The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), requests applications for the Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) program for fiscal year (FY) 2023 to increase agricultural literacy through K-12 education.
Donor Name: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
State: All States
County: All Counties
U.S. Territories: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of Palau
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/06/2023
Size of the Grant: $960,000
Grant Duration: 48 months
Details:
The purpose of AITC is to award up to one cooperative agreement to:
- Ensure that future generations are agriculturally literate;
- Encourage K-12 educators to integrate information about the food and agricultural system across curricula to assist students in understanding the pivotal role of agriculture in the U.S. and world economies, to introduce students to environmental and social issues impacting food, agricultural, natural resources, and human (FANH) sciences and to expose them to higher education and career opportunities in the FANH sciences; and
- Support a network of partners to carry out the program at the State and local levels, by fostering the development of active and effective AITC programs in each of the fifty States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United States, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. Accordingly, AITC funde
Program Area
This cooperative agreement will provide support for the following enhancement strategies to increase national agricultural literacy through K-12 education. Applicants must demonstrate how they will implement ALL strategies listed below.
- Strengthen state AITC programs;
- Support and conduct USDA AITC recognition programs;
- Host and maintain an AITC website as well as maintain and strengthen the national agricultural literacy curriculum database;
- Conduct research and evaluation projects supportive of the program goals;
- Develop and strengthen curriculum and development of materials to support teacher preand in-service trainings;
- Outreach and collaborate with other organizations and agencies; and
- Support of the National Center for Agricultural Literacy.
Strengthen State AITC Programs
Goals:
- Improve innovative teaching practices to impact student learning;
- Increase knowledge and competencies in agricultural sciences;
- Increase the number and diversity of K-12 academic programs participating in AITC;
- Foster partnerships and collaborations to strengthen agricultural literacy programs; and
- Increase knowledge, skills, and abilities of state AITC stakeholders to plan, deliver, and evaluate high quality agricultural literacy programs.
Activities
- Annual National AITC Conference
- Regional AITC conferences and other professional development opportunities
- Regional AITC meetings.
- Professional development webinar series
- Online professional development course(s).
- AITC meetings in Washington, DC
Support and conduct USDA AITC recognition programs
Goal
- Recognize and honor teachers nationwide who excel at teaching agricultural literacy.
Activity
- The awardee will design, plan, and conduct an annual K-12 teacher recognition program that highlights teaches nationwide who excel at teaching agricultural literacy and disciplines supportive of agriculture in the classroom.
- The awardee will work with the AITC NPL to provide logistical support to the annual USDA AITC Teaching Awards program.
Host and maintain an AITC website as well as maintain and strengthen the national agricultural literacy curriculum database
Goals
- Provide a “one-stop” web-based resource for teachers, students, and families for up-todate information on agriculture programs, careers, conferences, state-level activities, lesson plans, and other educational information;
- Foster improved, innovative teaching practices that increase student learning and engagement;
- Increase the number and diversity of academic programs participating in AITC;
- Support professional development activities;
- Facilitate and enhance the dissemination of teaching improvement activities and educational resources throughout the food and agricultural sciences academic system; and Maintain an online, searchable, and integrated agricultural curriculum database for K-12 teachers.
- Support and improve the visibility and awareness of the educational resources contained in the database to expand their impact in student development. Activity: The awardee will manage a national website and an online agricultural curriculum map. The lessons included in the online agricultural curriculum database will be based on national standards, including but not limited to the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (NALOs), national (Common Core) standards for science, social studies, and health education, and Next Generation Science standards.
Conduct research and evaluation projects supportive of the program goals
Goals:
- Conduct evaluation projects to determine AITC program accomplishments and outcomes; and
- Conduct research projects that add to the knowledge base of agricultural literacy.
Evaluation activities
- Develop and provide Requests for Applications (RFAs) for research and evaluation projects to measure state and national AITC accomplishments (outputs) and outcomes (impacts). Contingent on the amount of funding available, AITC will prioritize projects to be funded and award funds to sub-awardees through a competitive RFA process to conduct the selected projects.
Research activities
- Research activities will include but not be limited to the following: Innovative research to determine best-practices and strategies for delivering agricultural science and literacy programs; work collaboratively with STEM Education centers and organizations to conduct research related to STEM in FANH science programs; and assess a broad group of stakeholders, including those in the industry, to determine and prioritize needs related to agricultural sciences and literacy.
Develop and strengthen curriculum and development of materials to support teacher pre- and in-service trainings
Goals
- Develop relevant instructional materials for teachers and curriculum resources for youth to increase agricultural literacy outcomes in the National Agricultural Literacy Logic Model and meet national content, common core standards, and/or any other standard relevant to the topic being developed; and
- Reduce duplication and maximize resources across state programs.
Activities
- Develop curriculum resources—that are relevant and usable by a majority of state AITC stakeholders–to supplement and support the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (NALOs), the National Agricultural Literacy Logic Model, and web-based resources. A special focus will be on materials for middle-school and high-school youth but may also contain materials for elementary school.
Outreach and collaborate with other organizations and agencies
Goals
- Elevate educator awareness of AITC Classroom programs and available resources to contextualize core content with agricultural literacy outcomes; and
- Promote partnerships and collaborations to enhance agricultural literacy.
Activities
- Develop and disseminate national publications and curriculum resources as appropriate. Develop projects with partners, such as 4-H, Future Farmers of America (FFA), Minorities in Agriculture Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS), the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and other similar organizations that further the access to resources and enhance agricultural literacy and equity. Activities should seek to support underachieving schools and provide other outreach to increase knowledge gain and behavior change in youth related to FANH science systems.
Support of the National Center for Agricultural Literacy
Goal
- Maintain and strengthen the National Center for Agricultural Literacy (NCAL).
Activities
- The NCAL coordinates and facilitates a network of scholars, researchers, and practitioners that develop and test agricultural literacy programming and resources. Grant funds will be used to support the NCAL in building capacity of state AITC stakeholders to provide academically rigorous agricultural literacy training. Funds will also be used to support NCAL in creating seamless opportunities to bridge K-12 and post-secondary agricultural literacy programs and training opportunities for teachers and youth.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $960,000
- Award Ceiling: $960,000
- Award Floor: $960,000
Project Duration
48 Months
Eligibility Criteria
Applications may only be submitted by the following eligible applicants:
- State agricultural experiment stations;
- colleges and universities;
- university research foundations;
- other research institutions and organizations;
- Federal agencies;
- national laboratories;
- private organizations or corporations; and,
- individuals or any group consisting of two or more of the entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (H).
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
