Northern Region PAAE Meeting! What A HOOT

The Northern Region PAAE meeting was held Thursday April 7th in Williamsport. With so many wise Ag Teachers and FFA Advisors (here... by the owl) in one space, I just knew it would be a HOOT!



I'm sorry, I really can't resist the PUNS!

I had the pleasure of traveling to the PAAE meeting with Mr. Schanbacher who teaches agriculture education at Troy HS, our neighboring School District. Mr. Steinfelt could not attend the meeting, so I was delighted to spend time with Mr. Schanbacher and meet his two students who were attending the SOCS meeting (State Officer Candidacy School). His students were very good-natured, and we all enjoyed the trip to and from the meeting! In the Northern Region, everyone has to travel pretty far to get places, so we might as well enjoy the ride right!

At the PAAE meeting, it was a pleasure to see Janae and Stacia, the other two student teachers in the northern region, and see many teachers throughout the area. I was also able to catch up with Mrs. Fay who is our SAE Specialist! Having worked more with AET this semester student teaching than I had ever previously before, it is always a pleasure to talk with her.

At the meeting, Mr. Schanbacher and Mrs. Berndston, (who are the regional VP's) led our meeting, and we covered A LOT of information! I had many handouts to take back for Mr. Steinfelt!

PAAE Stands for Pennsylvania Association of Agriculture Educators

We heard from special guests from the Center for Dairy Excellence as well as the Department of Agriculture. Mr. Sheely from PDA gave us some interesting information. For Example... did you know that...

- 163 Schools offered Agricultural Education Courses in the State of PA
- 70% of those programs are in comprehensive High Schools across the Commonwealth
- Unfortunately, 24% of these programs are not approved programs (meaning they do not meet the PA Department of Education requirements for the Career and Technical Education Standards)
- PA has 238 Agricultural Education Teachers

We also discussed SAE integration throughout the state, and AET usage. Other items on the agenda were NOCTI exams.

NOCTI exams are basically tests that students take if they are "completers" of a program. At Athens, we are administering the test on April 19th, so I was especially interested in this portion of the evening.

We also discussed the PAAE summer conference which is coming up July 11th-14th at MiddWest High school. This year, the program is really trying to offer different workshops where teachers can leave with certifications, so I am excited to look more closely at the workshops offered by PAAE!

After dinner, it was nice to chat with the students on the way home about the possibilities of running for State Office. Once Mr. Schanbachers' students found out that I had served as a State Officer, the questions came flying out of them! It was fun to reminisce and tell them stories, and it certainly made the drive go much quicker.



Back in the day as a PA FFA State Officer!