FFA Returns to Crete-Monee High School after Several Decades
Crete-Monee High School (CHMS) held its annual Elective Fair on Friday, Jan. 20. Students in 9th-11th grades had the opportunity to learn more about the many courses and programs offered at CMHS.
New courses in Fall 2023 will include Intro to Agriculture and Food Science. Students who enroll in ag courses are now automatically members of the National FFA Organization, thanks to a grant from the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
CMHS Junior Ben Deutsche shared with his classmates that he is a 6th generation family farmer and encouraged his classmates to consider joining him in the ag classes.
“It felt surreal talking to fellow students about agriculture,” he said. “Ag is one of my passions, and I have been trying to get an agriculture/FFA at Crete-Monee for the better part of 2 years now. To see it all happening is tons of fun and exciting to see what happens next.”
After speaking to 72 student visitors at the Careers in Food & Agriculture booth, Deutsche commented, “I was generally surprised by their receptiveness. I figured not many people would be interested, but once we began explaining the possible career paths, it seems people really are considering agriculture.”
The Food and Agriculture industry employs one in four people in Illinois. Introducing students to these high demand careers through ag courses and FFA will provide them with skills they need to find personal and career success, said Luke Allen, Northeast Illinois Agriculture Program Advisor for Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education, a special project of the Illinois State Board of Education.
School officials plan to hire an agriculture teacher this spring to teach the new classes and restart the FFA Chapter, which has not been active since agriculture classes were dropped in the 1970s. It is unknown when ag courses were first offered.
Crete-Monee joins four other Will County FFA Chapters: Peotone, Lockport, Lincoln-Way and WILCO Area Career Center. Learn more about Illinois FFA at www.ILAgEd.org.
Story and photo courtesy of Luke Allen