NY Attends National Ag in the Classroom Conference

The customary massive number of educators from across the USA and other countries took place one of the hottest weeks on record (June 21 – 24, 2016) in Phoenix, AZ.  New York State had three truly winning educators who have served agriculture so well that they were recognized for their achievements.  Many of the audience of diversified educators were there through some type of scholarship or recognition for their excellence in teaching agriculture, each one representing a different type and variety of education. All were treated to workshops of every type and tours of area agriculture during the cooler hours of the day, as mandated by the state of Arizona due to the extreme heat conditions.

Our New York educators attending included Dianna Daigler, who is a high school guidance counselor at Royalton-Hartland Central School. She has been instrumental in supporting the creation of an agriculture program and supporting students to consider careers and fields of study in agriculture. Daigler was awarded a CHS Foundation Scholarship from the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization to support her registration cost to attend the conference.

Attending for her second experience was Lisa Byers, a kindergarten teacher at Arcade Elementary and was presented as one of nine teachers winning the White-Reinhardt Award from the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Education. Byers was selected for this honor because of her innovative approaches to connecting agriculture to her curriculum throughout the entire school year. Byers also attended the National Agriculture in the Classroom last year as she was selected at New York Agriculture in the Classroom’s Teacher of the Year.

We were so very pleased to work with and learn from Judiann Carmack-Fayyaz, who was awarded the USDA Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture – the most prestigious award a teacher can receive in this field. Teaching at Bridgehampton School on the east end of Long Island, she teaches her students everything from botany and nutrition to environmental design. She uses the tools of a school garden and greenhouse to teach her students to become environmental stewards and to help solve real world problems. Her program and her dedication are amazing.

Katie Bigness, our New York Ag in The Classroom coordinator continues work with the National Conference Planning Committee for the 2017 conference which will be held in Kansas City, MO, from June 20-23, 2017. The following year the conference will be a bit closer to home, in Portland Maine, June 26-29, 2018.  This conference represents a wonderful opportunity for teachers from New York to attend and bring home with them more than they could imagine.