WAYNE – Several educational partners in the state of Nebraska came together Tuesday afternoon where the official signing of a Northeast Nebraska Agriculture and Natural Resources Education Compact was held.
The event started in the Wayne Community Schools lecture hall before moving to the Ag wing in the Wayne Jr/Sr High School.
Superintendent of WCS, Dr. Mark Lenihan welcomed all who attended and gave opening remarks followed by K-12 Agriculture Educator Ms. Toni Rasmussen and Ms. Faith Junck, WHS senior who also gave a students’ perspective.
Ms. Rasmussen is also the FFA sponsor at Wayne and said this gives students who haven’t thought about agriculture or even those who have been set on ag since the beginning an opportunity to grow.
“Knowing that the population is going to grow and knowing that our land that we get to use is going to lessen we need to make sure that we get some talented students in there and any students in there in order to make that possible,” said Ms. Rasmussen. “So, just having that excitement about agriculture will bring some students in and strengthen their passion for agriculture.”
The purpose of this compact is to collectively serve the education needs of youth and lifelong learners in Northeast Nebraska contributing to the workforce and talent development to support economic growth strategies in agriculture and natural resources.
The compact partners will be Little Priest Tribal College (Winnebago), Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (Curtis), Nebraska Indian Community College (campuses in Macy, Santee and South Sioux City), Northeast Community College (Norfolk), University of Nebraska – Lincoln College of Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources, Wayne Community Schools and Wayne State College.
This past spring over 40 partners from K-12, two-year and four-year colleges attended a Compact Summit. This event was held for educators to look over the framework that the working group drafted.
Following the summit, Dr. Lenihan added it was a big day hearing feedback on how they want to impact agriculture in northeast Nebraska moving into Tuesday’s signing.
“I think the signing really is a start to the work that is going to happen,” Dr. Lenihan. “So, really moving forward with our working group to pull together the goals and start really narrowing down just exactly what we want to do moving forward.”
Dr. Mike Boehm, Vice President of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska provided an overview and summary of the compact.
All seven partners will work together in an effort to improve college and career readiness, educational attainment as well as community and economic vitality and growth.
Northeast Nebraska Agriculture and Natural Resources Education Compact Goals:
- Education platforms for the continuum of learners in resilient food, energy, water, and societal systems that align with career opportunities for an evolving workforce for our communities;
- Teacher preparation (including curriculum) and professional development programs for pre- and in-service educators that are responsive to the increased need for highly qualified K-12 agricultural science and STEM educators;
- Seamless career education pathways to prepare the next generation of professionals, problem-solvers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders in resilient food, energy, water, and societal systems; and
- Workforce development solutions for the agriculture and natural resources industries in the region.