Ryan Pechacek, high school teacher specializing in agricultural subjects at RFHS, introduced himself as a lifelong River Falls resident and River Falls High School graduate. He cited the influence of a teacher who encouraged him to overcome shyness as a high school freshmen and try public speaking. After high school, Ryan attended UWRF. He showed us his mission statement as a teacher, something that principal Kit Luedtke asked from all teaching staff. Ryan said that his personal philosophy stresses the importance of building relationships with others, and it is an important part of what he does as an educator.
Ryan showed a slide of the FFA motto and the three components of agricultural education – Classroom, Lab, and FFA, the three aspects of which are Leadership, Personal Growth, Career Preparation. He said that fewer students are growing up on farms and expecting to take over the family farm. Students in FFA, whatever their background, are able to learn about career options in agricultural fields.
Ryan then showed the six courses he teaches: Natural Resources in Wisconsin, Exploring Agriculture, Food Production and Processing, , Horticultural Science, Veterinary Science, and Animal Science. He mentioned that access to the school forest has expanded opportunities. He said his courses can also link to CVTC and their soils program. Three of the six courses have Transfer Credit to CVTC available. Ryan added that Food Production and Processing is the newest course, and it came about through a UWRF-piloted program from the state of WI to extend food processing education to the high school level.
There are also a summer school options in the field of agricultural education. Courses are not graded, but they offer opportunities outside of the RFHS curriculum. Ryan described the FFA leadership retreat, tractor safety course, plants/animals/pizza/& more. He explained that Tractor Safety goes way beyond the core to cover broader topics in the areas of safety and equipment operation.
RFHS has a school farm next to DeSanctis Park. The school farm provides outdoor education and hands-on learning as well as exposure to all aspects of crop management, from planting to harvesting. Ryan also mentioned the apple grove that Gabe Olson-Jensen was instrumental in starting. He emphasized the key role of FFA alumni in both acquiring and operating the school farm.
More on FFA: there are over 100 members at RFHS as well as more than 30 at MMS in a new program at the middle school level. The MMS group will act a feeder for high school FFA. Another aspect of FFA is the opportunity to perform Supervised Agriculture Education projects, Such project are conducted outside school hours, they are student led, and they can be funded by grants. FFA also offers school-based enterprise, the example being the selling of maple syrup tapped, boiled down, bottled, and finally marketed by students. Grants allow students to pursue interests by removing obstacles to implementing ideas.
Ryan mentioned that this year FFA will be looking at going for a national chapter certification. In the community, FFA is present at Piece County Fair, and students have helped out at Bacon Bash. Other aspects of FFA include:
Economic Development – activities include maple syrup production and sale, school-based enterprise (Wiley’s Common Ground at RFHS), and the FFA plant sale. The group has a significant environmental focus: involvement at Earthfest, outdoor education at the school forest, for example. FFA also gets students to state and national conventions. Support groups include FFA alumni, business partnerships, UWRF, UW extension, and CVTC. Financially, FFA supports itself through its chapter fundraiser, fruit sales, a utility vehicle raffle, food booth, and corn drive.