State Programs
State Summary 2011 — Georgia
State Contact
Ms. Donna Rocker
Georgia Farm Bureau Federation
P.O. Box 7068
Macon, GA 31210-7068
P: 478.474.0679
E: dhrocker@gfb.org
Website
Classroom Resources
2012 Art Contest Calendar
"Without Farmers, Georgia Can"e;"e;t Grow" agriculture DVD
Georgia Commodities Map
Lesson Plan and Teacher Resource Booklets for teachers (new)
Major Program Accomplishments or Outputs
We had two major new projects in 2011. The first was receiving the grant of the My American Farm kiosk from American Farm Bureau. We displayed the kiosk at the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition in October 2011 where approximately 5,000 persons had an opportunity to explore through the games.
The second project was the introduction of a series of one-day Educator Workshops and Tours sponsored and coordinated through the county Farm Bureaus. One workshop was held in November and several others are on the books for 2012.
The 2012 high school art contest calendar focused on the My American Farm program. A comprehensive list of educational web sites featuring agriculture is included in the calendar which features the state winners and two honorable mentions from our statewide high school art contest.
Changes in staff development requirements for the state resulted in the planning of one summer course in 2011. We are picking up teachers in the new one-day workshops and are planning three summer courses for 2012.
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. In 2011 we distributed more than 20,000 copies. We also updated the video Without Agriculture, Georgia Ca't Grow and continue to use this with all teacher training. County Farm Bureaus also show this video to students in their county each year. Each year the GFB State Womens Leadership Committee chooses a Georgia commodity on which to place special emphasis. For 2011-2012 the commodity is beef. We have a set of lesson plans as well as a bookmark.
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 30,000 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. The new one-day Educator Workshops and Tours introduced in 2010 will potentially reach 300 teachers around the state.
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 is currently pursuing a Masters in Adult Education at The University of Georgia.
She was part of the team to develop the AITC Consortium and has served as a regional representative and secretary for that organization.