Here are some great ideas that others have shared for spreading the ag education message:
- Post student accomplishments on business marquis
- Send a follow-up email to school staff regarding student success or involvement at events. Especially if students missed school for the event.
- Work with your community to purchase and display a "Proud FFA Community" Sign. Contact jim.ertl@state.mn.us for purchasing.
- Make arrangements for the Ag Dept. to have a dedicated trophy case area in the school for displaying Ag Dept. and FFA information and awards.
- Invite school board members and school administration to attend class field trips, FFA events, and guest speakers.
- Share all Ag Department and FFA related photos with the Yearbook staff and website editor for inclusion in the yearbook and promotional materials.
- Volunteer to be on school committee groups. This gives you an opportunity to model professionalism to your students while sharing the latest happening with other staff during committee work.
- Include FFA fundraising events or open house events in local church bulletins
- Join the local chamber ag committee. If there is not a local chamber ag committee work to start one.
- During Banquet, breakfasts, or other ag appreciation events create table tents with ag department, FFA, and current and former student updates.
- Have an agriculture fact of the week in the weekly announcements or newspaper.
- Create an ag department Student Hall of Fame or Distinguished Alumni area in the classroom. Use this area to showcase current and former students who are doing successful things in the field of agriculture. Clip out articles from the newspaper when ag department students are highlighted and include in this area as well.
- Start an ag spotlight student of the month. Display in the ag classroom and share with local media.
- Submit quarterly or monthly updates about the ag program and FFA chapter to the media, school board, principal, stakeholders. etc.
Share your ideas by simply replying to this post. The more the better. No idea is too big or too small. You may also upload accompanying documents to your reply.
1. Put up a booth at the local Farm Show
2. Coordinate radio broadcasts about the program during harvest or other busy field times.
3. Serve ice cream to the student body
4. Create (or have a student) a former FFA member database. Add to it every year. Use the list to send out timely newsletters throughout the year that include highlights and information on the upcoming fruit sale with order form, greenhouse plant sales, invitation to the chapter banquet, alumni meetings or activities
5. Invite future members to the ag room during lunch and have them fill out an info form. Follow-up with each student who fills out a form.
6. After an FFA CDE put part of the CDE in the teachers’ lounge for other staff to see what the students did and to test their own knowledge.
7. Have the ag business or marketing class coordinate the corn drive to improve their marketing skills.
8. Host a safety carnival for the elementary and rotate the method of delivery every few years; year one- meet with the students in their classrooms and give presentations, year two- show a safety video, year three- have a carnival with safety booths and exhibits
9. Supply every dues paying member with a standard basic polo with the school ag department or FFA name on the front. Require students to wear them to events, have extras on hand. Increases professionalism and unity when representing the chapter and looks good in pictures.
10. Create a 3-5 elevator speech statement about the ag program for inclusion at the end of every press release. A basic run down of what agriculture education is and what the local program offers.
11. Have students write ag issues articles and submit them to the paper throughout the year. Include a picture of the student along with a snippet about the class the student wrote the article for.
12. Include a permission slip/photo release form with the FFA membership form at the beginning of the year or at the start of each semester/quarter.
13. Require students to get a sign out sheet for each class they will miss because of FFA or ag class.
14. When hosting guest speakers or going on tours invite other staff that have an interest or connection; biology teacher for DNR, chemistry teacher for food science. This allows other staff to view how agriculture applies their content.
15. Create a template sheet with postcards, print off several to have on hand. The post card may read Way to Go! Or Fantastic! When a student does something worthy of special recognition fill out the postcard and give it to the student or mail it home to the parents. Make sure you include the ag department name or logo on the post card along with a brief explanation of the accomplishment.
16. Host a senior parent’s night where senior students are honored and have the opportunity to show off their projects or classroom accomplishments.
17. Hold a CTE project night, perhaps during another event like PT conferences or band concert. Have all the CTE areas set-up and showcase different student projects and classroom curriculum.
18. Business Industry and Education visits around town with the officers. The officers and members meet and greet area businesses and introduce themselves. Leave information on how the business could support/get involved with the ag program; alumni, advisory, guest speaker, host a field trip, financial donation, in kind sponsorship, etc.