 8:45 am. Snacks and clock hours will be made available for those that participate. If you are interested in attending to review applications, please visit the NCA Review Jot Form link provided.
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Washington State University is hosting two CASE Institutes this summer on the Pullman campus. Registration is Due April 15, 2023. Information related to these opportunities are provided.
Natural Resources and Ecology (NRE)
Small Gas Engines (SGE)
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The Council has started the National Agriculture, Food and Natural Resource (AFNR) Career Pathway Content Standards revision process and seeks volunteers to serve on revision committees. Serving on a committee will require 10–15 hours over four to five months. All proposed changes will be made available for review and comment. To volunteer to serve on a content committee, complete this form by Monday, April 17.
OSPI Science department and CTE are teaming up to host a CTE science equivalency work shop session May 23–24 at ESD 123 in Pasco, WA. The purpose of this summit is to review and update older equivalencies to reflect changes made in the equivalency format since 2015. We will also examine areas in the equivalencies where climate science concepts can be included.
Many older CTE Equivalencies were created before we had a full understanding of the depth needed to address each Science Learning Standard. These courses need to be realigned with teachers to ensure the correct science standards are listed for each unit and include how climate change is impacting career paths and industries. An additional goal for this workshop is to support educators by creating sample model units so that teachers who use our state equivalency frameworks can have some instructional materials to use. If you are interested in participating in this important work, please email Tamara Whitcomb at tamara.whitcomb@k12.wa.us by April 17. The equivalencies we are planning to update include:
030101 Natural Resources
010000 Introduction to Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
010201 Agricultural Power and Technology
010309 Viticulture
011201 Soil Chemistry
030104 AP Environmental Science
030198 Climate Science
030506 Forest Management
512208 Systems Medicine
470604 Automotive Technology 1
470604 Automotive Technology 2
150613 Core Plus (Original Core Plus frameworks)
460000 Core Plus Construction
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,The deadline to submit New CTE Courses for the 2023–2024 school year is April 15. Please make sure this year that you are able to meet that deadline. For your planning purposes your program should have the following items in place before submitting:
- CTE Advisory Board minutes reflects the Name and CIP Code for any new courses approved
- Advisory board has reviewed Skills Gap Data related to the course
- Have a copy of the 2022–2023 FFA membership roster and POA ready for upload
If you have any questions, please reach out to Tamara Whitcomb at tamara.whitcomb@k12.wa.us for assistance or visit the CTE Resources and Essentials for guidance on creating a framework.
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The Agricultural Education End of Year Report supplies data that can be used to plan for Ag Ed in the future. In a bid to have all agricultural education teachers submit their data this year, OSPI will be utilizing an Alchemers survey format for 2023. The Ag Ed End of Year Report will be sent out via email on May 1, 2023 to all Ag Teachers and CTE Directors across the state and will remain open only until July 1, 2023. Please see the link for a preview of the questions that will be included on this year's report.
Our WAAE Summer Conference will be held June 18–22 at the Northern Quest Resort. This location is just west of Spokane near the Spokane International Airport. It promises to be a very exciting conference! The pre-liminary conference schedule, registration form, and hotel booking flyer are all available for anyone that is interested in attending. Please take note that Chris Carlson is our current WAAE Executive Director and can be contacted by emailing: waaeccarlson@yahoo.com. There is also a NEW address to send in conference registration forms: WAAE, PO Box 96, Stanwood, WA 98292
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Each year, Washington state has openings for agricultural education teaching positions at various locations across the state. As openings for agricultural education teachers are made available this school year, please contact J.D. Baser, Associate Professor at Washington State University at jbaser@wsu.edu, to provide details on the posting. All openings submitted will be made available for anyone to access using the provided link. |
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With all the outstanding agriculture teachers, programs and supporters in Washington state, it would be great to see everyone recognized for all their hard work in the field. To access the NAAE applications, please visit the NAAE website and remember that All applications should be submitted electronically to Chris Carlson (WAAE Executive Director) at waaeccarlson@yahoo.com by May 5th for consideration.
- Teacher Turn the Key
- Upper Division Scholarship
- Outstanding Teacher
- Outstanding Early Career Teacher
- Outstanding Middle/Secondary Program
- Outstanding Postsecondary Program
- Teacher Mentor
- Ideas Unlimited
- Outstanding Cooperation
- Outstanding Service Citation
- Lifetime Achievement
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