Etowah HS Teacher Named Top Agricultural Teacher in Nation
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Etowah HS Teacher Named Top Agricultural Teacher in Nation
From left, National Association of Agricultural Educators Region V Vice President Nelson McCracken, Jen Danley of Tractor Supply Company, Outstanding Agricultural Education Teacher Award winner Ashley Rivers of Etowah High School, Vanessa Moczygemba of Tractor Supply Company, and National Association of Agricultural Educators President Eric Tilleman.
A Cherokee County School District teacher has been honored with the nation’s top award for agricultural educators!
Etowah High School teacher Ashley Rivers, who leads the school’s Career Pathway agriculture program, is one of only six teachers nationwide to win the 2024 National Association of Agricultural Educators’ Outstanding Agricultural Education Teacher Award.
The honor recognizes teachers at the “pinnacle of their careers, conducting the highest quality agricultural education programs and rewards them for their excellence, leadership, and service in the agricultural education profession,” according to the association.
An 18-year educator, Ms. Rivers leads Etowah’s Career Pathway agriculture programs, which she has grown to include both Plant and Floral Design Systems and Companion Animal Systems.
The award judges praised Ms. Rivers for her teaching philosophy of fostering student personal growth to prepare them for various careers through initiatives like the student-led greenhouse and career-focused industry certifications.
Ms. Rivers has earned numerous honors for her excellence as an educator. She is a 2024 FFA National Teacher Ambassador, a title earned by only 64 teachers nationwide; and past winner of the Georgia Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association’s Outstanding Educator Award and two-time recipient of the Georgia Farm Bureau’s First District Young Farmer Excellence in Agriculture Award.
She also serves as Etowah’s FFA chapter advisor, which also has earned numerous accolades including the national 2023 3 Star Chapter award, the highest rating awarded.
The national Outstanding Agricultural Education Teacher Award, sponsored by Tractor Supply Co., was presented to Ms. Rivers during the association’s national convention in December in San Antonio.
The Cherokee County School Board and Superintendent of Schools Mary Elizabeth Davis will recognize Ms. Rivers at this month’s school board meeting.
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