Middle school students across Missouri had the opportunity to earn money for their classroom by competing in the FCS Financial Ag Curriculum Video Contest.
In 2019, a new agriculture curriculum sponsored by FCS Financial and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was introduced to Missouri middle schools.
The curriculum, developed by teachers, ag industry professionals and Vivayic, consists of six topic areas each spanning nine weeks. Two topics are released each year. To date, Exploring Animal Science, Exploring Plant Science, Exploring Food Science and Exploring Natural Resources have been launched.
To celebrate the release of each topic area, FCS Financial hosts a video contest for public schools located in the FCS Financial service area. The winners for the 2020/2021 school year are:
Exploring Animal Science - Salisbury FFA, Ag Teacher Breanne Brammer
Exploring Food Science - Elsberry FFA, Ag Teacher Sarah Ray
Exploring Natural Resources -- Elsberry FFA, Ag Teacher Sarah Ray
Exploring Plant Science - Audrain County R-V1 FFA, Ag Teacher Stacy French
Winning videos are linked above and can be found at www.missouriffa.org. Teachers can assign the video project to students enrolled in an exploring agriculture course and submit the top two videos per topic area to FCS Financial for a chance to win $500 for their classroom. FCS Financial employees vote for the top video of each topic based on all submissions.
“A quality education should include a variety of opportunities and experiences for students to learn,” says David Janish, FCS Financial CEO. “The curriculum is built around practical and hands-on skills. The video contest allows students to showcase what they have learned throughout the program.”
Next school year Exploring Ag Systems Technology and Exploring Agribusiness in 2021 will be added. The contest opens November 1, 2021, and all submissions are due by April 1, 2022. Contact FCS Financial at marketing@myfcsfinancial.com for additional contest details.
The curriculum is stored on the Missouri FFA website at no cost to Missouri agriculture teachers. Teachers should contact Marie Davis at Marie.Davis@dese.mo.gov for access. If you are a homeschool teacher, contact Marie Davis at Marie.Davis@dese.mo.gov for additional information.
