NORWICH – The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County is moving ahead with changes that organization leaders hope will allow them to keep up with the growing interest in 4-H programming.
Ken Smith, Executive Director of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County, said the organization is looking to add a full-time 4-H educator position in lieu of a part-time 4-H position.
Previously, CCE held one part-time 4-H educator as well as one part-time horticulture educator on staff. Now, the organization is proposing to combine the two positions into one full-time 4-H educator position that will assist local schools with after school programming related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
“We reached out to schools to see if they would be interested in getting help from 4-H, and the response from a lot of them has been a resounding ‘yes,’” said Smith. “We feel like we need to take the funds that the county gives us and contribute it to the greatest demand. I think 4-H has always been at the top, but I think we can grow it a little more.”
CCE did hire a part-time 4-H educator earlier this year; however, the person hired recently left the position due to relocation out of state. Hopes now are to find another good fit, not just to fill that position, but to take on new responsibilities of working with programming in various school districts in the county.
“We’ve found that there’s an incredible need in the county to take kids from that time period of three to five in the afternoon, and provide some programming for them,” Smith added.
In spite of the recent elimination of CCE’s horticulture educator, Smith noted that there are still people on staff at CCE who will be available to answer incoming horticulture related questions.
“If we are able to find a someone with a horticulture background who can fill the full-time 4-H position, that’s great,” he added, “but our big concern right now is finding someone who’s good with kids that help these schools.”