A federal education official ate rice and bacon-wrapped asparagus cooked by students at Whiteland Community High School.
The food was an example of a standard assignment in the school’s nutrition and wellness class. The class, taught by Ebben Sample, was part of U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education for Career, Technical and Adult Education Scott Stump’s 90-minute tour of the school Thursday.
During the tour, Stump grabbed a bite to eat at the nutrition and wellness class, learned about the school’s award-winning agriculture science program, which jumped to about 300 from 60 students in six years, and peeked in on Project Lead the Way and advanced manufacturing classes.
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Sample went from teaching finance and economics in Ohio to teaching nutrition and wellness at Whiteland Community High School, and said for students unsure of their career path, the chance to take fulfilling classes in career and technical education can help them realize their callings.
“As important as finance and economics is, it’s hard to make it exciting. Kids in this class sometimes have been told their whole lives they weren’t good at school. I wanted to teach kids to showcase their talents,” Sample said.
“Nothing makes me happier than when they share they made something they learned in class.”
As part of Project Lead the Way, students can take a series of classes in engineering, for example, which delve into different areas of the field. Career and Technical Education classes open up doors for students beyond a four-year college degree, including alternatives such as trade school or apprenticeships, Stump said.
“People feel like CTE is only for certain students, but when you think about Project Lead the Way, students can take an engineering pathway or go to Central Nine (Career Center) and study industrial maintenance,” Stump said. “A (four-year) degree is not the only option to finding a successful career.”
The federal budget will be released Monday, and the education budget will have an emphasis on Career and Technical Education, he said.
Stump visited the agriculture science class, taught by Hannah Goeb, who helped take the agriculture program at the school from possible elimination to one that has doubled in size since last year, when it had about 150 students. In March 2018, the Indiana Department of Education recognized Whiteland Community High School as the best agriculture science and business program in the state.
At the greenhouse, students talked about their future goals and what they do in agriculture class. In May, students will sell the vegetables they grow in the greenhouse, said senior Sam Trout, who now plans to go to Purdue University to study agriculture science.
Showcasing the agriculture program to someone in the federal government could have an significant impact on future funding decisions, Superintendent Patrick Spray said.
“I think it’s important for people having conversations at the state and federal level, seeing how the programs have a great impact on students,” Spray said.
The tour gave Stump the opportunity to see the level of dedication Whiteland staff and students have to what they’re teaching and learning, Principal Benji Betts said.
“I really hope (he) saw the great things our staff and students do here; how much our students are prepared for whatever they go into,” Betts said. “That’s the biggest thing I want people to see.”
