Advocates & Volunteers

Partnership in Agricultural Literacy Award 2024

CARTER HUMPHRIES SELECTED FOR THE 2024 PARTNERSHIP IN AGRICULTURAL LITERACY AWARD

The National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization (NAITCO) and National Grange Foundation have selected Carter Humphries, a 4-H Agent from Virginia, as the recipient of its 2024 Partnership in Agricultural Literacy (PAL) Award.

Carter is a 4-H Agent in Henrico County, a suburb of Richmond, Virginia.  As this is a heavily suburban area, Carter's programming is often the students' first and only experience with agriculture.  She strives to bring quality agricultural literacy education to youth through a variety of programs. To support these efforts, Virginia AITC has awarded Henrico 4-H multiple grants and in-kind donations for school-enrichment programs including Embryology, Winged Wonders, Agriculture Literacy Week Kits, and AGventure Days. All of these projects have centered around a common goal: to increase agricultural literacy through classroom lessons that consist of hands-on projects or ready-made educational kits. 

Carter consistently strives to develop new ways to engage and excite both educators and youth about agriculture. In addition to VAITC, partnerships with Henrico Junior Master Gardeners, Henrico County Public Schools Title I Department, Henrico Farm Bureau, and Virginia Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals have helped make this a reality. Thanks to the support of the HCPS Title I Department, Henrico 4-H received $17,000 worth of in-kind support for the Embryology Project from HCPS Title I Department. This allowed the purchase of 45 Embryology Kits for Title I elementary schools to participate in the project. Grant funds allowed 4-H to purchase books about chickens, materials for hands-on lessons, and the "Learning Resources Chick Life Cycle Exploration Set" which was used by Carter and multiple instructors throughout the project and during lessons. A resource website for educators was created in 2021. The website is updated each year and contains informational PowerPoints, videos, lesson plans and activities, posters, and other educational materials. Each year, Carter creates a competition component for the schools involved, including a chicken dance contest and Embryology Writing Expo, where youth could write fictional or non-fictional stories about the project.

Most recently, Title I schools have requested agricultural literacy materials and kits to support their "STREAM Nights": STEM, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Agriculture/Arts, and Math. The schools purchased AITC's "Agriculture Literacy Kits" to hand out to families who attend the event.

Since 2019, Carter has reached over 25,000 students in the classroom. Forty-two out of forty-five elementary schools have been reached through an AITC project. Feedback from educators has allowed Carter to grow, adapt, and develop programming that meets the needs of Henrico County. Throughout the years, educators have unanimously agreed that students' understanding, and appreciation of agriculture is greatly impacted through the projects they participate in. Providing agricultural education in the classroom has given youth the chance to participate in activities and explore agricultural-related topics including animal science and horticulture - chances they may not have otherwise had. Students take what they learn in the classroom and apply that knowledge to their everyday lives.

"The National Grange and Grange Foundation are proud to present this award each year. We believe in supporting educators like Carter, who think outside the box when it comes to introducing students from diverse backgrounds to the awesome possibilities and potential in agriculture," said National Grange President Christine E. Hamp.

"The Partners for Agricultural Literacy honors informal educators like Carter Humphries from Virginia. The state and territory programs that make up the National Agriculture in the Classroom program depend on volunteers to reach students across grade levels to showcase agriculture in their local area. We are proud of the work all of our partners do to help further the message of agriculture," said NAITCO President, Kevin Daugherty.

"Ms. Humphries is a true partner with Virginia's Agriculture in the Classroom program, utilizing many of our resources to effectively connect children in her community to agriculture. Without partners like Carter our program would not be able to directly impact as many children." said Tammy Maxey, Executive Director of Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom.

Carter was honored at the 2024 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference "Agriculture Elevated" that took place June 25-27, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Grange Foundation supports youth development, promotes agriculture education and research, improves communities, and fosters culture, heritage, citizenship and charitable activities. The Grange Foundation was formed in 1964 to aid in furthering the ability of the National Grange to provide opportunities to our next generation of leaders and instill agricultural interest/rural issues/and community service issues and career opportunity and community service as a way of life. To learn more about the Grange Foundation visit https://grangefoundation.org/.

NAITCO is a non-profit organization representing Agriculture in the Classroom programs in most of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Its mission is to educate Pre-K-12 teachers and students about the importance of agriculture by providing them with web-based materials, workshops and awards programs that demonstrate how agriculture can be used to effectively teach core subject areas. To learn more about NAITCO, please visit agclassroom.org.

This work is supported by the Agriculture in the Classroom Program, grant no. 2018-45042-28608/project accession no. 1016518, from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT ANDY GUFFEY at 501-339-6140 or director@naitco.org