Summary 2023 — Pennsylvania

State Contact

Innovative Programming

We continue to partner with our PA Farm Bureau Ag Promotion Committee to offer Ag Crates - educational boxes for elementary teachers. Our education specialist sourced the books, developed the digital resources and lesson plans. This year we expanded the opportunity for classroom engagement. More than 300 boxes were sold this year.

This year we added a new 2D experience where students received a set of decoder glasses to discover what non traditional products come form agriculture. This was debut at Ag Progress Days in State College.

Major Program Impacts or Outcomes

Pre/Post assessments of the 1.0 Ag Institute participants showed an increase in their ag awareness from 55% pre assessment to 90% post assessment in the highest pre and post assessments. Pre/Post assessments of the 2.0 Ag Institute participants showed an increase in their ag awareness from 69% pre assessment to 91% post assessment in the highest pre and post assessments.

Impact/outcomes:

• Improved understanding of agriculture and its importance in our lives.
• Increased understanding of where food and fiber comes from.
• Increased understanding of farming and agriculture and its related areas including careers.
• Increased excitement for learning and the scientific process.

Success of this program is measured in several ways. First, pre and post assessments are performed by the students to determine the knowledge gained during their lesson. Using this data, PAFOAF determines the impact and effectiveness of the lessons. Typically, scores increase (pre and post testing) by about 10% in every lesson evaluated. The classroom teachers at the schools visited also complete electronic evaluations to assess the lab teachers and their class's experience. All data is evaluated and reported on by PAFOAF's Elementary Education Specialist.

Success is also evaluated by calculating the percentage of re-visits, as a school's desire to have the Mobile Ag Lab return shows that schools are finding value in the program. PAFOAF's return rate goal is 70-75%, and this goal is typically met each year.

Program Leader Biosketch

Paula Shoop is the Elementary Education Specialist with the PA Friends of Agriculture Foundation. She has a B.S in Biology from Delaware Valley University and K-6 Teaching Certification from Wilson College. Paula has been with the Foundation for almost 7 years.

Charlene Shupp Espenshade is the executive director for the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation. She has a bachelor's degree in dairy science and a minor in communication studies from Virginia Tech. Espenshade joined the foundation in 2018 as its executive director. She and her husband live on a dairy farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Charlene earned her Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) certification in 2022.