The STEM Council's working group focused on Agricultural Science and STEM set out to find ways where the two could integrate. The group's final recommendations to the STEM Council included spreading the word about their findings: Agricultural Science courses that satisfy Iowa Core standards can count for certain high school science credits, but there is an approval process to consider.

 

That process includes ensuring teachers are certified to teach science before getting school board approval on the match. As an example, agricultural science teachers who use CASE (Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education) in the classroom have successfully made this happen in their local school districts already, including Matt Eddy.

 

"The school board of Southeast Polk High School approved my animal and plant biotech course as a biology science credit," said Eddy, Southeast Polk High School agriculture teacher. "Now, students have a lot more flexibility in choosing which biology class works best for their schedule. The biology teacher was also able to offer a different environmental science because of this change, which gives students even more options in meeting their high school science graduation requirements."

 

You can find out more on the approval process here: www.IowaSTEM.gov/AgisSTEM.