Agriculture education award presented to MV


DeAnn Cooper Sindergard (left) representing the Iowa Council on Agricultural Education. presents the Excellence in Agriculture Education award to agriculture teacher Dawn Mausser (center) and student Amanda Fortman (right) of Maquoketa Valley. (Photo submitted)

     The Iowa Council on Agricultural Education awarded Maquoketa Valley Community School District in Delhi with the 2017 Excellence in Agriculture Education award. The award was presented at the Iowa FFA Leadership Conference held in Ames, Iowa April 9-11.

     The purpose of the award is to identify what makes a highly successful agriculture education program in schools and recognize those who model that success. Dawn Mausser is the agriculture teacher at Maquoketa Valley CSD and FFA advisor. The program was nominated for the award by more than a dozen student members who wrote essays extolling the positive impact the program has had on their lives.

     “Each opportunity given to us helps us to prosper and become motivated to come back into the agriculture industry in the surrounding area,” wrote Amanda Engelken, Gabriela Guetzko, and Cole Kruse.

     The council also recognized five other schools for excellence in agriculture education.

     Advisory Committee Award: New Hampton Community School District in New Hampton – agriculture teacher, Jim Russ.

     Program Promotion and Marketing Award: Central DeWitt High School in DeWitt – agriculture teacher, Amy Grantz.

     Agriculture Career Awareness Award: Lone Tree Community School in Lone Tree – agriculture teacher, Bridget Mahoney.

     Integration of Science Award: South Winneshiek Community School District in Calmar – agriculture teacher, Melissa Hageman.

     Adult Education Award: Maquoketa Valley CSD in Delhi and Dyersville – agriculture teacher, Dawn Mausser.

     “We value many things: our academics, our agriculture department, and most importantly, our community. Offering these classes helps not only the community out but also the students involved in getting them set up. It gives us the opportunity to help out our community and it also helps us gain more knowledge in certain areas,” wrote Maquoketa Valley students Justin Krapfl, Kyle Richter, and Rejji Smith.

     Agriculture education is offered in 232 high schools across Iowa. Agriculture education employs a three-component model to deliver teaching through classroom instruction, supervised agricultural experience programs, and leadership development through FFA. Students who take an agriculture education class are eligible to join FFA. There are more than 14,000 FFA members in Iowa.            

 

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