MISD School in Running to Win $100K for Agriculture Program

Can't see the video? View it here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE: Tarver-Rendon Elementary school won the Farmers Insurance contest. Students and staff were presented with the $100,000 grand prize check on Dec. 5 at a surprise assembly.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What would you do with $100,000? Staff members at Tarver-Rendon Elementary School hope to expand their agricultural leadership program with it.

They applied for Farmers Insurance's Dream Big Teacher Challenge. As part of the application process, educators nationwide submitted proposals explaining the impact the money would have on their community.

The proposal took four months to write, but staff members said it was all worth it because Tarver-Rendon Elementary School made it to the final round. Out of the 15 remaining finalists, five will win the grand prize.

“We figure we have a one in three chance, and we’re the only school district in Texas to be one of the finalists, so we’re very proud of that,” said Principal Jamie Norwood.

Tarver-Rendon students feed the hens while learning
about the egg-laying process.

Right now, the school provides students the opportunity to learn character skills by raising animals, growing their own food, using the food in their homegrown salad bar for lunch and giving some of the harvest to local food banks.

Winning $100,000 would open up even more doors.

“With the grant, we would be able to have an outdoor classroom with stadium-like seating, more stalls for more animals, raised garden beds, more pathways and more signage,” Norwood added.

Rita Denton, director of student nutrition for Mansfield ISD, said the kids would be exposed to more organic and homegrown foods as well.

“I think with that grant and the opportunity that this administration and teachers have at this school to get more equipment, I think that it would bring more ingredients to our garden bar,” she noted.

The grand prize winners will be chosen through online voting.

Cast your vote for Shaye Anne Atwood, agricultural leadership teacher at Tarver-Rendon Elementary School, here.

Voting is open until Nov. 3, and people are allowed to vote once a day.

Homegrown Salad Bar Becomes Staple at MISD Elementary School

It’s not every day that children are excited to eat their fruits and vegetables, but at one Mansfield ISD school, the produce is a result of weeks of hard work.

Tarver-Rendon Elementary School is home to the district’s first salad bar for elementary school students. The idea is part of the school’s new agricultural leadership program, which teaches students responsibility through growing and caring for plants and animals.

Students in the program plant and harvest vegetables at an on-campus garden. The school worked in partnership with the district’s Student Nutrition Services to feature those homegrown fruits and vegetables in a salad bar during lunch.

“It’s a great addition to our agricultural program,” said Shaye Anne Atwood, agricultural leadership teacher. “The students can use the bar to get a side salad or to have a salad for their meal. Some of the items are grown right here, and we also work with a local farmer to supply items.”

The featured homegrown produce will rotate with the seasons.

Atwood said the students have responded positively to the new salad bar because they were part of the entire process, from seedling to full-grown food. Jenny Laib, assistant director of student nutrition, added that students who normally don’t like healthy foods are coming back for seconds.

“The best part about the salad bar is watching the kids light up,” said Laib. “The fact that they’re getting to customize it and use the utensils themselves, we’re seeing a huge difference with the kids with how well received it’s been.”

Tarver-Rendon Elementary School’s salad bar is being tested out on third and fourth-graders first. Staff hope to expand the food option to other grades in the near future.

Apart from the salad bar, agricultural leadership skills are incorporated into all subjects at the campus. Atwood said her hope is that the program will grow and follow the students throughout their educational career.

For more information about the agricultural leadership program, and other Mansfield ISD Power of Choice initiatives, visit the district website.

Students Help Pets Displaced by Hurricane Harvey

While Mansfield ISD is conducting a relief drive to help those affected by the destruction of Hurricane Harvey, high schoolers are making sure an often forgotten population is taken care of as well.

Ben Barber Innovation Academy students started a donation drive to collect food and supplies for displaced pets. The students in the agricultural science practicum class saw the need and spread their idea to their home high school campuses.

Through collaboration and the power of social media, the donations started to come in by the dozens.

“The schools were very receptive, and a lot of people were able to post it to their social media pages (using the hashtag #HeartsOutToHarvey). We’ve gotten a lot of shares. It’s been shared all the way into the U.K.,” said agricultural science teacher Kristi Chambliss.

Agricultural science students dropped off the decorated donation
boxes at each MISD high school.

Donation boxes were given to each high school. The items from each campus were carried into a trailer and brought back to the Reed Stewart Agricultural Science Center to store.

“We’ll be working with an organization that is going to take this to areas in the south that need it most,” Chambliss continued, “I’m so proud of these students because it was all their idea. They saw a need and had a heart for giving.”

The MISD rodeo team is also taking feed and hay to the Houston area to assist.

Senior Katelynn Timmerman added that the community has been a great help to their cause. They’ve even received discounts from local businesses to help offset the costs.

“We were using our own money to go help those animals. It feels really good helping,” she explained.

The campus pet drive ends Sept. 1. A community drive will take place on Saturday, Sept. 2 from 7 a.m. to noon at the Reed Stewart Agricultural Science Center, located at 1924 N. Main St., Mansfield, TX 76063. Anyone who would like to donate supplies is welcome.

MISD FFA Students Earn Nearly $57K at Showcase

MISD's FFA team prepared for the competition since January.

A group of 20 Mansfield ISD students who take great pride in their livestock can now say they have some of the best longhorns in the area, and they have the scholarship money to prove it.

The Autobahn Youth Scholarship Tour is an annual event in Fort Worth in which children and teens showcase their longhorn cattle. Organizers give out more than $400,000 in scholarship money to winners.

The five-day competition is much more than making sure the bovines have shiny coats. Contestants can also compete in various categories including public speaking, judging, agricultural mechanics, art and photography.

“I want my students to be really well-rounded individuals, so I tell them that they have to compete in certain categories,” said Kristi Chambliss, agricultural science teacher at Ben Barber Innovation Academy and sponsor for MISD’s FFA club. “If you want to be a pro in this industry, you have to be able to speak and write properly.”

Students from all over the Metroplex
showed off their cattle.

Diversifying the students’ talents paid off. The team raked in a club record of $56,998 in scholarships. In addition, three of the four all-around winners came from Mansfield ISD.

“My favorite part was seeing how happy the kids were when they heard their names being called for the awards,” Chambliss explained. “Our group also won the Herdsman Award for keeping our area the cleanest and working hard behind the scenes. It’s a big deal because showing is only a small part of what we do.”

This is the fourth year for MISD to compete in the Autobahn Youth Scholarship Tour. The students come for the competition, but leave with memories and lasting relationships.

“This is a major networking opportunity as well,” Chambliss continued. “They have common interests with other students and industry professionals. This can open the door to countless possibilities.”

View results of the 2017 Autobahn Youth Scholarship Tour here.

MISD Students with Special Needs Learn to Grow and Give

The group picked more than 20 pounds of produce in one day.

Every Tuesday and Thursday this summer, Mansfield ISD agricultural science teacher Keven Smith had two things on his mind—teaching life skills to students with special needs and giving back to the community.

Smith and the students went to the Ron Whitson Agricultural Science Center to feed the farm animals. He then took them over to a garden where they harvested produce to donate to local food pantries.

“I got together with MISD’s special education SUCCESS programs, and we started the SUCCESS garden three years ago. Students would come out and plant, and we would later harvest the food and give it to local food pantries,” said Smith. “We have harvested thousands of pounds of fresh foods like watermelon, okra, and squash so far.”

Smith said he loves instilling the knowledge of agriculture into the children’s lives. He wants them to know that fresh food does not magically appear in the stores.

“My goal is to teach them how important farming and ranching is,” he continued. “It’s not a career choice of the past. We need those jobs to sustain life. Also, people have the power to grow their own food, and they should learn how to.”

This year, the agricultural science teacher solicited the help of high school volunteers to provide another social element to the experience.

“I like that I get to help them,” said Kaitlyn Weitzman, incoming sophomore at Mansfield High School. “My brother has special needs too, and they don’t always get the chance to explore and do as much as they are out here.”

After a day of picking, the students got to fish in the local pond.

Smith will continue to instill the love of cultivation into young learners in the upcoming school year. He hosts pumpkin patch field trips, farm animal visits, and he is partnering with the new Tarver-Rendon School of Agricultural Leadership to teach core content and leadership skills through agricultural-based experiences.

Although his summer program has wrapped up, Smith said he is excited to start planting more crops for an even bigger harvest next year.

MISD Students Discover Possible Career Choices in Summer Camp

Maddie Campbell slicing the chicken quesadilla she cooked.

Mansfield ISD students entering sixth, seventh, and eighth grades got a chance to explore their future occupations this summer.

For the sixth year in a row, MISD held its Rising Stars Discovery Camp. The camp offers unique courses in areas like crime scene investigation, health sciences, video game design, graphics, American Sign Language, and culinary arts.

“I chose the cooking class because I love to cook and want to own my own restaurant one day,” said Maddie Campbell, incoming sixth grader at Donna Shepard Intermediate School.

No matter what class students chose, the goal was the same—exposing children to different career paths at an early age.

”Our camp showcases a few of the offerings that are available to students at the high school level,” said camp administrator Eric Holschuh. “Each section is representative of a course or career path available at Ben Barber Career Tech Academy.”

Keven Smith teaching a student about garlic.

Especially new this year was a course teaching young minds about the basics of agricultural science. Students enrolled in that program met at the new Ron Whitson Agricultural Center and learned hands-on about farming, fishing, and gardening.

“Those skills are essential for America,” said Keven Smith, Agriculture and Science Teacher. “Without us taking care of what we have, we will become less independent.”

“I liked tending to the animals and growing plants. Time flies when you’re having fun,” said Matthew Fuller, incoming 8th grader at Danny Jones Middle School.

Rising Star Discovery Camp was held from June 15 to June 25, excluding Friday, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Holschuh hopes next year’s camp will bring in more students and subjects.

“The camp changes every year depending on teacher availability,” said Holschuh. “We open registration the Monday after spring break.”

View more images from the 2015 Rising Star Discovery Camp. For more information, visit the camp’s website.