STE. GENEVIEVE – A Ste. Genevieve High School agriculture instructor has been selected as one of only 32 teachers in the nation to participate in a year long Teacher Leader Community, a prestigious leadership program from Nourish the Future designed to address critical needs in agriculture.
Dr. Hannah Fritsche-Donze will assist in connecting students to modern agriculture.
Nourish the Future is a national STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) initiative whose mission is to help teachers inspire their students to learn science, solve problems, and see the possibilities of careers in agriculture.
With the global population now over 8 billion people, feeding and fueling the world has never been a bigger challenge. Meeting this challenge requires innovative approaches to agriculture and developing the next generation of scientists and leaders through education.
The year-long fellowship provides Dr. Fritsche-Donze with a comprehensive professional development experience, including a behind-the-scenes tour of the research happening at Bayer Crop Science in St. Louis, and attendance at the nation’s leading agriculture conference: Commodity Classic. Dr. Fritsche-Donze will receive free classroom resources, specialized training in leadership and curriculum development, and access to additional industry experts from companies like Syngenta. As a key component of the program, Dr. Fritsche-Donze will develop and present a professional development session to share the science of agriculture with colleagues in Missouri.
The fellowship is supported by partners like the United Soybean Board, the National Corn Growers Association, and Bayer. Industry partners who fund the Nourish the Future program to help farmers educate the public on modern farming and the science behind their practices.
Nourish the Future education lead Heather Bryan summed up the importance of connecting the agriculture industry to the classroom, “Effective STEM teaching requires real-world context, which students and teachers find accessible in agriculture.”
“Learning science through agriculture inspires students to pursue critical scientific careers—many of which are currently unfilled in the agriculture industry,” added Bryan.
“Through this program, Dr. Fritsche-Donze is opening up new opportunities for students and her colleagues and enhancing the way we teach science.”
A school district official stated, “Ste. Genevieve County R-II is excited to share that Dr. Hannah Fritsche-Donze, an agricultural education instructor at SGHS, to participate in the Teacher Leader Community, a prestigious leadership program from Nourish the Future designed to address these critical needs.”
For more information, visit nourishthefuture.org.