What is Agricultural Education?
Agricultural education teaches students about agriculture, food and natural resources through science, math, communications, leadership, management and technology.
Agricultural education is delivered through three interconnected components:
Classroom or laboratory instruction.
Experiential learning — Learning experiences that usually take place outside of the classroom, known as a Supervised Agricultural Experience Project
Leadership education — delivered through student organizations such as the National FFA Organization.
Onalaska High School's Agricultural Education Program encompasses numerous classes and allows many opportunities to get out and learn about Leadership and Agriculture in our community, state, and nation!
The 3-Circle Model of Ag Education at Onalaska High School
The Classroom/Laboratory: Where the instruction happens
The Classroom is where you gather the base knowledge to apply to the other two circles! There are many courses offered at Onalaska for students to take. We are limited to what we can offer each year, but we have offered these courses over the past 5 years: Ag Biology, Ag Business, Ag Chemistry, Ag Communications, Animal Science, Floral Design, Greenhouse Management, Plant Science, and Senior Success.
Supervised Agricultural Experience Projects
SAE projects allow students to take their learning beyond the 4 walls of our classroom. Students choose the type of projects they want to undertake that aligns with their goals in their learning. This can be an Agriscience Fair Project, raising an Animal for the SWW Fair, having a lawn-mowing business, volunteering at the Animal Shelter, and many more. For more information on SAE projects, check out the SAE page HERE.
The National FFA Organization
All Career and Technical Education classes offer the ability for students to grow as leaders through Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs). Agriculture Education has the most traditional and the largest youth organization in the US through the FFA. The Mission Statement of the National FFA Organization is
FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
At Onalaska, we offer students many opportunities as we are an affiliate chapter. Students can choose how much involvement they would like to have at the local, state, and national level. For more updates and information on our chapter, please visit our chapter website HERE.