The agricultural education program at Badger High School has received the Outstanding Agricultural Education Program Award from the Wisconsin Association of Agricultural Educators.
The award was presented to Badger instructors Candice Franks and Larry Plapp at the 2020 WAAE Professional Development Conference, which was held virtually June 29 through July 2.
The Outstanding Secondary/Middle School Program Award is bestowed upon an agricultural education program and its instructor who have excelled in membership, participation in WAAE and other professional associations, classroom instruction, FFA involvement, and community service. The state-level honor is sponsored by Don and Mary Josko.
The Badger curriculum by Franks and Plapp focuses on the science of agriculture with six courses recognized for science equivalency credit and transferable lab science credit toward admission to a UW school and 15 credits transcribed to Gateway Technical College.
Their program boosts hatching more than 300 eggs each spring, raising 500 poinsettias, a DNA lab, greenhouse for a farm-to-school program, a second for production bedding plants, and a six kitchen food science lab.
Badger has been a three star gold chapter for the last nine years, FFA membership has grown 531% since 1992, in addition to state winning and national competing CDE teams for the past seven years. They also partner with the Walworth County Master Gardeners and Fontana Garden Club in the planting and sale of over 35,000 plants.
Over the past 28 years Badger’s program has grown over 267%.
WAAE is the professional association for agricultural educators in Wisconsin. Members include 410 middle school, high school, technical college and university educators. The focus of the association is to provide professional development, legislative support and educational resources for teachers to enhance their local agriculture education programs.
For more information, visit www.waae.com.
