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VoAg the First Choice in CT

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VoAg the First Choice in Connecticut
By Frances C. Foley, May 2006.

What made Connecticut government decide to implement agricultural education in the 1950’s?

1. Forty percent of the 3.1 million acres in Connecticut was farmland in 1950.
2. The census of 1950 rated Hartford County first in the nation in the value of agricultural products per acre.
3. Agriculture was important to the state contributing over 146 million dollars to the economy in 1954.
4. The average age of farmers was increasing and the number of family farms was falling.
5. As farmers disappeared, so did the knowledge base to sustain the agricultural segment of the state economy.
6. Young men did not choose farming as an occupation because both the initial costs and risks of failure were high.
7. Farmers of the future would need to learn new skills and technology as the business of farming changed.

The state government passed laws to create and regulate regional vocational agricultural (VoAg) centers in the 1950’s. Normally students are required to attend the schools in their home town. But with a new choice available students could apply to their regional VoAg high school. The State Board of Education administers and funds these regional programs. The relationship between local boards of education, regional agricultural centers and students is governed by these laws. The steps a student takes to pursue this ‘Choice’ of regional VoAg education have not changed:

1. Local schools in the region must allow the agricultural centers access to hold an information session to recruit eighth graders yearly.
2. Interested students submit an application for admission.
3. The VoAg department chairman and admission committee select students from the participating towns in the region. †
4. The student’s home town pays tuition and provides transportation to the regional VoAg high school.

†Note: Towns with a comparable program for their students are not required to participate in the regional VoAg program.

An Interview with a VoAg Department Chairman. Read Frances Foley’s interview with Mr. Schultz, the Lyman Hall High School VoAg Department Chairman.

Watch this Flash interactive narrative and learn more about agriculture and education in Connecticut by Frances C. Foley, May 2006.