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Preparing Urban Students for the Agricultural Economy
While Future Farmers of America (FFA) is a strong educational component in greater Minnesota, one metro area school stands out for its 100% FFA participation rate. In fact, students at the Academy for Sciences & Agriculture (AFSA) wear their FFA jackets with pride, like a letter jacket or a team jacket at other high schools.
That is not surprising since the Agriculture and Food Industry is Minnesota's 2nd largest employer. In fact the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently issued a study entitled “Employment Opportunities for College Graduates 2010–2015” where it predicted a shortage of qualified workers in the Food, Renewable Energy, and Environmental fields in the United States.
Located in Vadnais Heights, the Academy for Sciences & Agriculture was founded in 2001 and serves over 250 students. AFSA seeks to prepare the next generation of leaders to manage this crucial sector of the Minnesota economy.
Students at AFSA take a college-prep curriculum of the standard high school classes, plus they select from additional agriscience courses in Food Science, Animal Science, Plant Science, Environmental Science and Engineering. AFSA also offers seven “College in the Schools” courses through the University of Minnesota.
Throughout their ten year history, AFSA students have managed to qualify for the FFA National Science Fair each year; 11 of them last year alone. All students at AFSA are required to complete an original science fair project each year of enrollment.
Thirteen current AFSA students have been recognized by and are active in the national honor society. Last year 78% of AFSA students went on to a post secondary program having received over $250,000 in scholarships. Two students have been awarded internships through the World Food Prize Organization. Two students have been recognized by the Minnesota Department of Education as Scholars of Distinction in Science and Leadership. Students at AFSA are in their fourth year of participation in the FIRST Robotics program also.
“We want to help urban and suburban students appreciate the importance of agriculture and science in everyone’s lives,” said Becky Meyer AFSA Director. “We want students to know there are great careers that go unfilled in agriculture every year and we want our students to be some of the successful leaders in agribusiness and research scientists of the future.”
AFSA has nurtured strong public-private partnerships. It has managed to recruit Cargill, General Mills and University of Minnesota employees to their board. These and other partnerships have generated over $145,000 in donations and support in the last year. The school’s greenhouse boasts a state of the art hydroponics system funded through corporate support.
AFSA achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) last year in Reading and Math as required under No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
With Minnesota's strength in the food and ag sector, schools in every corner of the state must continue working to increase opportunities in food, plant, and animal sciences to ensure a well-skilled workforce for this critical state asset.
Posted in Economic Development | Related Topics: Agriculture Charter Schools Youth Programs
13 Comments
December 31, 2011 at 2:00 pm
I would like to add 2 things:
1) AFSA is an awesome school with a very dedicated staff that is 100% there for their students and we couldn’t be happier that we chose this school for our sons education.
2) Mr Bonham seems to be out in left field without his glasses - no vision. He needs to get the facts before leaving misleading and untrue comments.
December 31, 2011 at 9:27 am
Mr. Bonham,
I believe you are missing the point; my family is one of the 99%, yet we have felt the need to look for an alternative to the public school system because of it’s absolute failure to our son. The public school system is wonderful for those that are able to conform to the system that is established, but fails miserably those that don’t. Our decision to transfer our son to a charter school, namely AFSA was the best decision we have ever made! We are not well-off and live so far out from the school, we drive our student daily to and from the school, but because he is extremely high-functioning Aspberger’s, coupled with ADHD, AFSA has been able to offer the extremely challenging and rigorous course work, that has been able to keep our son successfully focused on moving forward. Whereas, in our traditional school setting, he was bored and disruptive of his classmates, the school placed him in an “alternative” learning environment, where his successes were rewarded with video games. The coursework, was a full 2-3 grade levels below his actual grade level in school. At AFSA, he has been provided with the opportunity to excel in his academics, while being challenged in the process, preparing him for life beyond high school.
I am offended that you somehow believe Charter Schools are for the well-off, I consider myself to be a progressive individual. But, I am unwilling to sacrifice my children on the failings of the public school system (because my son has disabilities that the district doesn’t have the capacity to suuport), just to say I am a supporter of public schools. I believe as a Progressive, or any other political affiliation, we have an obligation first to our children to ensure that they are provided with the best possible opportunity for them to acheive success in life.
Charter schools are another PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM, anyone is welcome to attend.
December 30, 2011 at 8:28 pm
This school has many of the benefits of a small private school at public school prices. My son will be graduating this year with multiple college academic scholarship offers. He has had a wonderful educational experience, despite a lean school budget. They are the definition of a great charter school. It’s exceeded all of ourexpectations Thanks AFSA!
December 30, 2011 at 7:49 pm
Mr. Bonham,
I, too, feel compelled to correct your erroneous opinion of AFSA’s student base. My child is a freshman this year at this school and we live in Minneapolis in a blue collar, diverse neighborhood. My child chose AFSA for what it offers after looking at several schools both public and private in the area - AFSA was the best fit for all of us.
We spent the last 9 years scrimping and saving so we could send our child to a private K-8 school (a school that, incidentally, is one of the most diverse in Minneapolis). We don’t drive new cars or take expensive vacations, or have a fancy house. For 9 years our tax dollars have supported Minneapolis schools while we received nothing in return. Our choice. Just like AFSA was our choice and can be anyones choice - regardless of who they are or where they come from, but most importantly, if the school is right for the child.
We are blessed to have so many options available to us so our children can succeed, don’t you think?
December 30, 2011 at 6:24 pm
As a parent of an AFSA senior, I can say that this famliy is far from well off. We struggle every week to make ends meet. AfSA is a public school anyone can attend. No matter where they live or their “social/financial” status.
AFSA is a life saver for our child. Before attending AFSA she attended another Saint Paul public school. 35 -40 pupils per class. Pretty hard to learn let alone teach in that environment when a large percentage of those students are mostly disruptive.
Since attending AFSA our child has gone from C & D Grades to A & B Grades.
Cream Skimming? BAH to you sir! I guess we just realized what was a smart choice for our child’s education. AFSA did not recruit our child.We made a choice to send her to a school that has motivated her to excel.
December 30, 2011 at 5:15 pm
I’d like to take a minute to tip my hat to charter schools and also offer my two cents in defense over the previous comment.
Charter schools have a role to fill as much as public schools do. Smaller class sizes, specialized classes and unique opportunities are often found to be a value to many enrolled students. As the article says, the Food Industry is the second largest employer in MN. If we can have an option for students to take advantage of a school that can expand content in that industry I’d say its for the better. This article does a great job in expressing all of the success a charter school can obtain with scholarships, honors and industry connections.
I believe their is a misunderstanding between a public charter school and a private school. A public charter school cannot “cream-skim” off students, but must be filled by a first come first serve basis. I am familiar with the school in the article and they have a diverse student body with many of the “poor minority” supposedly forgotten actively enrolled. Even though the school is partially sponsored by corporate partners, they still have the same graduation standards (often higher) as required by any public school. They sponsor schools like this because they NEED people to fill roles within their industry and want to inspire a generation often uninformed of the Ag and Food industry.
I would recommend watching or reading “Waiting for Superman” to get an insight on the average parent and why they would value this offering.
December 30, 2011 at 5:03 pm
The first support for schools, whether they are public, public charter, private or even home schools, starts from the choices parents and students make together regarding the school to attend.
As a parent, I made this decision in favor of AFSA, despite the bias of being employed by a “under_cut_public” school! Oh, I regret that I forgot that I was a minority and thus don’t qualify to be part of the “cream.”
There are 250 families involved here and their collective decision to attend this school is the reason for their single largest source - public funding. No matter who is on the board, or how much they contribute to the finances on top of the public funding, if AFSA was not delivering for ten years would they have been around?
December 30, 2011 at 3:38 pm
A charter school is a public school open to any student. AFSA draws students from the inner city, suburbs, and rural areas.
It is the high standards of moral and ethical living and working encouraged by the FFA program, and modeled by AFSA staff that bring out the best in their students. It is a welcoming environment for any student who is interested in becoming the best person they can possibly be.
With a focus on sciences the students drawn to this school tend to be those whose interest is along those lines. The education given is challenging, but the teachers are always willing to help and encourage any interested student.
Kudos AFSA!
December 30, 2011 at 3:09 pm
Charter schools are tuition-free and open to all, and this charter school has bus routes running straight through the urban core of Minneapolis and St. Paul. So I don’t see how one can say it’s catering to the well-off.
Agribusinesses’ interest in AFSA is fairly straightforward: In addition to gaining positive PR for supporting education, they are cultivating some future employees in the grain trade or food science. Hardly scandalous in my view.
Some charter schools have succeeded and others have failed. The whole question of whether charter schools help or hurt the overall school system certainly should be examined. Specifically, the unintended consequence of racial and ethnic segregation in some instances is worrisome. But I don’t think the debate is served by implying that devious motives are behind this educational experiment.
Full disclosure: I am the parent of a student attending this school.
December 30, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Mr. Bonham, I feel compelled to express the other side of the story. My daughter is a sophmore at this school and she is excelling in all classes. Maybe it’s the dedicated staff, maybe it’s the small class sizes, maybe it’s the challenging curriculum. It really doesn’t matter because AFSA has PROVEN to be a great school that produces well educated, college prepared students who are leaders and innovators. My daughter has made great friends at AFSA and has fit into the small school culture it provides. She and the other students also benefit from the mentoring and support the school has cultivated with local companies like General Mills, Cargill and Land O’Lakes. It’s truly a win-win for all involved!
I would also like to point out that charter schools like AFSA, with a unique mission, visionary leadership, and commitment to student success, play a vital role in the K-12 educational system. However, the real benefit is that they provide parents and students with a choice. I have two other children who are attending our local school district and who may or may not go to AFSA, depending on their own unique learning and after school activity interests. However, I know that AFSA is an excellent school, so it offers our family an option. If quality charter schools like AFSA did not exist, we would be forced into no choice as a private school does not fit into our financial options. Incidently, my husband and I both attended a private high school in Roseville and received an excellent education there. We are extremely happy that our family has the choice for our daughter to attend a similar size school that offers a high quality education at a public school price.
December 30, 2011 at 2:54 pm
I would just like to say that the previous comment couldn’t be more wrong. Charter schools are public schools too. They accept anyone. Not all of the students are from Vadais Heights, students travel from several different communities because they believe in the mission of the school and enjoy going to school every day.
December 29, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Bah!
Yet another piece of PR flackery supporting Charter Schools, undercutting our _public_ education system, and cream-skimming off students (but not poor minority ones) into these little gated educational communities. And supported, of course, by our corporate overclass, with Cargill & General Mills representatives on their Board.
Why would any progressive person support this—public tax money going to to ensure that the children of the well-off aren’t exposed to those of the 99%?
Naiyer Usmani says:
January 4, 2012 at 6:32 pm
Excellent comments all around, with one exception, of course.