State honors for Albion ag program
Agricultural Educators name Albion outstanding ag program in NYS, citing community service and instruction
File photos by Tom Rivers – The Albion FFA chapter delivered 19,000 pounds of produce to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee last December, one of the chapter’s community outreach efforts.
ALBION – At Albion the FFA program is more than learning about agriculture and leadership. The program, behind teacher Adam Krenning, has put community service and partnerships with local farmers at the top of its mission.
The FFA last December worked with local farmers to collect and deliver 19,000 pounds of donated produce for local food pantries.
The FFA participates in many community festivals, reads books about growing food to elementary students, and runs an annual “mini-farm” where animals and farm equipment come to the school for elementary students to tour.
The Albion chapter hosted the state FFA convention in 2013, welcoming more than 1,000 students to Albion.
The New York Association of Agricultural Educators has taken notice of the Albion program and has named it the state winner of the “outstanding Middle School/Secondary School Program.” Albion will receive the honor later this week during an FFA training program at Camp Oswegatchie.
These Albion High School students – Aaron Burnside, Gary Moore and Dillon Black – were out in a corn field with other members of Adam Krenning’s agricultural science class last September. The corn was planted in the ag program’s 5-acre land lab.
“Under the direction of Mr. Adam Krenning, the Albion Agriculture Program has excelled in the areas of quality instruction, FFA initiatives, and community involvement and has emerged as a leader and a model in our state association,” according to a letter to the Albion Board of Education from Carol Wright, NYAAE president, and Shari Lighthall, Agriculture Education Outreach program specialist for Cornell University.
Wright and Lighthall praised Krenning for his work as FFA advisor and agriculture classroom teacher. Krenning is active in state-wide professional development activities, working to improve the rigor and relevance of the Albion program.
The NYAAE said several “exceptional” candidates were considered for the award, but Krenning and the Albion program rose to the top.
Albion will now be considered at the regional level for top agriculture education program.
