Posted 11/10/22

Good news for rural agricultural counties like, Giles County.

The State of Tennessee is implementing a new model for agricultural education that will advance opportunities for students and enhance support for teachers.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture and the Tennessee Department of Education are partnering with a Memorandum of Understanding to boost Tennessee’s agricultural education programs through the FFA student organization. Tennessee’s FFA enrollment has more than doubled since 2020, making it one of the largest FFA organizations in the nation.

Changes set forth in include creating six new staff positions at the Tennessee Department of Agriculture that are focused on FFA members and their learning activities outside of the classroom, including the Supervised Agricultural Experience programs and FFA competitions and events. The model creates an FFA State Director position under the purview of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

The Tennessee Department of Education will continue to focus on in-classroom curriculum development and teacher support, and a new FFA Deputy State Director will be added to their staff.