I am writing this letter in response to the decision to eliminate an agriculture teacher position. As a former teacher of agriculture I want to alert you to some of the negative consequences that will impact students due to the loss of this position. There are three vital components to a successful agriculture program: classroom and lab instruction, FFA which is the student organization for agriculture students, and supervised agriculture experience, a personal project of the student.
Please allow me to focus on each of these briefly and how your decision impacts them. The classroom and lab or shop experience allows students to experience real world scenarios connected to their instruction. In this situation many students discover and develop interests that become a career for them. As the only approved vocational program at Clearfield, the district, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education Web site is budgeted to receive over $60,000.00 for 2010-2011 which is calculated on a per student basis. Reducing faculty will also reduce course offerings and the number of students who can be enrolled, which will inevitably reduce this figure. Clearfield has also been able to accept students on a tuition basis from other districts who are unable to be in this type of program in their own school. The current figures from the PA Department of Education set our tuition rate at $8758.14. Decreased class offerings will also affect the ability to attract these students. The reduction of these funds of course affects all students, not only students in agriculture. Another concern is safety. In a lab or shop situation excessive class sizes can create a safety liability. With only one teacher, class sizes will ultimately be increased, resulting in increased risk of injury.
FFA is vital to agriculture students because it enables them to meet and compete with students from other schools. My concern is that our students will not be able to participate as fully with one teacher instead of two. In 2003 and 2005 we were able to take students to Louisville, KY and Indianapolis, IN to compete with students like themselves from all over the nation. Having a second teacher allows one to plan for events like this while the other maintains the department for continued instruction. Additionally this organization has a leadership training component. Having two teachers enables students to be more active in these workshops and seminars while maintaining regular instruction for students who are not pursuing these opportunities. Clearfield is fortunate to have had two FFA state officers in the last ten years due to these leadership opportunities. Students in FFA also have opportunities to earn money through a variety of programs. Teaching students to value themselves and the work they can do is the key to successful futures for them and the community as a whole.
Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE) is the component that allows the student and their parent or guardian to choose something on a personal basis that is related to agriculture that the student will develop and learn from. In many cases this may be the key to them obtaining and excelling in a meaningful enterprise whether it’s a job or their own business. The agriculture teacher approves and helps to supervise these enterprises that have served as career builders for agriculture students. The ability to manage all of these activities is more efficient and gives students greater opportunities with two teachers.
This is just a simple explanation for one of the most complex programs in our secondary education system. Agriculture is vital to our everyday lives in so many ways and we all too often take it for granted. However, we should consider how connected we all are to the highly technical system that allows us to not worry about whether we will have food to eat or clothes on our backs. Today’s agriculture students have endless opportunities. Locally the relationship to natural resources is abundant, whether it’s in some phase of forestry, landscaping, soil/water quality or equipment maintenance and operation for the locally supplied fuel and timber resources.
While concern for our students should always come first, it must be carefully balanced with financial restraints. Given the funding for this program from the state as well as student tuition, the financial benefit of saving one teacher’s salary is greatly reduced.
Thank you and please reconsider your decision in regard to this matter.
Sincerely ,
Larry Way, Technology Education Department
Clearfield Area Middle School
DuBois