Demand is increasing for agriculture teachers in Illinois.
Dean Dittmar, who coordinates an Illinois Board of Education project called Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education (FCAE), tells Brownfield that was a recurring theme in their 2022 Ag Food and Natural Resources Education Report.
“Last year was an all-time high for demand. 139 schools across the state had a vacancy for an agriculture teacher.”
He says 374 schools are offering agriculture courses, an increase of 4% on the year and nearly 40,000 students are enrolled in ag classes, up 12%.