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Sullivan Elementary School fourth grade students Carter Standerfer and Gavin Wade learned how cranberries are grown and harvested, then completed an Ag in the Classroom STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Challenge to see who could build the tallest free-standing tower using only cranberries and toothpicks.

•January 30, 2019•

The Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) program has announced that Moultrie County Ag in the Classroom has been funded for the 2018-2019 School Year. Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom based these grants to counties off the 2017-2018 year-end reports.
In 2017-2018, the Illinois AITC program reached 694,449 students with a message about agriculture. Additionally, 41,369 teachers and 1,166 pre-service teachers learned how to incorporate agriculture into their existing curriculum while meeting state learning standards.
Kevin Daugherty, Education Director for the Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom program, said, “County level programs are the biggest strength of our IAITC efforts. Illinois has the benefit of local contacts that provide content knowledge and easy strategies for teachers to utilize. The county programs work to integrate agriculture into existing classroom curriculum.”
In Moultrie County alone almost 6,000 students were reached with multiple lessons regarding agriculture. Students did everything from estimating the number of seeds in various sized pumpkins to looking at maps to learn where fruits and vegetables actually grow. The Moultrie County elementary students are engaged and enthusiastic about learning the vastness of agriculture, and how ag is needed for food, fuel and fiber.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.