DECATUR, Ill. (WAND)- The Howard G. Buffett Foundation has committed $9 million in funding to help build a FFA Agriculture Education Center.
The Decatur Public Schools Foundation announced the commitment Wednesday morning.
This investment will help establish the Dwayne O. Andreas Ag Academy as one of the country’s premier dedicated Ag education sites and supplement the coursework and National FFA Organization programming available to Decatur Public School students enrolled in the program.
“When we provided the funding to create the Dwayne O. Andreas Ag Academy, we had no idea how successful this program would become,” said Howard G. Buffett, Chairman and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.
Buffett continues “By building this facility, I believe it further solidifies the reputation of the Ag Academy and its students as among the best in the United States. We appreciate the support of this new project by the Mayor, the City Council, the County Board and the ongoing support of the School Board, which originally embraced the inception of the Ag Academy.”
The Andreas Academy was established in August 2018, thanks to a $1.65 million gift from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, including educators and FFA Advisors at Eisenhower and MacArthur High Schools who lead a formal academic and field-based curriculum, with an emphasis on career development in the agriculture industry.
The Academy has allowed for students from both high schools to work collaboratively to build a hands-on Living Science Farm.
At this site students pursue entrepreneurial ventures and SAE (Supervised Ag Experience) activities with livestock and horticulture. The new facility will vastly expand the program’s acreage and dedicated instructional space.
“Decatur is proud to be the Agribusiness Capital of the World, and this innovative gift from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation opens new opportunities for our students,” said Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe.
Mayor Wolfe continues “Our future is directly tied to theirs, and giving them the foundation to grow their own success will impact this community in ways we can’t even imagine. Our thanks to Howard Buffett for continuing to support Decatur’s young people with amazing possibilities.”
This fall, Andreas Academy FFA Officers from MacArthur High School were selected as a National Model of Excellence chapter based on activities during its third year of existence. This achievement recognized these Decatur students as a Top Ten chapter among 8,817 in the nation.
“From 202 students enrolled our first year, we’ve grown to 435 Academy members this fourth year. We’re now operating with four full-time Ag teachers after opening with two,” said Decatur Public Schools Foundation Executive Director Zach Shields.
Shields adds “The program has grown at a rate requiring facilities beyond those that exist in the current high school buildings.”
Marie Shaffer the program’s first graduate states “This program has genuinely changed my life.”
Shaffer served as President of the MacArthur FFA chapter and now studies plant biotechnology at the University of Illinois College of ACES (Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences).
Shaffer adds “There have been so many opportunities presented to me through the Andreas Academy, and I can’t wait to see where else agriculture takes me.”
