Raelyn Harris of the Greene County Agricultural Education department joined more than 200 secondary and post-secondary instructors from across Iowa at the Iowa Agricultural Education Summer Conference held at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny, Iowa, June 23-26, 2024. The conference is a professional development opportunity to foster the sharing of ideas from agricultural education programs across the state, gain new insight from speakers, and network with other industry professionals. The conference was organized and facilitated by the Iowa Association of Agricultural Educators (IAAE).
While at Ankeny, keynote speaker Nikki Fideldy-Doll - North Dakota State FFA Supervisor, provided a collaborative session leading participants in sharing their passions both in and outside the classroom. Sessions contained updates from local post-secondary institutions, State and National FFA updates, fellow associations. Workshops were held throughout with topics related to working with officer teams, technical skills development, connecting activities to state standards, implementing new technology within the classroom, and many other topics relevant to today’s Agricultural Educators. Additional activities included opportunities to interact with agricultural education professionals and businesses from all corners of the state.
IAAE professional organization activities were also conducted during the conference including policy making, the election of new officers, and the recognition of outstanding Iowa agricultural instructors and programs. During the annual IAAE banquet, Harris was recognized as the Southwest Star District Advisor. During her 6 years within the profession, Harris has served as the Southwest District’s representative on the IAAE Professional Development Committee, hosted two student teachers and a number of student observations, previously hosted the Sub-District FFA Convention, and is currently serving as the Southwest District FFA Advisor.
The IAAE Summer Conference is made possible with support from the Iowa FFA Foundation.