How the Wisconsin Association of Agricultural Educators Helps the State’s Ag Teachers
In partnership with: Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
The purpose of the Wisconsin Association of Agricultural Educators (WAAE) can be summed up in one word: opportunity. WAAE (pronounced WAY) is a 350-member nonprofit organization for current and retired high school and college agriculture instructors, agricultural business leaders and other proponents.
It opens doors for members through board and committee appointments, professional development, mentorship and curriculum development to ultimately benefit Wisconsin students and communities.
“Wisconsin’s agricultural educators work tirelessly to give opportunities to our next generation of leaders,” says Kathy Hartmann-Breunig, executive director of WAAE. “We provide students with the three-circle model of the classroom, FFA and supervised agricultural experiences, which prepare today’s students with hands-on learning and real-life problem-solving skills.”
Committed Educators
Gwen Boettcher, an agriculture teacher at DeForest Area High School, serves as alternate vice president for Section 5, meaning she will advance to the section’s vice president in 2023.
“Serving as vice president means taking a more active role in making decisions for what we do as an organization,” Boettcher says.
On the Accessibility and Equity Committee in 2019, she and other members undertook a book study for diversity training.
“Diversity training helps us better support more students who don’t come from typical farm settings,” Boettcher says.
Of the more than 400 FFA members at her school, only six live on farms, which is just 1.5%. Statewide, only 20% of students have farm experience, Hartmann-Breunig says.
See more: Agriculture Careers Abound in Wisconsin and Beyond
Professional Development
Combine student diversity with more than 420 potential agriculture-related careers, and the importance of professional development becomes clear.
“Agriculture is often stereotyped as old-fashioned, but agriculture teachers in reality wear many hats,” Boettcher says. “We have to be forward thinkers to prepare our students for the technology and careers of the future.”
Professional development is a cornerstone of WAAE with the professional development conference offering 50 to 80 workshops and farm tours.
See more: Wisconsin Farmers Adapt Amid High Demand for Farm Products
Connection & Collaboration
Mentoring is one of the many ways members share knowledge.
“To new teachers, it can be quite overwhelming to visualize how they will deliver all that is possible and available to their students,” Hartmann-Breunig says.
To counter that, WAAE created the Retired Teacher Mentor Program, which matches retired teachers with new ones, giving them an experienced consultant as they build their own careers.
Partnerships with the state Department of Public Instruction, Wisconsin FFA and agriculture-related businesses also help to provide up-to-date information. Shared files, a listserv and a Facebook group offer less formal ways for members to share knowledge while ensuring all Wisconsin students get the most out of their time in ag classes.
“The teachers collaborate online by asking questions regarding curriculum, best practices, suggestions, idea sharing and more,” Hartmann-Breunig says.
Tools for the Classroom
WAAE’s Instructional Committee provides a way to share information and ideas. It’s tasked with creating multiple lesson plans that can be purchased collectively at the annual conference.
“The committee creates an entire tote full of lesson plans and materials, and one of the sessions at the conference is a workshop where we teach others about what’s in the box,” says Boettcher, who formerly served on the Instructional Committee.
Overall, she’s grateful for her involvement with the association.
“WAAE is one of the reasons I’ve been teaching for 17 years,” she says. “I’ve gotten so much and met some of my closest friends in it.”