2nd-grade students at Creekside Elementary School watch chickens feed in a new chicken coop that was just built in their outdoor agriculture classroom. Photo by Joe Ragusa, Kentucky Department of Education, March 17, 2025
(SONORA, KY) – Students at Creekside Elementary (Hardin County) have been studying different animals this year as part of the school’s agriculture program.
The lesson on March 17 was about digestive systems and how different animals compare to humans. Canaan Holman and other 4th- and 5th-grade students were tasked with illustrating the digestive system of one of the animals, and Holman said he likes group projects like these.
“It actually helps a lot because if (our teacher) basically just gave you a packet and told you to do this stuff and learn about, you would not learn nearly as much as doing this,” Holman said.
The lesson is part of Creekside’s agriculture curriculum, AgSTREAM, which school leaders started developing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Principal Brooke Custis said they were able to “collaborate and innovate” with families and partners in the agriculture business during that time, including the Hardin County Farm Bureau, to develop a program everyone in the community believed in.
“And over the five years, it has just really blossomed,” she said.
The program at Creekside Elementary allows students in grades K-5 to participate in a variety of different agriculture-related activities. Laura Highbaugh is one of the teachers who has been leading classroom activities, and she says the children love coming to class.
“It is amazing to see … when they get out and they’re actually touching things and doing things, how much more of a connection they can make and how much of a connection they can make to their everyday life,” Highbaugh said. The students “… then take those things into the classroom and be able to write about them because they’ve done it.
Creekside Elementary hosted the kickoff event for All In for Ag Education Week, which runs March 17-21.
Agriculture Education Week is a collaboration between the Kentucky Department of Education, Kentucky Department of Agriculture and Team Kentucky to deliver an all-encompassing learning experience for students, equip educators with ready-to-use lessons and foster community involvement to create vibrant learning opportunities on the diverse world of agriculture for students.
Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher joined Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell at Creekside Elementary to learn more about the school’s program and launch All In for Ag Education Week.
Fletcher said agriculture education is a prime example two of the three big ideas in United We Learn, particularly vibrant learning experiences and community collaboration.
“What we’re seeing today is vibrant learning because it is relevant for the student,” Fletcher said. “We’re talking about activities that kids are doing in the classroom that connect with everyday life.”
Fletcher said the experiences of students at Creekside, whether they are comparing the digestive systems of different animals or learning how to plant different crops, are much more engaging for students.
“Instead of just getting the information, they’re interacting with the information,” Fletcher said.
4th- and 5th-grade students explain their animal digestive system project to Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher. Photo by Joe Ragusa, Kentucky Department of Education, March 17, 2025
Agriculture has a nearly $50 billion impact on Kentucky. There are nearly 70,000 farms in Kentucky, the 7th-most in the United States, that comprise more than 12.4 million acres of land, making up nearly 50% of Kentucky’s total acreage.
Shell said All in For Ag Education Week is designed to foster appreciation for agriculture and agricultural-related professions by engaging students at an early age. He said broadening access to agriculture education helps students understand at an earlier age where their food, fuel and fiber come from.
“Creating that interest in agriculture prepares the next generation of farmers, scientists, business leaders and innovators who will keep Kentucky agriculture strong,” Shell said. “Investing in education today ensures a thriving sustainable industry for tomorrow.”
KDE helped develop several resources for the initiative, including science lesson plans aligned with the Kentucky Academic Standards. Kentucky’s K-2 students will be learning about pollination through an agricultural lens, and students in grades 3-5 will be learning about erosion.
Fletcher, Coleman and Shell were taken on a tour of Creekside Elementary’s agriculture facilities as part of the All In for Ag Education Week kickoff event, including a chicken coop that was just installed in their outdoor classroom, which also features multiple gardens for planting different crops and a nature trail. Custis said the program keeps growing, too, with more interest from community partners.
Highbaugh said she has seen growth with children as they have progressed with their agriculture classes throughout their time at Creekside Elementary, getting them started early on a potential career in agriculture.
“It’s amazing, and then we can have even higher conversations about it and I can answer more questions and I can build on what we’ve already learned,” she said.
For more information on Agriculture Education Week, lesson plans and resources, visit the All in for Ag Education Week website.
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