Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom

Where does my food come from? 

“The Store” might be a simple response, or one you could chuckle about, but all too often that answer is where the real knowledge stops.  As generations become further and further removed from the farm, children and adults alike know shockingly little about the source of their food, fiber and fuel or how agriculture impacts daily life. 

The Mission of Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom (IAITC) is to teach Illinois children agriculture’s importance and the vital role it plays in their lives and society.  IAITC supports local educational and outreach efforts by providing standards based scientifically sound agriculture information that can be easily integrated by teachers into the existing classroom curriculum. 

The IAITC program provides students an opportunity to learn about nutrition, science and agriculture through hands-on classroom experiences under the direction of their teachers or county Agricultural Literacy Coordinators, resulting in students who will grow up with a better understanding and appreciation for our state’s number one industry. 

Through the generous support of individuals and businesses who want to provide a future for agriculture, the IAA Foundation is able to supply the financial needs to keep IAITC thriving.  Last year our donors helped us create and print Ag Mags and other new materials, provide mini-grants for teachers to buy supplies and books, and give teachers week-long experiences seeing agriculture first hand, and maintain grants to support county efforts just to name a few. 

Because of this successful network of financial and volunteer support, IAITC continues to have a strong impact each year: 

• Over half a million students in grades preK-12 hear an IAITC lesson
• Over 31,000 teachers use IAITC materials throughout the school year
• Nearly 500 teachers participate in Summer Agricultural Institutes

For the 2011-2012 school year our goal is to raise $800,000 to meet the state-wide needs and maintain grants to support county efforts.  This can only be accomplished when those impacted by agriculture step up to the plate…and if you eat then you are a part of that daily impact!   Thank you for playing an important role in our efforts…with your help we can continue to grow.   

Sincerely,

Susan Moore
Director, IAA Foundation

The Mission of Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom (IAITC) is to teach Illinois children agriculture’s importance and the vital role it plays in their lives and society.”

Through generous support received by the IAA Foundation the following are made possible:

• County Ag Literacy Grants - County grants are a part of the IAITC program. Funds from a variety of partnering organizations will help support 65 County Ag Literacy Coalitions. County Ag Literacy programs in turn raise matching funds at the local level to implement programs.
• Ag Mags - Ag Mags are 4-color tabloid type resources, featuring specific Illinois Agricultural commodities and issues. They are linked with the Illinois Learning Standards, Illinois Assessment Framework and feature facts, career interviews and scientific experiments. Due to the increased demand, we print 140,000 copies of these each printing.
• Teacher Resource Guides - Re-prints of the popular resource guides will make these materials available for distribution through the County Agriculture in the Classroom system.
• Summer Ag Institutes - These week-long classroom teacher training institutes are hosted by universities, community colleges and county Farm Bureau’s. A $950 maximum grant is allowed per institute.

• Teacher Grants - Up to seventy-two $250 grants will be awarded to teachers utilizing unique agriculture information in their classroom. Grants are showcased on www.agintheclassroom.org and in local media.
• Ag Related Lessons and Units, including SMART Board technology