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Frick, GaDOE Communications Office, mfrick@doe.k12.ga.us,
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June 25, 2019 – Based on
the recommendation of State School Superintendent Richard Woods, the State
Board of Education this month approved standards for agricultural education
courses in kindergarten through fifth grade.
The new standards are a direct
result of Senate
Bill 330, legislation passed in 2018 which provides for a pilot program to
develop and implement agricultural education in elementary schools. The courses
will be offered in 20 elementary schools across the state that were selected
for the pilot program last fall.
“I’m thrilled about this work and
the opportunity to add agricultural education at the elementary level,” State
School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “At the upper levels, our kids have a
chance to learn the business and practice of agriculture, but now we can begin
to build that understanding for our younger students in an age-appropriate
way.”
State Sen. John Wilkinson, a former
FFA program manager and agricultural education teacher and current chairman of
the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs committee, sponsored the
legislation.
“Food doesn’t come from the grocery
store,” Sen. Wilkinson said. “Four or five generations removed from the farm
makes it hard for students to understand where their food really comes from.
This new program will help kids understand the powerful impact of agriculture
on the prosperity of our state.”
Georgia Rep. Terry England, a
member of the House Education and Agriculture and Consumer Affairs committees
as well as Appropriations chairman, added:
“I feel it’s important that kids
understand where food, shelter, and fiber come from. This is a step in the
right direction.”
Elementary Agricultural Education –
Pilot Schools
School System
|
School Name
|
Appling County
|
Appling County Elementary
|
Banks County
|
Banks County Elementary
|
Berrien County
|
Berrien County High
|
Bibb County
|
Heard Elementary
|
Brooks County
|
Quitman Elementary
|
Colquitt County
|
Hamilton Elementary
|
Colquitt County
|
J. M. Odom Elementary
|
Colquitt County
|
Norman Park Elementary
|
Crawford County
|
Crawford County Elementary
|
Decatur County
|
Jones Wheat Elementary
|
Fulton County
|
Cogburn Woods Elementary
|
Grady County
|
Whigham Elementary
|
Irwin County
|
Irwin County Elementary
|
Lowndes County
|
Westside Elementary
|
Montgomery County
|
Montgomery County Elementary
|
Morgan County Charter School
System
|
Morgan County Elementary
|
Pickens County
|
Hill City Elementary
|
Pike County
|
Pike County Elementary
|
Putnam County Charter School
System
|
Putnam County Primary
|
Wheeler County
|
Wheeler County Elementary
|