State Programs
State Summary 2009 — Mssachusetts
State Contact
Ms. Debi Hogan
Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom
P.O. Box 345
Seekonk, MA 02771
P: 508.336.4426
F: 508.336.0682
E: massaginclassroom@earthlink.net
Website
Classroom Resources
None reported for 2009
Major Program Accomplishments or Outputs
Program Summary 2009 for Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom
Mini-Grant Program: The MAC Mini-Grant awarded $2,800 in 2009, to support eight worthy initiatives submitted by Massachusetts educators. Since 1994, MAC has awarded more than $183,000 to 232 projects planned and carried out by educators across the State. Grants are awarded three times a year.
Educational Newsletters: The MAC seasonal newsletter is published three times a year. Each newsletter focuses on one aspect of the organization and also provides a four-page educational resource for one agricultural topic with background materials and activities for the classroom. Feature agricultural articles in our 2009 newsletters included: Massachusetts Agricultural History, Gardening in Containers and Sunflowers. In 2009, we printed 12,000 copies for distribution and also sent the newsletter by e-mail to more than 1,000 educators.
Workshops for Teachers on the Farm: In 2009, MAC conducted fourteen workshops for educators on farms across the state. Ten professional development points were offered for each workshops, reaching over 250 educators. Each session offered an in-depth educational overview of one aspect of Massachusetts agriculture with hands-on activities for the classrooms. Also included was a farm tour and opportunity to meet the farmer and learn about the work that goes on at the farm. Since 1996, MAC has offered more than 122 workshops on farms across the state bringing on-farm education experiences to more than 1,500 educators.
Summer Graduate-Credit Course for Teachers: In 2009, MAC held our Fourth Summer Graduate CourseGrowing Agriculture in the Classroom" in conjunction with Fitchburg State College. Eleven teachers participated, attending eight educational workshops on farms across the state. Each participant also kept a journal, took a quiz at each farm workshop, wrote three lesson plans for their classroom and presented one lesson to their peers on August 12th.
Major Program Impacts or Outcomes
Annual Winter Conference: On February 7, MAC held our 8th Annual Winter Conference at the Baird Middle School in Ludlow. 153 educators attended and participated in four workshop sessions, each with a choice of six workshops presented by a teacher or farm educator.
Fall Workshop for Educators: On November 7, MAC held our First Fall Conference for Educators at the Clay Science Center in Brookline in conjunction with adjacent Allandale Farm. 107 educators participated in the conference which offered four concurrent sessions, with a choice of 4 workshops focusing on Composting, School Gardening and other Green School initiatives.
Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar: MAC collaborated with the MA Dept. of Agricultural Resources and USDA NRCS to produce the 2010 Calendar of Massachusetts Agriculture. It is a tool to educate teachers, legislators and the general public, while also creating an attractive daily reminder of Massachusetts agriculture.
Visit the MAC Web Site at www.aginclassroom.org to find an ever expanding site including information on workshops and conferences; educational resources, mini-grants and more.
New Initiatives For 2010:
In 2010, MAC will transition our seasonal Newsletter to a web only version. This will conserve natural resources and also allow us to save financial resources.
MAC is developing lessons and resources for our website that support the Mass. Curriculum Frameworks and allow for strong integration of agriculture into the core subjects. There will be a series of lessons for each grade level from Pre-K through 12.
In 2010, MAC will work with teachers, farm educators and youth leaders to develop a series of activities to cover the different aspects of farming in the state. These activitie sheets will be posted on our website with background information.
MAC will develop and field test a fun-hands on agricultural activity for parents and children at Eastern States Exposition in September of 2010.
Biosketch
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