The Agricultural Education Mission
What is Agricultural Education?
Yes, agricultural education classes offer traditional opportunities in livestock, crops, and Ag mechanics. However, we remain on the cutting edge of technology by teaching students skills in GPS and precision agriculture, science, engineering, business, marketing, and sales to name a few.
FFA continues to be the premier student organization for leadership and personal skill development. It is through the FFA that students learn to be productive citizens and participate in activities which reinforce why these students will be the leaders of tomorrow’s agriculture industry. With 320 members, the Kalispell FFA represents 7% of Montana’s total FFA membership!
SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) is work-based learning at its best. Ag Ed promotes entrepreneurship, productive work habits, and the application of skills learned in class to the real world. In 2015, Montana Ag students documented earnings at more than $7 million! Many of those dollars were earned through entrepreneurial ventures and the rest by being dependable workers at a job. Either of these scenarios provides students with real world experience, the opportunity to explore careers and make future contacts, and an idea of the further post-secondary training necessary to enter into their chosen career. Plus, they learn to be good business people by learning to keep financial records. Kalispell Agricultural Education students documented earnings of $310,000 and worked nearly 25,000 hours in 2015.