Indiana Agricultural Teachers’ Professional Development Grants – 2023 Impact
Draws on data from the 2023 FFA Advisor Needs Assessment survey and records of the 25 Teacher Professional Development Grant recipients funded by National FFA in Indiana in 2023.
Key Points
- 25 school-based agriculture educators in Indiana received a Teacher Professional Development Grant from National FFA in 2023.
- 22 of the 25 recipients are licensed educators, with the rest alternatively certified or on special/emergency certification.
- Grant recipients serve students in grades 6-12, with student populations ranging from 180 to 2,012 and 42 to 355 agricultural education students.
- 22% of 2023 FFA Advisor Needs Assessment respondents lacked access to valuable professional development opportunities.
- 47% of respondents said budget/cost constraints greatly influence their participation in professional development.
Professional Development in Agricultural Education
Nearly one in four respondents (22%) to the 2023 FFA Advisor Needs Assessment somewhat or strongly disagreed with the statement, “I have access to a variety of valuable professional development opportunities.”
Almost half (47%) of respondents to the 2023 FFA Advisor Needs Assessment said budget/cost constraints have a great deal of influence on their decision to participate in professional development opportunities.
25 school-based agriculture educators received a Teacher Professional Development Grant from National FFA in 2023.
- 22 recipients are licensed educators, while one recipient is alternatively certified and two are special grant/permission or emergency certified educators.
- The 2023 recipients of the Teacher Professional Development Grants serve students in grades 6-12.
- The 2023 recipients of the Teacher Professional Development Grants serve student populations from 180 students to 2,012 students.
- The 2023 recipients of the Teacher Professional Development Grants serve 42 to 355 agricultural education students.
From my experience, I now make a more concentrated effort to give my ELL students better-translated materials whenever possible. I also try my best to use phrases and responses that I have learned from them in Spanish to hopefully make them feel welcomed and seen. My hope is that by taking more time and care in this area of teaching, that I can better continue to remove barriers from ELL students joining and becoming a part of my school’s agricultural and FFA programs.
Indiana FFA Advisor on Attending the Agriculture Future of America Service Learning in Puerto Rico
