AMBOY – There are many programs flourishing at Amboy High School.

One of them is agricultural education as teacher and Amboy FFA Director Joe Heavner has been guiding students through animal wildlife and agricultural mechanics and welding classes.

However, if a new proposal goes through the Illinois State Board of Education and is accepted, a small school like Amboy would be at a loss of some of the intangibles that have made agricultural and FFA a top program at AHS.

“At the Agriculture Teacher Conference last week, we received an update from the Illinois State Board of Education, specifically from the board member who represents Ag education,” said Heavner, who has been at AHS for the last four school years. “The report was about the Advance CTE (Career Technical Education) group. At the national level, this group is represented by all of the different state board of educations that work in CTE. They set the standard and determine what content and what curriculum (known as the National Career Clusters Framework)  falls in which CTE area such as agriculture, construction, medicine, and any other education based around career training.

“Earlier this summer, Advance CTE released a proposal for the new national framework. Right now, it’s a rough draft, but the rough draft wants to change the current Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resource format that is currently in place. They want to make it just agriculture and do away with food and natural resource in the same curriculum.

“This means any wildlife management class would no longer be able to be taught by an agriculture teacher. They also want to move the agriculture mechanics category out of agriculture and put it into construction. At a school like AHS where we have ag welding, ag construction, and ag mechanics, if this were to be adopted at the national level, and then the state level, I would no longer be qualified to teach welding, although, I’ve been teaching it for seven years.”

To help combat the new proposal by Advance CTE, Amboy High School needs your help.

The school is hosting “Ag in Action” from 5-7 p.m. Monday, July 1 to offer a survey to engage public comment about the rough draft’s proposed changes.

“Right now, it’s just a draft and the Advance CTE group will make a decision to move forward in October,” Heavner said. “They are taking public comment until July 7. Then they’re going to go back and revise their draft. We are encouraging people to come and fill out the public comment form to keep the agriculture content as it currently is.

“If the draft is adopted nationally, it’s still up to each state whether or not they want to make the changes at the state level. It wouldn’t necessarily happen right away, but I think eventually the Illinois State Board of Education would want to be in line with the national standards.

“It would be better for agriculture education if at the national level natural resources and food were able to stay underneath the agriculture umbrella. Then it wouldn’t cause a problem at the state level.”

If the new draft or proposal is adopted, AHS wouldn’t only miss out on future lessons and education, but it would lose already invested funds.

Within the last year, the Amboy agriculture program bought eight new welding machines, which cost approximately $4,000. This means AHS would not be able to use equipment it spent over $30,000 to purchase.

For Advance CTE to consider public comment, data is required.

Here are 2023-24 state-wide data points AHS has shared to make every word you write on the survey or testimony slip matter in the benefit of Amboy agricultural students:

Basic agricultural mechanics: 3,517 students in 175 schools (45% of schools)

Agricultural construction: 1,408 students in 84 schools (22%)

Agricultural welding: 1,212 students in 70 schools (18%)

Natural resources: 952 students in 61 schools (16%)

Advanced ag mechanics: 947 students in 76 schools (20%)

Advanced agricultural construction: 466 students in 46 schools (12%)

Environmental resources: 419 students in 21 schools (5%)

Agricultural engine maintenance: 363 students in 17 schools (4%)

Advanced welding: 333 students in 29 schools (8%)

Agricultural machinery service: 268 students in 22 schools (6%)

Agricultural metal fabrication: 234 students in 24 schools (6%)

Agricultural electrical systems: 144 students in 12 schools (3%)

Advanced Engine Maintenance: 37 students in six schools (2%)