Week 11 - AEE 424

Take the Summer Programs pre-test to see how much you know.

I. Identify and rationalize the purposes for summer activities of an agricultural education teacher.

II. Identify the benefits of a 12 month contract for the local agricultural education program.

III. List common activities that agricultural education teachers should participate in during summer months.

High School and College sports in our society today have become a year around activity. Even though the actual season may only last a few months the coaches involved are employed twelve months of the year. Why is that? What could they possibly be doing during the “off-season”?

Recruiting new players (junior high members)
Revising their playbook (curriculum planning)
Networking with boosters (making connections with supporters and alumni)
Supervising conditioning programs for their athletes (SAE supervision)
Attending national coaches meetings (attending professional development activities)
Taking care of the turf (maintaining outdoor laboratories)

These are the very things that many agricultural education teachers are involved in during the summer months. These activities allow for smooth running agricultural education programs with time for student improvement, teacher improvement, and curriculum and facilities improvement.

Class 11	Summer Programs

Introduction	Summer programs are an integral part of the total agricultural education program. When conducting a successful agricultural education program, it is important for teachers to be employed for 12 months of the year in order to accomplish all necessary program activities. Ag teachers should supervise SAEs, attend conferences, tend to the livestock and or plants around campus, train the FFA officers, and much more during the summer months. When teachers are planning their summer months their first step should be to review their program goals. Teachers then need to create summer calendars to make sure they are prioritizing and effectively using their time. Summer can be a busy time for agricultural education teachers. If planned properly it can be a time that allows an instructor to engage in activities that otherwise cannot be completed due to a rigorous daily class schedule during the school year. The challenge for agricultural educators is identifying the necessary activities to be involved in and then prioritizing those activities.

Learning Objectives	I. Identify and rationalize the purposes for summer activities of an agricultural education teacher. II. Identify the benefits of a 12 month contract for the local agricultural education program. III. List common activities that agricultural education teachers should participate in during summer months. IV. Prioritize the activities of a summer program for an agricultural education program. V. Create a summer calendar.

Instructional Activities	Take the Summer Programs pre-test to see how much you know. I. Identify and rationalize the purposes for summer activities of an agricultural education teacher. II. Identify the benefits of a 12 month contract for the local agricultural education program. III. List common activities that agricultural education teachers should participate in during summer months. High School and College sports in our society today have become a year around activity. Even though the actual season may only last a few months the coaches involved are employed twelve months of the year. Why is that? What could they possibly be doing during the “off-season”? Recruiting new players (junior high members) Revising their playbook (curriculum planning) Networking with boosters (making connections with supporters and alumni) Supervising conditioning programs for their athletes (SAE supervision) Attending national coaches meetings (attending professional development activities) Taking care of the turf (maintaining outdoor laboratories) These are the very things that many agricultural education teachers are involved in during the summer months. These activities allow for smooth running agricultural education programs with time for student improvement, teacher improvement, and curriculum and facilities improvement.

Class Visuals	View a PowerPoint presentation on Summer Programs.

Assignments	**Submit assignment via WebCt Vista. Due April 8th. IV. Prioritize the activities of a summer program for an agricultural education program V. Create a summer calendar. This assignment will help you prioritize and design a summer program. Situation: You have just been hired for your first teaching job at a one-teacher Agricultural Education department. Your contract begins on June 1 and you have been hired as a 12 month employee. You currently have 45 students enrolled in the agricultural education program. Your administration has told you that they expect you to be involved in professional development as well as to be involved with students. They have stressed that communication is the priority. Your principal has given you a calendar to plan your daily activities. Make sure you plan accordingly. There will be an in-service day on the third Monday of August and school will start on the next day (Tuesday). You have several responsibilities to meet this summer. Among them, but not all of them, are the following: State FFA Convention Agricultural Education Teachers Workshops (conducted by the state) FFA Leadership Camp (there are currently 4 students signed up) State Association for Career and Technical Education Conference Meeting students and their parents Recruitment and Retention activities FFA activities including a summer cookout Maintaining plants and animals in outdoor laboratories Supervise SAEs County and State Fairs Establish and meet with advisory committee Curriculum development Facilities upkeep and repair Ordering of Supplies and Equipment for the upcoming school year Personal time for you and your family Other duties and projects (Please consult your individual state’s calendar for the dates of the above activities. Plan for them if they are related to your state and program. For example, in some states county fairs take place in the summer but in some states students would be preparing their animals for show in the fall. The following calendar months have been provided as a sample only. You should construct your calendar based upon actual dates for the current year.) You should turn this assignment in as if you were turning in the proposed schedule of your summer to your administrator. The project should include the following: 1. Scope of activities – are all activities included? Have activities been left out that are necessary? 2. Has priority been established for all activities? Indicate the priority listed for each item by listing numbers 1, 2, 3, etc. beside each item as it was entered on the summer program. 3. Has time been clearly allocated for personal and/or vacation time? 4. Has appropriate communication for how to contact the agricultural education teacher, for both working and non-working days, been included? How will the teacher communicate with students? Parents? Administrators? Please include samples. 5. Is the proposed summer calendar realistic? A calendar format you can use

Links of Interest	Check out the Meeting Planners Handbook.