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STATE SUMMARY 2006 |
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ARIZONA
State Contact:
Ms. Monica Pastor
Univ. of AZ Cooperative Extension
4341 E. Broadway Road
Phoenix, AZ 85040 |
Phone: (602) 470-8086 ext. 317
Fax: (602) 470-8092
E-mail: mpastor@cals.arizona.edu
Website |
Major projects accomplished this year
- Fifteenth Annual Summer Agricultural Institute was held for 26 educators with help from 80 volunteers giving 760 hours of service. Ten-thousand dollars from 31 agribusinesses and organizations funded the five-day Institute that traveled through four counties. The Food, Land & People curriculum and Arizona Specialty Crop Lessons are provided free to the participants.
- A small research study was conducted by a graduate student that evaluated the impact of the Ag Literacy program. This project demonstrated that fifth grade students of Ag Literacy program-trained teachers improved their writing scores on the state's mandatory test. The study was peer-reviewed.
- A graduate student is evaluating an assessment that is pre- and post-administered to the Summer Ag Institute participants. It has been submitted for peer review.
- Another graduate student is assisting in conducting the USDA-funded Arizona Agriculture in the Classroom: Academic Achievement Study and has submitted a poster for peer review.
- Maricopa County Farm Bureau increased its funding to half of the Program Coordinator's salary to have trained volunteers who give educationally appropriate presentations in classrooms. Volunteers receive four hours of training on five lessons and are given a box filled with all necessary materials.
- Fifty-nine volunteers went into 260 classrooms in 86 schools and read to 5037 third grade students on Arizona Agricultural Literacy Day.
- A partnership has been formed with Western Growers Association to coordinate six-hour workshops for their Gardening With Children grant recipients.
- A partnership has been formed with a professor at ASU's College of Education to provide pre-service teacher workshops each semester in her class.
Major impacts the program had this year
- The 131 educators who participated in one of eight workshops are teaching 6912 students this year.
- Two-hundred seventy-one volunteers provided 1904 hours of service, which has a value of $33,415.
- The 131 teachers who participated in a workshop estimate they will teach an average of thirteen more years which translates into almost 90,000 students being taught by an Ag Literacy program-trained teacher.
- 100% of workshop participants demonstrate an increased knowledge about Arizona agriculture through performance-based assessments of their curriculum presentations during the workshop.
- Maricopa County Farm Bureau increased its funding by 33% for the Ag Educators program that trains volunteers to utilize academically appropriate curriculum in their classroom presentations.
- 92% of the Summer Agriculture Institute participants rated the Institute as "more valuable" than any other in-service program they have attended.
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