How do you reach busy teachers with new information? They’re already trying to tune into the specific needs of students, keeping records, communicating with parents, sanitizing desks and supplies, planning lessons…oh, and teaching.
That’s where the Ag Literacy Ambassadors come in. Each year, DeKalb County Farm Bureau enlists the help of teachers to share ag literacy information with their fellow educators.
Most of the 42 elementary, middle, and high school buildings in DeKalb County have an Ambassador. Their role is to share and promote information about ag literacy programs and resources to the other teachers in their buildings. They also distribute items like the farm fact calendars provided by Illinois Ag in the Classroom and books donated annually to school libraries.
To aid them in their Ambassador role, Farm Bureau offers a special workshop each fall. The workshop highlights resources like the AgriLearning Kits and Ag Mags, and reviews programs such as Ag in the Classroom presentations and the Summer Ag Institute. Workshop participants also try new activities and discuss ways to address agricultural topics such as food safety and the environment.
New Teachers Gifted with Totes
DeKalb County Farm Bureau’s Ag Literacy program undertook a new way to connect with teachers this fall: New Teacher Totes! Elementary and middle school principals and Ag Literacy Ambassadors were invited to request tote bags for new classroom teachers in their buildings. Each tote contained a children’s book, related lesson plan, classroom set of Ag Mags, activity supplies, and other resources customized to the teacher’s grade level and subject area. Thirty-eight new teachers received bags.
