First Year Teachers Receive Mini Grants to Incorporate Agriculture

MANHATTAN, KANSAS, August 18, 2020 – Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom partnered with Kansas Department of Agriculture to support first year teachers who have plans to incorporate agriculture into their K-12 classrooms. Selected teachers will be able to use the awarded grants to purchase resources for the execution of agriculture-based lesson plans in their classrooms. Winners of the KDA sponsored mini grants are Katie Buhler of West Elementary in Wamego and Dylan Goodell of Southeast of Saline Middle School.

Katie Buhler is excited to be teaching 4th grade at West Elementary in Wamego to start off her first year of teaching. Buhler graduated from Kansas State University last spring with a degree in Elementary Education. The 4-H program is part of what led Buhler to a career in teaching. It was through those experiences that she discovered her passion for education.

"When students feel confident taking the lead during a lesson by posing questions and working with their peers to develop solutions, I feel I have done my job as an educator," Buhler says. "It is extremely rewarding to see students taking ownership for their learning and taking initiative to drive their own learning process."

Buhler's main grant project will be to analyze soil profiles and methods for preventing erosion. Students will be challenged to consider different soil conservation practices in action in their community, school and their own backyards. They will cap off their project by competing in their local soil conservation poster contest and limerick contest.

Dylan Goodell will be starting his teaching career at Southeast of Saline Middle School, teaching 7th grade and sophomore social studies. Goodell graduated from Kansas State University last spring with a degree in Secondary Education. His teachers and coaches played a strong role in his upbringing, and he knew he wanted to make that kind of impact on the lives of kids today.

"That moment when a piece of information clicks for a kid and you can see that s/he really understand it and can apply it to life," Goodell says, "is my favorite part of teaching."

A dream activity Goodell hopes to incorporate this year is to grow different crops with his students. He also hopes to acquire some historical machinery to show his students how agriculture has evolved.

Buhler and Goodell will be working on their grant projects throughout the fall semester and providing updates throughout the school year. Follow Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom on Facebook to see more updates on these amazing first year teachers.

For more information about Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, visit www.ksagclassroom.org.