KSU awarded $147,469 grant to partner with Kentucky high schools on agriculture, STEM education

Awards/honors

▪ Kentucky State University has received a three-year, $147,469 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to help establish an agriculture-STEM education and outreach program geared toward K-12 students across the state.

With this grant, KSU will provide participating high school students with short lectures and hands-on demonstrations to deepen their understanding of STEM fields, including agriculture and aquaculture, in particular.

So far, KSU has committed to work with seven high schools: Western Hills High School (Frankfort), Boyd County High School (Ashland), Trinity High School (Louisville), Mason County High School (Maysville), Clay County High School (Manchester), Harrison County High School (Cynthiana) and Carroll County High School (Carrollton).

KSU will also collaborate with Alltech and the Newport Aquarium’s Wave Foundation to host a multidisciplinary Ag-STEM Day event at Kentucky State’s Aquaculture Research Center in Frankfort.

School administrators who are interested in participating should contact Ken Thompson at Ken.thompson@kysu.edu or 502-597-8107.

▪ Congressman Andy Barr hosted an academy sendoff press conference on June 19 as seven Kentuckians prepared to enter the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

Students are nominated to the academies by members of Congress. The academies then select which students will be appointed. Attendance at an academy comes with a commitment to serve in the military for a minimum of five years upon graduation.

Area students receiving an appointment are:

U.S. Military Academy at West Point:

Dalton Alan Carter, Mount Sterling, son of Heather and Marlin Carter, and a graduate of Montgomery County High School

U.S. Air Force Academy:

McKenzie Rebekah Clay, Lexington, daughter of Brad and Christine Clay, and a graduate of Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School

Kyle P. McMillan, Lexington, son of Joe and Karen McMillan, and a graduate of Lexington Catholic High School

Christopher Michael Collins, Winchester, son of Brian and Kristi Collins, and a graduate of George Rogers Clark High School

Richard Matthew Haywood, Lexington, son of Rich and Julie Haywood, and a graduate of Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School

U.S. Naval Academy:

Alyson Kaye Wade, Lexington, daughter of Steve and Nancy Wade, and a graduate of Lafayette High School

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy:

Eliza Kate Miller, Richmond, daughter of Jubal and Mardi Miller, and a graduate of Madison Central High School

▪ Sandy Boyken and Debbie Smith, both of Lexington, have been awarded Honorary State Future Farmers of America degrees at a ceremony during the 88th State FFA Convention in Lexington. The honorary degree is awarded to adults who have made a significant contribution to the state association.

Boyken, an employee of the Lexington Center, and Smith, an employee of the Hyatt Regency Lexington, have provided support to Kentucky FFA since the state convention moved to Lexington in 2009. Smith has also served as a judge at the state convention.

Kentucky FFA is made up of more than 14,500 middle and high school students enrolled in agricultural education courses. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

▪ School administrators Thad Elmore, Washington County; Ty Howard, Washington County; Elaine Kaiser, Woodford County; Jason Radford, Kentucky Association of School Superintendents; and James Carrier, Jeff Craiger, Michael Godbey, Gwen Lawson and Dreama Tomlison, all of Lincoln County, have earned advanced credentials from the National Institute for School Leadership.

Central Kentucky school districts are among 160 districts in Kentucky, Mississippi and Pennsylvania piloting the institute initiative funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Supporting Effective Educator Development grant program. The institute aims to strengthen school leadership and thus improve student learning.

▪ Arikka Standafer, an Eastern Kentucky University senior from Sandgap, is one of six students selected from across the nation to participate on the American Health Information Management Association Student Advisory Committee.

In October, Standafer will attend the association’s convention in Los Angeles, where she will plan the student track and represent student needs to the association’s leadership.

▪ Two students from Winburn Middle School earned a special prize under “U.S. Constitution” in the National History Day Contest, held June 11-15 at the University of Maryland. Matthew David Klee and Ava Chen’s group website on “Gideon vs. Wainright: A Citizen’s Stand for Counsel” won first-place honors at the state level to qualify for nationals. Go to Nhd.org for more information.

▪ The Community Partners Leadership Team is accepting nominations through July 20 for the 2016-17 Golden Apple Awards. The awards are given to community partners that provide an exceptional commitment of time, energy and expertise to individual schools or the Fayette County district as a whole through mentorships and programs and initiatives. The winners will be recognized at Commerce Lexington’s Spotlight event at 8 a.m. Aug. 10 at Frederick Douglass High School, 2000 Winchester Road.

For a nomination form, go to Fcps.net/media/2262376/apple_noms.pdf. To nominate someone, go to Apps.fcps.net/GoldenApple/Nomination.asp

The Community Partners Leadership Team includes representatives of two dozen organizations and the Fayette County Board of Education. This group organizes, guides and monitors the ongoing work of school/community partnerships and serves as a link between Fayette County Public Schools and the community.

▪ The Technology Student Association sponsor at Lexington Traditional Magnet School, Jennifer Williams, has been named Kentucky’s Middle School Adviser of the Year. Williams has been a Technology Student Association adviser for 19 of her 20 years in education. She teaches engineering technology at the school, where she has taught for the last five years.

More than 8,000 people attended the association’s conference June 21-25 in Orlando, Fla., where the theme was “Defining Your Future.”

In the national contests, Southern Middle School’s William Allen placed sixth in career prep and ninth in digital photography, while Alex Alaniz, Lucas Wright and Troy Nolan made the Top 12 in medical technology. Teacher Staci Davis advises the Technology Student Association at Southern.

This story was originally published July 3, 2017 at 9:08 AM with the headline "KSU awarded $147,469 grant to partner with Kentucky high schools on agriculture, STEM education."