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As agriculture education teachers, you continue to serve students during the summer months. Checking Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) projects, hosting summer retreats with students to plan for the next year, participating in professional development opportunities, and providing guidance and supervison during summer fairs are just a few of the items you plan for each year in your summer schedule.
However, as you plan your summer break, make sure to also plan time to take a vacation with family or friends, take advantage of the nice weather to get away for a day, or simply spend time doing activities that help you relax in-between the events you have scheduled into your summer agricultural teacher experience.
For some helpful summer break ideas, we encourage you to check out the website link available to establish a starting point, and we hope you all enjoy some well deserved time off this summer.
Source: Book Widgets Interactive Learning, Accessed on 6/2/23.
On behalf of OSPI we would like to say "Thank You" to all our agriculture education teachers that have proudly served their schools, students and communities for many years. Your dedicated efforts have truly made a difference in our profession. We wish you all the best in your retirement!
The deadline to submit all Washington state FFA applications for consideration by National FFA is June 15. This includes all State FFA Proficiency Award Winners, National Chapter Award applications that earned Gold, and all Agriscience Fair Award winners. All applications must be uploaded using either FFA.org or AET. Make sure to have your students select the "complete/save your application" button after making revisions to applications.
If you have any questions or would like any assistance in helping your students complete the applications, please reach out to a Washington state FFA staff member prior to the deadline. Lisa Baser has volunteered to work with students on their Proficiency Award applications; National Chapter Award and Agriscience Fair applicants can contact Tamara Whitcomb for assistance. A list of state award applicants is available at the link provided.
This summer the Washington Agriculture Leadership Experience (WALE) and District Officer Training (DOT) events will be held again at Wenatchee Valley College and the Springhill Suites Marriott Hotel in Wenatchee. The event will take place July 31 and August 1. DOT/WALE are held simultaneously to offer FFA members leadership growth experiences, a chance to explore new areas of agriculture in our state, and give newly elected District Officers an opportunity to learn about each other and plan for their upcoming year of service.
These events are at no cost to student members or advisors. Meals, hotel and event registration costs are generously covered by supporters of the Washington FFA Foundation. This specific event is sponsored by Northwest Farm Credit and the Washington Wheat Foundation. The WALE event will be limited to 50 members and preference is given to juniors, seniors, and students that have not attended WALE in the past. Deadline to register for both events is July 1. For more information on the schedule or registration, please check out the links provided.
Washington state FFA chapters look forward to attending and competing at National FFA Convention each year. This year's convention is scheduled for November 1–4 in Indianapolis, Indiana. To prepare for your FFA chapter experience, you are welcome to visit the National FFA Convention and Expo website for information on registration, activities, and a preliminary schedule of events. National FFA will continue to update information on the website as we approach National FFA Convention.
National Convention Housing is also open for booking! Washington FFA has a state block open to only Washington FFA chapters. Hotel information, important booking dates, and additional details can be found on our website under Events/National FFA Convention or by accessing the link provided.
Tentative schedules for the Career and Leadership Development Events and the Finals Hall schedule have also been posted for planning purposes. For easy access, go to the "Event Orientation" for your CDE/LDE on FFA.org. Please be sure to certify for FFA CDE/LDE's by September 1.
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National FFA Names Executive in Residence for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
The National FFA Organization has named past national officer Corey Flournoy, the executive in residence for equity, diversity and inclusion. Read the press release to learn more about Flournoy and his new role.
National Finalist Selection Judges
Next week, National FFA will begin judge registration for the 2023 National Finalist Selection for Agriscience Fair, National Chapter Awards, and Agricultural Proficiency Awards. We have been circulating our judge interest form throughout the year. If you know someone who may be interested in judging, this is the last call to sign up. As a reminder, here are our judge expectations.
Apply Now: USDA Grant
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture posted a new funding opportunity: Agriculture in the K–12 Classroom Program. The program serves nearly 5 million students and 60,000 teachers annually through workshops, conferences, field trips, farm tours and other educational activities. To learn more about the program, visit here. The deadline to apply is Thursday, July 6.
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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.
We also wanted to remind everyone that are are some great opportunities to get involved during conference. One way is to submit an idea for the Ideas Unlimited Showcase. If you are interested in sharing a unique and helpful idea with your peers, we would encourage you to take part. There is also a silent/live auction hosted on Wednesday evening at WAAE summer conference to help raise money to support Ag. teachers traveling with their students to compete at National FFA Convention in the fall. If you have any items you would like to donate, you can drop them off at the registration area at conference.
Please take note that Chris Carlson is our current WAAE Executive Director and can be contacted by emailing: waaeccarlson@yahoo.com. You can send conference registration forms to Chris Carlson at: WAAE, PO Box 96, Stanwood, WA 98292. If you would like to pay online for your registration, check out the New SquareUp Store at the following link: waae-123456.square.site
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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 was sent out via email on May 1 to all Ag Teachers and CTE Directors across the state and will remain open only until July 1. You are welcome to access the Ag Ed End of Year Report using the survey link provided. This report is required for all agricultural teachers to submit to maintain your FFA chapter "good standing" status. The list of questions are provided to help you plan ahead before completing the survey.
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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. If you have filled a previously open position please contact J.D. Baser so that it can be removed from the website. |
The CTE Teacher Certification page on the OSPI website serves as a great resource for applying for initial and conditional certificates in Career and Technical Education. Whether you are looking to add a VCODE to your current certificate or are new to teaching CTE because you came through industry route, you can find valuable information on each type of certification and the forms necessary as an applicant.
The website also provides information on the steps needed to renew your current CTE certification and the clocks hours or credits needed to retain your certification. You can review all information related to CTE certification by visiting the link provided and discover what route is right for you based on your current status.
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