The agriculture program at Remsen Jr./Sr. High School was recently named as a recipient of a $5,000 Agriculture Education Incentive Grant awarded by Cornell University’s Agriculture Education and Outreach program.

The grant program provides local public school-based agricultural education programs with grant awards to secure necessary resources for a high-quality agricultural education program, including curriculum development, professional development, program development, resource acquisitions and program coordination.

This is the first year that Remsen Jr./Sr. High School has offered agriculture education courses and agriculture teacher Rayne Ives is excited for the new opportunities that this grant will provide for her students.

“As a new program, we are thrilled to have been selected to receive this grant,” said Ives. “These funds will allow us to develop a rigorous, modern curriculum and ensure that our students are agriculturally literate after taking courses and following the program. The agriculture program is allowing for engaging teaching and learning methods through both classroom and real-life applications.”

Remsen is one of 84 schools that applied for and were selected to receive the grant.  Schools were notified in early January of their award amounts and given the remainder of the month to accept the funds and finalize their project budgets.

Through the generous support of the Department of Agriculture and Markets, the New York State Governor’s Office, Cornell University, and the efforts of New York Farm Bureau, the Empire State Coalition of Agriculture Organizations, and the New York Association of Agriculture Education, the Agriculture Education Incentive Grant awarded a total of $350,000 to eligible and qualified New York State School for the first time this school year.

Agriculture education is a unique part of career and technical education that strives to enhance student education through the three-circle model of agricultural education. The three-circle model includes Classroom Instruction, FFA and work-based learning known as Supervised Agricultural Experiences. Currently, there are 176 schools offering agricultural education programs to more than 10,000 students across New York state.