ITHACA – Agricultural education has a longstanding place in the curriculum, especially in Chenango County where agriculture is still a primary industry. Now, the persistence of agriculture education in the region and all across New York State faces a threat as Cornell University in Ithaca looks to cut its teacher certification programs.
Cornell is the only higher education institution in New York State that offers aspiring teachers a certification in agricultural education. Teacher certifications have been offered by the college since the 1900s; however, due to recent funding restraints, those programs, including ag ed, are likely to be dropped.
Elimination of the program is devastating to the ag ed market, say local educators, because teaching professionals who want to become certified in the ag ed field now have to look at out-of-state colleges – something that could ultimately lead to fewer ag ed certified teachers in the state, and fewer ag ed programs in schools.
Presently, more than 200 public schools in New York State maintain an agriculture education program, including some schools in Chenango County. While many ag ed teachers are dual certified in biology and agriculture education, most agree that losing agriculture education certification programs at an accredited institution is potentially bad news for agriculture in the classroom.
“We have some of the largest Agricultural industries in New York and there’s a chance that kids aren’t going to know much about them with fewer ag ed programs,” said Victoria Gregory, an agricultural education certified teacher at Afton Central School District. “I’m very concerned about it ... We’re doing a lot of agricultural business in the county,” she said, citing agriculture based companies like the Greek yogurt manufacturer Chobani, Sunrise Family Farms in Norwich, and countless farmers and small ag business across the county. “There should be more connections between those markets and schools, and to do that, you need ag ed certification programs.”
In addressing the issue of Cornell’s decision to cut its agriculture education certification program, the college is exploring other viable options to keep ag ed alive in public school districts, according to Cornell Director of Teacher Education Programs Travis Park. “Agriculture absolutely has a place in the curriculum,” Park said, although he added that cutting the program at Cornell will make it tough to recruit qualified ag ed teachers. “We’re hopeful we can find other pathways to help teachers become certified to teach agriculture here in the state.”
Park said that Cornell certifies between 15 and 20 teachers every year in science and agriculture education; about half of them go on to become agriculture education teachers, he added. He also noted that SUNY Oswego offers similar courses pertaining to agriculture, but the state college does not have a certification program in ag ed.
“Some people who have come out of Cornell’s program are phenomenal ag teachers,” said Jessica DeVries, an ag ed certified teacher at the Unadilla Valley Central School District in New Berlin. DeVries is a 17-year veteran teacher and strong advocate for agriculture education. “It’s an expensive program but it’s a valid program to run. Everybody eats and everyone wears clothes,” she said. “If there is no program, then there’s going to be a real shortage of (ag ed) teachers. If we don’t have teachers, a lot of the ag programs will close.”
About 55 Unadilla Valley students in grades 8-12 will have taken DeVries’ ag ed course by the end of the year. “Those students are getting real world application here while they’re just getting general information in other science classes,” she said.
For now, Cornell plans to continue offering a minor in education for undergraduates, which may include agriculture education, Parks said, but teacher certification through the college will not be an option.