(Adirondack Central School Agriculture Teacher Selected for Educator Award )
ST LOUIS – Heather Sweeney, agricultural educator at Adirondack Central School in Boonville, N.Y., is one of 36 individuals nationwide who received the Teachers Turn the Key Award, given November 19 at the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) annual convention in St. Louis.
The Teachers Turn the Key Award program (TTTK) is a scholarship to allow early career agricultural educators to attend the annual NAAE convention, giving them an opportunity to become involved with their professional association on a national level. TTTK participants take part in special programming geared toward agricultural educators in the early stages of their careers.
Sweeney has been the agriculture teacher at Adirondack Central School since 2009. Adirondack's school district is small - enrollment K-12 averages 1,500 students per year. Sweeney's agriculture courses are offered to student's 9th-12th grade, where they have the option of taking agriculture science, animal science, veterinary science, special mechanics, and plant science/landscaping. All students are required to develop a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) during their time in the agriculture program. This past year Sweeney has improved the school facilities in order to better serve her students and help them improve their SAE's.
"The students in the agriculture program have been exposed to a whole new world. They have a dedicated teacher who is truly willing to go the extra mile," said Edward S. Niznik, Principal, of Adriondack Junior High School.
(Retired Agriculture Teacher Selected for Educator Award)
ST LOUIS – William Ransom of Old Forge, N.Y. is one of only six individuals nationwide who received the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) Lifetime Achievement Award on November 18 at the NAAE annual convention in St. Louis.
For the past 35 years, Ransom has been extensively involved in New York agricultural education as not only a teacher but an agricultural advocate. It is Ransom's mission to serve agriculture students through school-based agricultural education programs and affiliated organizations. Ransom retired from teaching in Greenville, N.Y. in 1990 but continued his service to agricultural education through the New York State Association of Career and Technical Education (NYSACTE) and the New York State Fair Association. Through service in these types of organizations, Ransom was able to promote agricultural education programs and the FFA. Ransom believes that every teacher has a voice and learns how to use it when actively involved in professional organizations such as the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE).
It was essential to Ransom that someone be a voice for New York state agricultural education programs to ensure monies for their programs. His passion for agricultural education motivated him to lobby on behalf of programs across the state. In 2005, a plan to build an FFA area at the New York State Fairgrounds to help educate the public on the benefits of FFA was implemented because of Ransom's effective legislative visits. Ransom has even worked with the New York State FFA Foundation to provide funds for FFA members to attend conferences, sponsor Career Development Events (CDEs), and help start new school-based agricultural education programs. With such support from state legislators, Ransom works to connect students to their supporters, linking local programs to their state government.
Ransom has received countless awards and honors for his dedication to agricultural education, including nearly every award afforded by the New York Association of Agricultural Educators (NYAAE). He has also been recognized with the Honorary State and American FFA Degrees.
(Cobleskill Agriculture Teacher Selected for Educator Award)
ST LOUIS – Terry Hughes of Cobleskill, N. Y. is one of only six individuals nationwide who received the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) Outstanding Service Citation on November 18 at the NAAE annual convention in St. Louis.
Hughes has been actively involved in agricultural education for the past 35 years. He currently serves as the Mohawk Valley Career Pathways Coordinator, working with Perkins funding to ensure monies are dispersed to programs in Mohawk Valley and educating teachers on how to obtain funds for their own programs. Hughes also conducts leadership workshops and presentations about the importance of agriculture and agricultural education to schools throughout the state. It is important to Hughes to serve agricultural educators on all levels. Hughes even volunteers his time in local programs in the Cobleskill and surrounding communities whenever any help is needed.
Hughes has received countless honors and awards for his service to New York agricultural education, including Honorary State and American FFA Degrees. He has served on the board of many agricultural education organizations in the state and nation, including National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE). It is important to Hughes to be involved in such organizations, as they allow him the opportunity to help enhance agricultural education.
"Terry Hughes was my reason for becoming active in both New York Association of Agricultural Educators (NYAAE) and NAAE and I continue to draw strength from his wisdom and skill," said Tara Berescik, Hughes' colleague and agriculture teacher at nearby Tri Valley Central School.
(Timothy Montondo of Ward's Natural Science Selected for Educator Cooperation Award)
ST LOUIS – Timothy Montondo of West Henrietta, N.Y. is one of only six individuals nationwide who received the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) Outstanding Cooperation on November 18 at the NAAE annual convention in St. Louis.
Montondo has been involved in the New York Association of Agricultural Educators (NYAAE) for the past 10 years through Ward's Natural Science (Ward's), a New York-based science education company. His passion for science has inspired him to work with agriculture teachers to implement fun, effective curriculum into their programs. Montondo contributes new ideas for lessons and creates partnerships to learn new teaching strategies on how to engage students. He also works with NYAAE's annual conference and the National FFA Organization's annual convention as a presenter and workshop coordinator on behalf of Ward's. It is not uncommon for him to showcase hissing cockroaches and tropical millipedes at the FFA Exhibit Hall each year. His goal is to always excite students and teachers through his efforts as he believes agricultural education is the ideal outlet for his creative ideas.
Montondo also understands the need for school administrations to see value in agriculture programs. He meets with administrators to discuss their needs, plans how he will help that program meet those needs, and then puts those plans into action. Teachers look forward to seeing an email from him in their inbox, as he always brings good news to their programs. He also works with budget-challenged teachers to ensure they are able to conduct the lessons they want to by offering older, yet high quality merchandise that Ward's can no longer sell. Montondo is a true extension of the agricultural education profession as he has spent the last decade enhancing programs in the state of New York.
(Tri-Valley Agriculture Teacher Selected for Educator Award)
ST LOUIS – Tara Berescik of Grahamsville, N.Y. is one of only six individuals nationwide who received the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) Teacher Mentor Award on November 19 at the NAAE annual convention in St. Louis.
Berescik has been teaching agriculture for 11 years. In that time, she has not only taught high school students but also mentored five agriculture student teachers, three new teachers at Tri-Valley High School, and many fellow agricultural educators. Berescik's passion for mentoring was ignited during her first year of teaching, when a student named Catherine became ill and was hospitalized. Berescik visited Catherine during her time in the hospital, helped her earn a scholarship for FFA leadership development, and saw her blossom into an enthusiastic FFA member and officer. After Catherine's death, Berescik began to realize all the lives that Catherine had touched; fellow students, teachers and most importantly her own.
"Good teaching means that we are learning to do things better. We are putting in the time to stay on the cutting edge for our students, and we are working to provide for ourselves and teaching others to be able to do the same," said Berescik.
"I would like to state that for the past eight years, I have always strived to become more like Ms. Berescik. She is my role model in every way and each day I measure my success by whether or not I have done something that she herself would be proud of," said Kaylie Ackerley, a graduate of Berescik's agriculture class and an agricultural education major at Cornell University.
Each of the six regional Teacher Mentor Award winners received a plaque and stipend to attend the NAAE convention in St Louis. CEV Multimedia sponsors the Teacher Mentor Award. NAAE is the professional association for agricultural educators. Its mission is "professionals providing agricultural education for the global community through visionary leadership, advocacy and service." The NAAE office is located in Lexington, Ky.
