School Visits
Hello all! Well, the next step in my journey to finding a student teaching placement has come and gone. Over spring break I visits 6 schools that are all potential cooperating centers for student teaching. When considering what schools to visit, I thought about how many teachers they had in their program, what classes they offered, and the location of the school. I was looking for somewhere outside of the southwest region of the state, as that is where I cam from, I was also looking for a school that offered a variety of classes but most importantly horticulture (my favorite) and ag mechanics (an area I need some experience in). I was also hoping to find a multi teacher program.
Elizabethtown
The first stop on my journey was Elizabethtown High School. Here I got to meet Mr. Anderson and Mr. Geib. This school wasn't one of my first obvious places I was going to visit, but I heard some great things about the program and the people and knew I needed to check it out. They offer a diverse course list with classes like ag mechanics, ag business, and vet science to name a few. I really like their shop set up and learned from Mr. Anderson that they had just had new welding booths installed in the last couple of years. Another really cool thing at this school was the fact that they had rabbits in the school and had a small room dedicated to rabbit housing and care. I thought it was great that the students got to have so much hands on experience with the animals.
Selinsgrove
My next stop was Selinsgrove High School. This was a short drive, just a little over an hour from State College. I first met Mr. Swineford and got to observe his small gas engines class. It was a small class, only 6 kids, which I appreciated for a subject like this. During time between classes, I learned a lot about their FFA program, alumni involvement, and how they split the responsibilities between 2 advisors. Mrs. Fry was out in the morning, but during the afternoon I observed her Animal Science and Ag Foundations classes. I love the Ag Foundations class for a few reasons. First, because it gives students a little bit of everything in the agricultural industry which I think is so important. Second, because it gives the freedom to do a lot of different activities in a lot of different areas. At the end of the day I got to see their greenhouse and learned a little about how their plant sale is run.
Lampeter-Strasburg
I headed east again for my next school visit. During my time as the State Fair Queen I got to attend the West Lampeter Fair and meet some students in FFA at LS, so I was happy to get to see them again. I learned some about the structure of the program when I met those students in the fall, but now it was time to actually see it all. I have to say they have the most organized shop I have ever seen. Everything is labeled and numbered. I think this makes it not only easier for teachers but students as well. I have a lot of respect for female ag teachers who teach ag mechanics classes, and I have heard Mrs. Ranck is one of the best. After the first ag mechanics class, I moved over to Mrs. Oberholtzer's classroom to see some sciencey classes. The set up of her classroom is interesting because it has everything you could need. A traditional classroom set up in the front half but a lab set up in the back. They even have an over and 2 fridges, 1 of which is NOT used for food I learned.
Shippensburg
My fourth visit took me to the south central region. I started my day with Mrs. Bier in her greenhouse class. They were getting ready for their plant sale and even let me help to transplant some plugs. They have a small but mighty greenhouse that was quite full of flowers, ferns, and vegetable plants. Unfortunately Miss Boltz had an emergency that morning and I wasn't able to meet her. I then observed the Leadership class which is essentially dedicated to chapter officers and other students who help with a lot of their big projects. The day I was there they were preparing for their chapter meeting and ag literacy week. It was chapter meeting day so I sat in on the meeting and got to hear about the trips and events they had coming up. I finished my day in the ag mechanics class where they were just beginning their welding unit.
Northwestern
I traveled all the way to the north west corner of the state to Northwestern High School in Albion, Pennsylvania. This was probably my most interesting visit for me because they were getting ready for the annual maple festival. This school has a sugar house and is surrounded by maple trees that are tapped with blue lines everywhere. It was really cool to see all of the kids getting involved whether it was just cleaned up the event area or bottling maple syrup. Aside from that, I got to observe a Intro to Ag class and learn about the chapters involvement at the state level. I also think this is a really unique ag education program because they are also tied into the the home economics department.
Pequea Valley
My final visit took me back east to Lancaster county to Pequea Valley High School. Mrs. VanSant was still on maternity leave when I had my visit but I got to meet Mr. Masser. One of the cool things about this school is that every 10th grader is required to take Ag Bio. It is done along with their regular biology class but they get to focus more on how the concepts relate to the agricultural industry. I also learned that the district is building a new middle/high school that will be in use next school year. Mr. Masser was able to show me pictures of their ag wing in the new building and all of the facilities they will have in the coming year. I then observed the small gas engines class and got to look around at what their current facilities look like. I ended my day in the middle school class. They bring in middle schoolers and allow them to take electives, one of which is ag science.
Reflection
Overall, I had a great time with all of my visits and it made for a difficult decision in the end. Ranking just 3 out of 6 was not an easy task, but with a lot of consideration I narrowed it down. I know that even if I won't be student teaching at all of these schools, these teachers will always be there to offer some knowledge and wisdom to me on my journey. As this next step is done, there is not much left until I will know where I will be spending my 2026 spring semester.
