Building a Program from the Ground Up
National Association of Agricultural Educators Award Winner Spotlight By Andrea Fristoe Every agriculture teacher has a unique story to tell about the beginning of his or her teaching career. Some are fortunate to have the opportunity to walk into a well-established, multi-teacher department, with excellent administrative and community support. Oftentimes though, new agriculture teachers have to take a struggling program and build it into something that the students, administration and community value. Such is the case for Tyler Johnson, agriculture teacher at Murtaugh High School, in Murtaugh, Idaho. Johnson became the agriculture teacher at Murtaugh High School in 2014. He was initially faced with a struggling agriculture program and lack of student and community interest. Through the development of a program vision, community partnerships, and allowing his students to take ownership in their program’s facilities, Johnson has been able to establish the Murta...
