News & Events - Overview

Created: 3/09/11 (Wed) | Topic: Education

N.D. teacher is one of seven honored for promoting ag literacy

Mary Kensok, a fourth-grade teacher at Central Cass School in Casselton is one of seven teachers, nationwide, being recognized by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture for their outstanding efforts to promote agricultural literacy.

The teachers each receive a scholarship to attend the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in June. The Foundation, through the White-Reinhardt Fund for Education, sponsored the scholarships in cooperation with the AFB Women’s Leadership Committee.

“The National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference provides a valuable experience for educators. This year seven outstanding teachers from around the country were awarded scholarships to attend the conference,” said Terry Gilbert, a Kentucky farmer, chair of the AFB Women’s Leadership Committee and a Foundation board member.

“We are extremely proud of Mary’s dedication to teaching her students about agriculture,” said Gail Bakko, North Dakota Farm Bureau Director of Special Programs. “Her efforts to bring agriculture into her classroom in a variety of subjects have been outstanding, and we are excited that she will have an opportunity to attend the national conference.”
 
Several hundred teachers are expected to attend the conference, where they will explore incorporating real-life agricultural applications into language arts, math, nutrition, science and social studies lessons. Scholarship recipients were judged on past use of innovative programs to educate students about agriculture as well as future plans to implement information gained at the AITC conference in their own classrooms and share the information with other teachers.

The AITC conference brings together a diverse group of organizations and speakers to address how to improve agricultural education and literacy, showcase successful programs and offer educational materials. The Agriculture Department coordinates the AITC program with the goal of helping students gain a greater awareness of the role of agriculture in the economy and society.

Florida Agriculture in the Classroom is hosting the annual conference this year in conjunction with the national AITC program. The American Farm Bureau Federation and state Farm Bureaus also support and participate in the program’s efforts. The White-Reinhardt Fund for Education honors two former AFB Women’s Leadership Committee chairwomen, Berta White and Linda Reinhardt, who were leaders in early national efforts to expand the outreach of agricultural education and improve agricultural literacy. 

View a video from her classroom, from 2008...