The Sioux Falls School District is pleased to announce the addition of an Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Career Cluster to the already impressive offerings available to students at the Career Technical Education (CTE) Academy. Students are already enrolling in classes to start in Fall 2022.
The District has hired its first agriculture teacher, Andrew Jensen, and is currently developing its curriculum to prepare students for postsecondary education and various sectors of agriculture business to better support the critical food supply and land management needs of the future. While the initial program will be offered to high school students, the District looks forward to expanding agriculture offerings to all SFSD K-12 students in the future.
The SFSD Agriculture Program is being built around the following core areas:
- Agriculture Bio-Technology: The processes and products of bio materials, high technology tools for growing food and agriculture efficiency, complex agriculture issues such as pest management and the treatment of animals and the demand for food that is locally produced in an environmentally acceptable manner.
- Animal Science and Pre-Veterinary Science: The core of this area will be dedicated to the care of small and large animals, animal nutrition, genetics, reproduction, handling and restraint, vaccinations, breeds, species, meat evaluation and processing, and basic surgical procedures.
- Horticulture/Landscaping: The cultivation of fruit and vegetable plants, ornamental and woody nursery crops and lawn and landscaping development/maintenance.
- Natural Resources: Exposure to our unique prairie pothole ecosystem including plants, fish, wildlife, soils, water, habitat, sustainable agriculture and renewable resources.
- Ag Leadership: Effective communication, team building, citizenship and organization skills will be attained through FFA activities and contests to build skills in the areas of ag communications, parliamentary procedure, sales, employment and more.
The vibrant and supportive Sioux Falls economy makes this the right time and the right place to add an Ag program. The District is grateful to Sioux Falls business and industry leaders and looks forward to expanding its already strong partnerships in support of this new career pathway.
The Sioux Falls School District established the CTE Academy in 2010 to offer hands-on, real-world experiences to students. The Agriculture Program is the latest in a string of new programs to be offered at CTE since its opening. The most recent additions include Aviation and Computer Science. Programs established at opening include Academy of Finance, Construction, Arts, A/V Tech & Communications, Automotive Repair and Body, Health Science, Hospitality & Tourism, Culinary Arts, Human Services, Manufacturing and Welding, and Engineering and Robotics.