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Janet Sims Teacher of the Year Award

Application information for the 2012 Teacher of the Year award is now available. This year's postmark deadline is November 7, 2011.

2012 Teacher of the Year Brochure
Teacher of the Year Application
Teacher of the Year Rules and Guidelines
Teacher of the Year Judge's Worksheet

Theresa Farris
2011 Janet Sims Memorial Teacher of the Year
2011 "Excellence in Teaching About Agriculture" Award Recipient

Theresa Farris, Service Valley Charter Academy kindergarten teacher, was named the Foundation's 2011 Janet Sims Memorial Teacher of the Year. She was honored at the annual State Ag Day celebration in March in Topeka. Farris was also named one of five recipients nationwide of the "Excellence in Teaching About Agriculture" award sponsored by the USDA and National Agriculture in the Classroom Consortium in June.

Farris keeps her students busy with many projects, especially hands-on learning activities. Her students take care of the school’s chickens, plant a garden on school grounds, and learn about monarch butterfly conservation.

In addition to these projects, Farris employs several strategies to teach agriculture, including an inquiry-based learning approach. Farris’ students conduct research that is driven by student questions that arise while learning a topic. “One of our trips to the chicken coop brought with it a discussion about the fact that our chickens lay brown eggs. One student made the comment that white eggs were better than brown eggs, so we created a case study to determine if we could taste the difference,” shares Farris.
Janet Sims photo

The Foundation recognizes one Kansas teacher each spring who demonstrates a commitment to connecting their classroom to Kansas agriculture. Any K-12 teacher who is teaching in a certified school in Kansas in a non-vocational agriculture classroom setting and who is integrating agricultural concepts into non-agricultural curricula is eligible for this award.

The Teacher of the Year Award has been a part of the Foundation for many years. In 2008, it was renamed in honor of Janet Sims who passed away from muscular dystrophy in June 2007. Janet served on the KFAC board of directors since November 2005, and during that time she served on the education committee and also contributed tremendous support, leadership and– most importantly –
a passion for youth education to the Foundation.

KFAC is proud to honor Janet and her family by sponsoring the Janet Sims Memorial Teacher of the Year Award.

More about Janet Sims »
Janet Kaye Sims Memorial Website »
Frequently Asked Questions »
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