An Ambassador for Agricultural Education

Last school year, agriculture science teacher Rachel Kinsaul stepped away from her classroom at Morgan County High School in Madison, Ga., to travel the state after winning the 2026 Georgia Teacher of the Year award. As part of her duties, she gave 84 keynote presentations, attended over 75 meetings (in person and virtual) and appeared on six podcasts — all while spreading the word about the benefits of agricultural education. 

Kinsaul was hesitant about leaving her students for a year, but she ultimately decided the opportunity to talk about agricultural education would be worth the time away. “I thought, ‘I need to take this leap and commit to this because this is a huge opportunity for ag education to get this platform,’ ” Kinsaul says. 

While serving as Georgia Teacher of the Year, Kinsaul learned she was one of the top five finalists for the National Teacher of the Year award by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSS). Although she did not win the top award, she got the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., for interviews and to meet with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. 

Her Impact Blooms

Ironically, Kinsaul didn’t originally plan to become an educator and majored in animal science at the University of Georgia. But after working at a kid’s camp during college (and loving it), her advisor encouraged her to consider becoming an ag teacher. She went on to get her master’s degree in ag leadership and has been an ag teacher and FFA advisor for the past 15 years.

Kinsaul’s impact as an educator can be seen in many ways around Morgan County High School. When she started there 10 years ago, the agriculture science program was 72% male, so she suggested developing a floral design program to attract more female students. Not only is the agriculture program now 44% female, but the floral design program (an expensive endeavor) has become self-sustaining — and then some. “I told my school, if you’ll give me $1,000, I won’t ask for another dime,” Kinsaul says. “Eight years later, we bring in $60,000 a year, which is enough to cover the costs of the floral design class plus a lot of other FFA programs as well.” 

In the floral design class, students operate a floral subscription program, creating a bouquet every month for 75 paying customers. They also help Kinsaul with flowers for a dozen or so weddings a year. “I think working on real events teaches another level of work ethic and life skills,” Kinsaul says of her focus on project-based learning and real-world clients. And while some students might initially question their ability to handle real world clients, they quickly learn to believe in themselves because Kinsaul encourages them to do so. “I just tell them they can do it and don’t give them a lot of options to tell me no,” Kinsaul says with a laugh.