Teacher awarded at the National Agriculture in the classroom conference

Educators from around the nation convened in Salt Lake City, Utah June 24-27th for a three-day conference to honor and recognize efforts of teaching agriculture in the classroom. Over five hundred teachers and industry partners came together for farm tours, workshops, and award recognition of teaching excellence of agriculture literacy in the United States.

Local Julius A Wendt 5th grade teacher Jamie Brown was awarded the Whites-Reinhardt Award for excellence in teaching agriculture literacy at the conference, themed “Agriculture Elevated.” The award is sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture based in Washington D.C. and recognized Brown, along with nine other teachers from around the United States as a special project with the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee. It was established to honor chairwomen, Berta White and Linda Reinhardt, who were leaders in the national effort to improve agriculture literacy.

The purpose of the award was to provide a $1200 stipend to educators active in ag literacy to attend the National Ag in the Classroom conference while honoring work in the classroom that bolsters ag literacy. Selection criteria included the demonstration of and the ability to create innovative outreach programs to instruct students about food, fiber and fuel. Brown’s 5th grade classroom is active in the school garden, providing mentoring opportunities with younger students surrounding ag literacy projects and cross curricular activities that focus on agriculture in the classroom. In addition, Brown has taught ag literacy and cross curricular art activities to her college students at Lower Columbia College in the preservice teaching program course Creative Arts Across the Curriculum.

“My first love in teaching is agriculture and history. I love sharing these learning opportunities in the classroom to bring the importance of the food and fiber industry to the forefront and provide relevant learning experiences.”

Brown will be starting her fifth year of teaching in the Wahkiakum School District this fall and joined the education faculty at Lower Columbia College in the spring of 2024. Growing up on a ranch in Colorado, agriculture became a way of life. Sharing her love of agriculture and education now is a passion she loves to share with her students. “A love of learning isn’t limited to the classroom and cultivating a love of agriculture is part of who I am.”