An agriculture teacher in the Cole County R-5 School District in Eugene was recently awarded the "Ideas Unlimited Award" from the Missouri Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association.
The organization chose Bethany Prenger, a Eugene High School teacher and FFA adviser, as the state winner for the lesson plan she uses for students' supervised agricultural experiences, which are student-led learning agricultural activities that allow students to receive real-world career experiences in an area of agriculture they are most interested in.
When students were learning virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prenger was able to connect with them through Google Classroom. The students uploaded photos, videos and information, allowing Prenger to view them, comment on them and help students with their projects.
For example, many students took photos and videos of their show animals, and one student took photos of her beekeeping project, allowing Prenger to see their projects.
"It was a really neat platform for us to be able to use through COVID virtual learning, and we still continue to use it now," Prenger said.
Prenger won the award for having original, practical, adaptable and educationally valuable ideas in her lesson plan that were presented in a clear, concise manner, according to the judging rubric. She received $250 and a plaque.
Prenger is in her ninth year of teaching in the Cole R-5 School District. In a news release from the Cole R-5 School District, Superintendent Charley Burch said Prenger is a dynamic instructor who goes above and beyond for her students.
"She consistently works to better herself as an educator, which not only enhances the curriculum in her classroom but also challenges our students who work with her in extracurricular FFA activities," he said. "We are proud to have her on our team."
Eugene's FFA program was also selected as one of 20 schools to host National Teach Ag Day on Sept. 16. The National Association of Agriculture Educators will send Eugene High School a kit so students can participate in a variety of activities that celebrate and promote agricultural education.