Vance Charter teacher wins agricultural grant
Jul. 15—HENDERSON — Vance Charter School teacher Kelly Dixon has earned an Ag in the Classroom Going Local grant from North Carolina Farm Bureau.
Dixon started the project last winter, the title of her proposal from the grant was "Goat To Be NC Agriculture." Dixon plans to use the money from the grant to create a hands-on learning lab for students. The project will allow students to take raw product from dairy goats and turn it into value added products. Those products will be made by the students, marketed, and sold to community members. Sales will be conducted through local farmers markets.
The grant is awarded to North Carolina teachers from The North Carolina Farm Bureau through its Ag in the Classroom Going Local program providing agricultural outreach grants. Applicants are asked to submit a proposal along with the application explaining how they'll relate NC agricultural industries with NC standard course of study. The grants are valued at up to $500 each, helping Pre-K through 12th-grade teachers provide valuable, real-world education and experiences about farming and agribusiness, combining it with the school system's common core and essential standards. County Farm Bureaus assist in providing information regarding the grants and curriculum to teachers throughout North Carolina.
North Carolina Farm Bureau President Shawn Harding shared this message about the importance of the grant; "There is no more valuable resource in North Carolina than our students and the teachers charged with their education. Through our Ag in the Classroom program, the state's farmers are investing in the future leaders of North Carolina, as well as the future of agriculture, which is the state's top economic sector."
Grants are awarded twice a year and submissions deadlines are April 15 and Nov. 15. All North Carolina public and private school educators are eligible. The application can be found at www.ncagintheclassroom.com.
