Todd Eick, BOCES animal science teacher, wins state award
Press Release, Orleans/Niagara BOCES
Provided photo: Dr. Michael Weyrauch (left), Orleans/Niagara BOCES director of Career & Technical Education and Adult Education, congratulates Todd Eick on his award from the New York Association of Agricultural Educators.
Todd Eick, an Orleans/Niagara BOCES animal science teacher, was announced as the New York State winner of the Ideas Unlimited Award.
Eick, who works at the Niagara Career and Technical Education Center, was recognized during the June 2026 New York Association of Agricultural Educators (NYAAE) Conference at the Oswegatchie Education Center for his dedication, leadership, and commitment to agricultural education.
The annual conference celebrates excellence in agricultural education by recognizing teachers whose passion for student success, innovative instruction, and service to their schools and communities exemplify the highest standards of the profession.
The NYAAE says, “Through hard work, dedication to students, and an unwavering commitment to the school district and community, Mr. Eick has demonstrated the qualities of excellence that define outstanding agricultural educators.”
Eick, a former teacher and FFA advisor at Medina Central School, was recognized for the development a project he titles Threads of Agriculture – Weaving Global Agricultural Data into Fiber Art.
The weaving project is an interdisciplinary activity where students design and produce a circular loop scarf that represents and graphs agricultural data. Students collect authentic agricultural data, organize the information for data interpretation and then weave a finished agricultural product that also functions as a linear proportion color graph.
This project can engage students in a global agricultural understanding, fiber and textile production and data analysis – and it is a way to make the hot career skill of data science interesting in a way that can be difficult. Students report strong engagement because of their own decision making, hands-on production and personal research. Students of multiple learning styles find a place where their style is engaged and the project is aligned with standards and reinforces academic concepts in science, mathematics and art.
The NYAAE and Orleans/Niagara BOCES congratulate Eick on his well-deserved award and his continued contributions to agricultural education across New York State. This is the third time that he has won this award at the state level and he is also a previous winner at the national level.
His commitment to developing future leaders in agriculture strengthens local communities and inspires the next generation of agricultural professionals.
“I’m honored and humbled to be recognized by my peers in our professional state organization,” Eick said. “The other projects that were nominated were equally (if not more so) demanding of this recognition. I’m proud of this project, what it provides for the students, and is a great way to incorporate the fiber industry into our curriculum. It is also a wonderful introduction for students to global agriculture.”
