During the 2021-22 school year, agriculture teacher and FFA advisor Rebecca Merrill taught small animal care in the choir room at MacArthur High School in Decatur, Ill. She rearranged the room before each class to ensure students had enough space to complete dissections and other hands-on projects.
The lack of space has been challenging for the Decatur MacArthur FFA Chapter because participation in the program has almost tripled since 2018. At Eisenhower High School, also located in Decatur, Ill., Decatur Eisenhower FFA has also experienced explosive growth.
“We don’t have enough classroom space,” Merrill says. “It’s exciting and a little daunting.”
The growth can be contributed to the formation of the Dwayne O. Andreas Ag Academy, launched in 2018 to provide agricultural education, leadership development and career success to students at MacArthur and Eisenhower high schools.
“We’re in an urban area so we’re dealing with a diverse group of students who don’t have an agricultural background,” explains Delia Jackson, agriculture teacher and FFA advisor at Eisenhower High School. “We give them unique experiences that were previously out of reach.”
In just four years, combined membership of the two chapters has hit 500 students and the programs have outgrown the space.
In February 2022, the Howard Buffett Foundation awarded the Dwayne O. Andreas Ag Academy a $9 million grant to build the FFA Agriculture Education Center. The new facilities, which are scheduled for completion in 2023, will include classrooms, learning labs, test plots, a theater and an arena.
“The blueprints look amazing,” says Merrill. “It’s a model for what an agriculture program can be and one of the coolest things that Illinois agriculture and FFA has to offer.”
Decatur is home to some of the largest agribusiness, manufacturing and production companies in the world. The Ag Academy highlights opportunities in those sectors and offers a career-focused curriculum that prepares students for brighter futures.
“The diversity in our school and our district will only bring good things to the agriculture industry,” says Jackson.
In addition to providing top-notch facilities for students at MacArthur and Eisenhower high schools, the FFA Agriculture Education Center will also host corporate meetings and community events.
“It will help us bring industry professionals in and will present opportunities for partnerships,” Jackson says. “Giving our students the ability to network will provide them with professional growth opportunities. It’s a win-win for our program and agriculture.”
