With the global population now over 8 billion people, feeding and fueling the world has never been a bigger challenge. Meeting this challenge requires innovative approaches to agriculture and developing the next generation of scientists and leaders through education.
Metro Middle School teacher Debbie Juracich (Mrs. J) has been selected to participate in the Teacher Leader Community, a prestigious leadership program from Nourish the Future designed to address these critical needs.
Nourish the Future is a national STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) initiative connecting students to modern agriculture. Its mission is to help teachers inspire their students to learn science, solve problems, and see the possibilities of careers in agriculture.
Mrs. J, who teaches science at Metro, was selected as one of only 32 teachers nationwide to participate in the year-long fellowship supported by partners like the United Soybean Board, the National Corn Growers Association, and Bayer. Industry partners fund the Nourish the Future program to help farmers educate the public on modern farming and the science behind their practices.
Nourish the Future education lead Heather Bryan summed up the importance of connecting the agriculture industry to the classroom, "Effective STEM teaching requires real-world context, which students and teachers find accessible in agriculture."
The year-long fellowship provides teachers with a comprehensive professional development experience, including a behind-the-scenes tour of the research happening at Bayer Crop Science in St. Louis, and attendance at the nation’s leading agriculture conference: Commodity Classic. Mrs. J will receive free classroom resources, specialized training in leadership and curriculum development, and access to additional industry experts from companies like Syngenta. As a key component of the program, she will present a professional development session to share the science of agriculture with colleagues in Ohio.
"Learning science through agriculture inspires students to pursue critical scientific careers—many of which are currently going unfilled in the agriculture industry," added Bryan.
For more information, visit nourishthefuture.org.