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State Representative Buchy
Agriculture in
the Classroom, Up and Running in Cleveland and Cincinnati
Fifty years ago in Ohio, the rural school districts looked to the big
cities for the best practices in education. Today, big cities are
looking to rural areas for clues on how to make their schools more
successful. They are focused on increasing graduation rates and
students that are ready for college and the workforce. In rural
Ohio a common denominator in our successful schools is strong families
and a good work ethic that comes with our agrarian lifestyle.
This past spring and into the summer, operations began in Cincinnati
and Cleveland that focused on recruitment for students in the 4-H and
FFA programs. This is all part of a pilot project funded in the state
budget that we have been discussing for the past year and a half.
Beginning this fall, both Cleveland East Tech High School and the James
N. Gamble Montessori High School in Cincinnati established FFA chapters
and began high school courses on Agricultural Food Production and Food
Science.
For the younger children, George Washington Carver Elementary
(Cleveland) and Rothenberg Preparatory Academy (Cincinnati) are
providing an introduction to agriculture by involving every elementary
student in those buildings exposure to agricultural topics via 4-H in
the classroom.
This program isn’t about corn and hogs. The goal is to provide
these young people the ability to learn about agricultural science
hands-on and use that information to fill food processing and food
science positions that are going unfilled in Ohio’s urban areas.
The benefits of this program go beyond agricultural education,
providing young people with leadership opportunities they may not
otherwise have. The FFA and 4-H are the top leadership programs
in the country. The program will provide access to judging and
speaking competitions that could make them successful in a multitude of
future work opportunities.
The program has just begun, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that
the pilot project will expand to other schools in the urban parts of
this state and provide the high quality education that our children in
rural Ohio have had access to for years.
Providing opportunities to young people translates to skilled workers
to fill unfilled positions that keeps and attracts employers to Ohio
and will help continue to grow our economy.
Please give me your opinion on this topic and others in the news this
month by completing an online survey at tinyurl.com/buchynovember2014.
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