Although Mahomet-Seymour High School Agriculture students and Sangamon Elementary students are on different campuses, a 10-year partnership has brought the two groups together through the PALS (Partners in Active Learning) program.
“It’s grown here because it’s been a good program,” Sangamon Principal Mark Cabutti said. “The teachers won’t give up their academic time if it’s not something that will benefit their students. And every year the PALS program gets bigger.”
When Agriculture Teacher Jennifer Wherley started the PALS program, students chose topics they were interested in and presented the topics to elementary students at Sangamon. Now in partnership with 13 Sangamon classrooms, 28 PALS mentors are teaching Next Generation Science Standards during their monthly lesson.
“Mrs. Wherley has worked closely with Mrs. Jackson and Miss Ward, two of our first grade teachers, to assure the monthly lessons are aligned with the Next Generations Science Standards,” First Grade Teacher Michelle Mitchell said. “Mrs. Wherley and the Ag Pals create and prepare quality lessons that our students will enjoy. More specifically, the Ag PALS teach our students by engaging them in a story that teaches the topic and then providing a “hands-on learning” activity to reinforce and provide practice.”
PALS mentors go through an application and interview process before they are allowed into the PALS program. Wherley spends time before school talking to students about mentor expectations and roles in the classroom, then as a group, mentors prepare agriculture-related lessons that include a hands-on activity and a book/story component. All mentors are expected to know both parts of the lesson before the presentation. Then, Cabutti reviews the lesson before mentors come into the classroom.
“I came back (to Sangamon) and told the teachers I was super impressed with the behavior, the professionalism, the quality of their presentations,” Cabutti Said. “Their presentations have gone up a level every year as far as the appropriateness of the lesson, the clarity, and engagement with the kids.”
The first lesson about plant growth was taught in January. Mentors will return in February to talk to students about types of soil. Mentors will present monthly in the classroom until Sangamon students visit the high school in May for the Ag Business Showcase.
“From our end, the kids love having the high school students come in,” Cabutti said. “Our kids learn that teachers aren’t the only people we can learn from, I can learn from older students who might be a little more experienced than me.”
Mitchell added, “The Ag Pals are great role models to our students as they engage them in a meaningful science lesson. In addition, they spend time interacting with them and allowing them to share connections to the lesson. It’s nice to see them building a relationship with our young learners.”
As the only Agriculture teacher in the M-S District, Wherley knows that she cannot just begin to educate students on the importance of agriculture education if they opt into the agriculture program during high school.
“I need to start Pre-K or kindergarten to make sure that every student has an understanding of what agriculture is,” she said. “The clothes they wear, the food they eat, the shelter they live in, everything they touch every day deals with the agriculture industry. Sometimes students don’t understand that food comes from an animal or a plant; it doesn’t just come from the grocery store or that some plants fuel their car. I think that’s a really important lesson for them.”
But Sangamon students are not the only ones who learn from the PALS program. Wherley said her students, whether gifted in communication or not, leave the PALS program with communication, leadership and the understanding of responsibility.
While Cabutti hopes that some of these mentors will grow an interest in finding a career as a teacher, Wherley said, “The intrinsic value of knowing their success or what they gave back to their community, there isn’t a price tag on it. That creates leadership value internally and it bridges something in their future. It fosters a philosophy of giving back. And I think those are the types of leaders we want to be cultivating here at Mahomet-Seymour.”
