State Programs
State Summary 2010 — Georgia
State Contact
Ms. Donna Rocker
Georgia Farm Bureau Federation
P.O. Box 7068
Macon, GA 31210-7068
P: 478.474.0679
F: 478.405.3422
E: dhrocker@gfb.org
Website
Classroom Resources
2011 Art Contest Calendar
"Without Farmers, Georgia Can't Grow" agriculture DVD
Georgia Commodities Map
Major Program Accomplishments or Outputs
The 2011 high school art contest calendar focused on website resources for agricultural literacy. The calendar features the state winners and two honorable mentions from our statewide high school art contest. We are currently developing the calendar for 2012 which will focus on careers.
Two summer staff development courses for teachers were held in 2010. The Professional Learning Unit (PLU) credit is issued through Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The course is a minimum of 3 days and teachers receive 2 PLU credits. We had 30 teachers attending the classes. Because of economic issues, the governor has suspended teacher recertification requirements for 5 years. We are currently revamping our training program for teachers. We provide training at the local, district and state level to encourage our volunteers to be more active in their local schools with Ag in the Classroom. More volunteers are attending the Agriculture in the Classroom National Conference. Our annual Educational Leadership Conference (formerly Women Leadership Conference) places heavy emphasis on Ag in the Classroom types of programs and activities. We continue to distribute the Georgia commodities map developed in 2008 and revised in 2010. To date we have distributed more than 24,000 copies.
Each year the GFB State Women's Committee chooses a Georgia commodity on which to place special emphasis. For 2010-2011 the commodity is peanuts. We have a set of lesson plans as well as a list of books and a bookmark.
We updated theWith Farmers, Georgia Can't Grow" DVD in 2010. This video highlights Georgia agriculture by land regions and is designed for a variety of audiences including students, civic clubs and agriculture groups. We have distributed more than 700 copies of the video.
Major Program Impacts or Outcomes
The largest impact comes from our county Farm Bureaus who spend countless people-hours doing classroom presentations, conducting Farm Days at Schools and on farms, providing educational materials, and assisting with school projects. With 159 counties, GFB volunteers reach about 20,000 students each year.
Teacher training is an important component of Georgia AITC. The PLU courses, which are 3 days in length, impact the fewest number of teachers but are much more likely to foster teacher use in the classroom.
Biosketch
Donna Rocker has been with Georgia Farm Bureau since 1986, primarily coordinating the Georgia Agriculture in the Classroom program. In 1999, the GFB Women's Leadership Committee was added to her responsibilities. Since 1999, the Women's Leadership Committee has greatly increased their focus on youth education.
Donna received an associates degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and a B.A. in Psychology from Georgia College & State University.
She was part of the team to develop the AITC Consortium and has served as a regional representative and secretary for that organization.