Winston Elementary School second grade teacher Cherise Strickland has been recognized with the Ag In The Classroom Rockstar Teacher (AITC) Award for her work teaching the importance of agriculture to the next generation.
Board members from Douglas County Farm Bureau, including South Douglas Elementary music teacher Natalie Murray, presented Strickland with a certificate and flowers at Winston’s staff meeting on April 11.
Strickland will also get an all-expenses paid trip to Utah this summer to participate in the National AITC Conference.
“She has done amazing things with incorporating Ag in her classroom this year, from raising chicken eggs, growing seedlings to plant in the school garden, to participating in the virtual Adopt-a-Cow Program through the Discover Dairy organization,” Murray said.
The contest is now in its fourth year. Murray said she started it after getting a chance to attend the national conference when it was in Arkansas about five years ago.
Murray said the contest will be available to teachers in DCSS every school year.
“DC Farm Bureau also offers a wide variety of books and resources absolutely FREE to any teacher wanting to incorporate Ag in their classroom,” Murray said.