Fort Atkinson board tables major high‑school agriculture course redesign for November approval

Amy Oakley, director of instruction for the Fort Atkinson School District, presented a proposed redesign of the high school agriculture program at the board’s Oct. 21 meeting, including six new course offerings, five course updates and three course eliminations. The board voted to place the course proposals on the table for formal consideration at the district’s November meeting.

Oakley said the changes are intended to make the program “current, connected to student interest, and aligned to the expanding career pathways within the area of agriculture.” She told the board the redesign groups courses into pathways such as animal science, plant science, natural resources, an apprenticeship option and an agriculture technology strand, and that no additional staff will be hired “as a result of these new courses.” Oakley added that new and revised course titles and semester‑length options are intended to reduce redundancy and increase scheduling flexibility for students.

The proposals include new classes such as outdoor recreation, forestry and wildlife management, agriculture technology, dairy science and a range of animal‑care offerings; revised courses such as plant science and crop and soil science; and recommended eliminations where overlap exists with business education or family and consumer sciences. Oakley said some courses will be offered every other year because of staffing and enrollment considerations. She also noted that some offerings include Department of Natural Resources (DNR) certifications — “hunter safety, boater safety, archery, snowmobile safety, and ATV safety” — and that two teachers are DNR‑certified instructors.

Board members asked about scheduling, prerequisites and college credit. Oakley and staff said many courses will run only if enrollment is sufficient and that the district plans to seek science equivalency for certain classes (animal science, plant science) and dual‑credit agreements with Western Technical College for some courses; animal science is already a dual‑credit class. Oakley said that some upper‑level courses will require a lower‑level prerequisite but that the redesign reduces prerequisites overall to expand access.

The board heard from teachers who worked on the plan — including Shannon Lyon and Abby Kurt — and from administrators Leanne Shirell and Laura Krause Emmerich, and Cindy Sandberg, the district’s career and technical education coordinator. Oakley told the board she had presented the redesign to students, who she said were “super excited” about the new options.

After discussion the board passed a resolution to place the new and revised high‑school course proposals on the table for consideration at the November board meeting. The resolution listed specific new courses (outdoor recreation; wildlife and fishery management; forestry and woodland management; dairy science; milk‑to‑market; animal companions; horses to hamsters; ag technology) and revised courses (plant science; plants at home; crop and soil science; animal business and agriculture; plants, wildlife and agriculture) for the board’s review.

The proposals will return to the board for a formal approval vote in November; Oakley and staff told the board that individual courses will only run when enrollment and staffing allow and that the district will pursue science equivalencies and dual‑credit arrangements where appropriate.