The first year of teaching for an agricultural educator can best be described as hectic, and often overwhelming. Not only do first-year agriculture teachers have to create class content for the first time, build relationships with their new students and coworkers, and learn the policies specific to their new schools, but they also have to navigate advising an FFA chapter and all of the duties that come with that position. Fortunately, in Nebraska, a Nebraska Agricultural Educators Association (NAEA) program supported by the Nebraska FFA Foundation exists to help solve that problem. The NAEA Beginning Teacher Program, which began in the 2015-16 school year, seeks to assist first-year agriculture teachers as they maneuver through their inaugural year.
Through the NAEA Beginning Teacher Program, first-year agriculture teachers are matched with a mentor in their FFA District who provides year-round support as they transition into their new roles. This mentor also helps the new teacher set up expectations for the school year and aids them in understanding the specifics of FFA in their district. Additionally, as a part of the program, first-year teachers attend a monthly Zoom meeting where upcoming deadlines and events are discussed. Twice a year, the first-year teachers gather in person for collaborative professional development sessions.
Toni Rasmussen is the agriculture teacher and FFA advisor for Wayne High School, and she participated in the NAEA Beginning Teacher Program during the 2017-18 school year. In her first year of teaching, Rasmussen vividly remembers an instance when she needed help from her mentor, Kevin Anderson. She was struggling to figure out how to organize her students’ schedules for an upcoming Career Development Events competition. She reached out to her mentor through the NAEA Beginning Teacher Program and he walked Rasmussen through exactly what she needed to do to make sure each student would make it to where they needed to be. Rasmussen recalls how relieved she felt in that moment and how it helped her to realize she wasn’t alone. Those small moments of assistance from a mentor can make a huge difference to a first-year teacher.
In addition to teaching at Wayne, Rasmussen now serves as the Mentor Coordinator for the NAEA Beginning Teacher Program. In this role, Rasmussen leads the monthly Zoom meetings, plans the two in-person meetings, and acts as a secondary resource for first-year teachers. A primary goal for Rasmussen is to improve agriculture teacher retention in Nebraska. “One of the things that has been a focus in the NAEA Beginning Teacher Program is asking, ‘What’s causing teachers to leave?’, and ‘How can we help solve that problem or support teachers along the way?’” She believes that the support and community developed through the various components of the NAEA Beginning Teacher Program can truly make a difference in motivating first-year teachers to persevere.
The work that Rasmussen and other leaders in the NAEA Beginning Teacher Program are doing is crucial to ensuring that Nebraska agriculture teachers feel supported and that students across Nebraska continue having access to agricultural education. The Nebraska FFA Foundation is proud to support programs like this to continue our mission of growing the leaders who make agriculture education and FFA possible.
