The Keokuk High School was presented with a $15,000 grant for the new Future Farmers of America (FFA) Chapter, which boasts 82 student members.
The FFA chapter is a part of the brand new Agriculture program that started this fall, which is a pathway for students as part of Career and Technical Education (CTE) at KHS.
“The FFA program is a huge opportunity for students of different backgrounds to participate in many different ways,” Brady Martin, Agriculture Program director and FFA advisor at KHS, said. This grant, “helps eliminate barriers right off the bat because most of chapter funding comes from fundraisers in the fall and spring.”
Martin applied for the grant in May through Farm Credit Services, the grant provides Ag programs with funds to start the program, and will be used to purchase extra FFA jackets for student members, pay for FFA trips and competitions, help students with dues, also purchase new equipment, banners and flags to run official meetings.
FFA members will show animals at the county and state fair level and go on trips around the State of Iowa and the United States to represent Keokuk.
“It is important to model for students what leadership is like and how important it is,” Martin said. “They should be proud of the town they are a part of and want to make it a better place.”
The addition of the Agriculture program at KHS was originally proposed based on the results of an interest survey of KHS students, and the results showed a high interest in agriculture. The FFA program was introduced based on the scholarship opportunities and the hands-on training that students would get, which would make KCSD competitive with schools that do offer those programs.