​Ithaca, NY: Cornell University’s Agriculture Education and Outreach program is excited to announce the 2017 “Agriculture Education Incentive Grant for New and Growing Programs.”  This program will provide local school-based agricultural education programs with grant awards to secure necessary resources for a high-quality agricultural education program.  These resources may include, but are not limited to: curriculum development, professional development, program development, resource acquisitions, and program coordination. Shari Lighthall, Director of the Agriculture Education and Outreach program stated, “The procurement of these funds will allow our programs to improve the technology available in their classroom, to purchase equipment that would otherwise be too expensive, and to offer students additional opportunities to experience leadership workshops and conferences across the state.”
 
The application for the Agriculture Education Incentive Grant for New and Growing Programs is available under the “Teacher” section of the New York FFA Association website.  Applications will be accepted throughout the fall of 2017 and awards will be announced in January 2018. For inquires and questions, interested schools should contact Kaylie Siddall, grant program manager, at ksiddall@cornell.edu .  The Agriculture Education Incentive Grant would not be possible without program supporters such as Cornell University, New York State Farm Bureau, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, and New York State Education Department.
 
Agriculture education is a unique part of career and technical education that strives to enhance student education through the three-circle model of agricultural education.  The three-circle model includes: Classroom Instruction, FFA, and Supervised Agricultural Experiences (work-based learning). Currently, there are 176 schools offering agricultural education programs to over 10,000 students across New York State.  In addition to schools that are already offering agriculture education programs, there are over sixty additional school districts hoping to start an agricultural education program.  For more information regarding New York Agriculture Education, please visit our website at www.nysffa.org .
 
To apply as a New Program, click New Program application
 
To apply as a Growing Program, click Growing Program application

This is an email posted Verbatim from Dr. Travis Park and Dean Kathryn Boor.

On behalf of Dean Kathryn Boor of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, please find additional information regarding the recent MAT decision below.

Since late fall, when we in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University announced our decision regarding MAT reaccreditation, I have heard some concerns and confusion regarding this change. With an appreciation for the wide reach of this community, I am writing to clarify our decision and to reassure you of CALS’ continuing commitment to providing educational opportunities to students with interests in agriculture.

As you may recall, CALS announced the closing of the Department of Education in 2010. That decision was finalized after considering an extensive review of options, in the context of CALS efforts to achieve Cornell’s and CALS’ long-term strategic planning objectives. At that time, education faculty were relocated to other departments. However, since then, three education professors have left, two of whom were part of the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program.

This past summer, I, along with Senior Associate Dean Max Pfeffer, met with remaining education faculty, including Professor Travis Park, to address the pending reaccreditation process, as the current ac­creditation ends in December 2013. Education professors were not confident the program could be reaccredited without replacement, and potentially new, faculty positions. Given the extensive review process that led to the decision to close the department, the college will not commit new faculty lines to the program. As a result of those discus­sions, CALS leadership and the education faculty decided not to pursue reaccreditation.

However, our decision regarding reaccreditation does not reflect a move away from agricultural education opportunities by CALS. While the end of the MAT program at Cornell University does change how students can receive their certification, the col­lege continues to offer robust opportunities to our students and to New York State. Those include:

• We will continue to offer the education minor and several majors with direct links to agriculture and education, including Agricultural Sciences, International Agriculture and Rural Development, Applied Economics and Management with a focus on Agribusiness Management, and Animal Science.

• We have developed an articulation agreement with Ithaca College (IC) for their MAT program. Cornell students minoring in education will have a direct path to the IC MAT program. Professor Park will be directly engaged with the IC program’s development.

• IC is currently exploring the expansion of their teacher certification opportunities to include agricultural sciences, earth science, physics, chemistry, and biology, in addition to the humanities and social sciences concentrations already offered at IC. Students completing the CALS education minor could also pursue an MAT through other campuses of the SUNY system, including Oswego.

• CALS has provided Professor Park with financial resources to further support his efforts to work with FFA  and agriculture education outreach programs–including Ag In the Classroom, as the college recognizes the vital importance of these initiatives. Those resources will also serve to reinforce Professor Park’s research on agricultural education.

Further, we will continue to direct effort and resources towards recruiting undergraduate students who come from an agricultural family, particularly those from New York, as part of fulfilling our land-grant mission. Those considerations extend to both first-year and transfer applicants. Materials from FFA members are noted in the admissions process, and members of our admissions team attend regional and national FFA conferences and events.

As you know, students from agricultural backgrounds enroll in the broad spectrum of CALS majors and minors. I appreciate that changes to the prior path can cause worry and frustration. I am fully confident that this evolution offers the most sound way forward as CALS strives to fully achieve its mission of teaching, research, and extension.

Posted by Bill Waite

Dear Alumni and Friends of the MAT Program and Education Minor,

Below you will find an email that has been shared with our students yesterday afternoon. As you can see, this decision is the result of an ongoing dialogue between the college and the program, and we are confident that this outcome will continue to serve the needs of our current students and future students who are interested in pursuing education as a career choice.

Please let us know of any questions or concerns.

Thank you,

Travis Park (tdp9@cornell.edu) 

Associate Professor

Director, Cornell Teacher Education

Kathryn J. Boor (kjb4@cornell.edu) 

Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

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Dear students,

 
Through collaborative discussions between CALS leadership and faculty within the MAT/education minor programs, a decision has been made to not pursue reaccreditation when our current accreditation expires. The College has reached an articulation agreement with Ithaca College for the MAT program; the popular Education minor will remain, and continue to be developed, as will a majority of the courses in the minor. Thus, students interested in educational studies at Cornell will be able to complete the minor with challenging and relevant courses. Further, completing the Education minor will prepare students to complete teacher certification through the Ithaca College Master of Arts in Teaching.

We are committed to ensuring that our current students have every opportunity to certify as teachers. Students currently enrolled, or soon to apply to the MAT, have the opportunity to certify if they graduate by December 2013. We have requested an extension of our current accreditation to July 31, 2014, so students able to complete by that date will be able to certify if we receive an extension. We are pleased with CTE’s recent growth. We will continue to support students and maintain our nearly 100% placement of graduates. Our faculty have a strong commitment to consistently and successfully serving our students.

We are proud of our Cornell Teacher Education program, one of the few in the nation that focuses solely upon the preparation of science teachers. This summer, CTE was awarded a National Science Foundation Robert F. Noyce Capacity Building grant to recruit science teachers and build capacity within the program. However, we will be modifying the activities associated with the grant to focus on further developing the education minor, recruiting science teachers, and building strategic alliances with other teacher preparation programs.  

The decision to not seek reaccreditation follows the 2012 CALS announcement to close the Education Department.  This decision was made as part of the university-wide strategic effort, Reimagining Cornell. With the closing of the Education Department, the majority of professors have either relocated to other academic departments or left Cornell University; two retired and two obtained positions at other universities. Given the departure of core teacher education professors, and the intention of no replacement hires, reaccreditation will not be pursued.

We will continue to work to provide excellent learning and encouragement for Cornell students who wish to find challenging and rewarding careers in all fields of education. If you have any questions or concerns, please direct them to Travis, Bryan, Jeff, or Bobbi. We will keep you informed about the extension of our current accreditation.

 
Thank you,

 Travis Park

Associate Professor

Director, Cornell Teacher Education

 Kathryn J. Boor

Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences