Dressler receives national recognition for ag, FFA efforts

Press Release from National Association of Agricultural Educators

Hauser Agricultural Educator Kelly Dressler is one of 37 agricultural educators nationwide who will receive the 2021 National Association of Agricultural Educators Teachers Turn the Key scholarship award.

The association announced the awards last fall at its annual convention in New Orleans

The Teachers Turn the Key scholarship award is given to young teachers as a means of encouraging them to remain in the profession, as well as recognize their participation in professional activities. The recipients are selected amongst a nationwide pool of candidates, based upon their involvement in and dedication to the agricultural education profession.

Dressler has just finished her third year in the classroom at Hauser Jr./Sr. High School where the agriscience program consists of 220 students who are enrolled in an agriculture class. The Hope FFA chapter has 86 members, involving nearly 20% of the student population, making it the largest student organization in the school. 

Dressler believes that as a teacher, if she is able to teach all of her students practical skills and knowledge, they will continue to blossom as they leave the classroom, regardless of any challenges they face. It is her passion to lead students on a journey of purposeful learning through student-driven instruction and project-based learning. 

Since becoming an advisor in 2018, Dressler has pushed her students to seek success. She has helped students succeed in several leadership areas including; one Indiana FFA Nominating Committee member, two District XI officers, two Washington Leadership Conference participants, five Indiana FFA Leadership Camp Counselors, eight Hoosier Degree recipients, five American Degree recipients, one State Career Development Event winner, an Indiana Top Ten Chapter, and a National Premier Chapter in Growing Leaders.

The Hauser Jr./Sr. High School agriculture program currently encompasses several different classes including:

• Exploring Ag
• Intro to Agriculture
• Animal Science
• Animals
• Plant & Soil Science
• Ag Power
• Ag Business Management
• Food Science

For all classes, except the introductory level courses, students have the opportunity to earn dual-credit through Ivy Tech Community College. Dressler prioritizes incorporating 21st century learning and employability skills into challenging, cross-curricular, and engaging assignments.

Her favorite culminating assignment is “Growing a Greenhouse Project,” where her students take what they have learned the entire year and create their ideal greenhouse business as their final project.

In addition to her formal classroom and laboratory instruction, Dressler works with students to develop their own Supervised Agricultural Experiences, which help them develop applicable career and life skills. Students keep records through the AET system (an online record keeping system), which accounts for 10% of their class grade.

During Dressler’s first year of teaching, she realized that many of the younger students struggled with understanding the purpose of an SAE project. In response, she developed a semester-long activity that allowed her 7th grade students to build a foundational understanding of several different types of SAE’s they could be a part of. At the end of the semester, students learn about 18 different SAE opportunities so that they have a better understanding as they progress to choosing their own in the Introduction to Agriculture class.

Through strong partnerships with industry specialists, community stakeholders, chapter alumni members, advisory committee members, and community professionals, students are exposed to many different career paths. The Bartholomew County FFA Alumni & Supporters was chartered in 2016 with 25 members, and as of 2021 there are 155 members who have volunteered over 300 hours to local FFA members. They have raised over $27,000 in scholarship funds, specifically for FFA members.

Additionally, the Hope FFA Chapter began a seed auction in 2015 where members partner with local seed dealers to secure donations to sell to local farmers. Over the past five years, over 400 bags of seeds have been donated and nearly $60,000 has been raised through the event.

Hope FFA members also run a food booth during the Hope Heritage Days town festival, where community members and visitors come together to support local organizations and learn more about the town’s history. Partnerships like this help to strengthen the future of the agriculture industry, which reinforces Dressler as an outstanding recipient of the NAAE Teachers Turn the Key scholarship award.

The Teachers Turn the Key scholarship brings together agricultural educators with two to four years of classroom experience and immerses them in three days of professional development, focusing specifically on early career goals and needs. Participants also have the opportunity to become involved in NAAE leadership and network with other NAAE convention attendees. TTTK awardees come away from the experience with a
long-lasting peer cohort and tools that will help them have successful careers as agricultural educators.

RAM Trucks sponsors the TTTK program, as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.