The National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization (NAITCO), U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA), and Farm Credit partner each year to honor teachers in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade (PreK-12) from around the country for the innovative ways they use agricultural concepts to teach reading, writing, math, science, social studies, STEM, STEAM, and more.
Winning Teacher From Wisconsin:
- Joshua Gonzalez, a teacher at River Trail School of Agricultural Sciences in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, assisted in turning his current school from a traditional elementary school into an agriculture education specialty school. He serves as the agriculture committee chairman in addition to his regular teaching responsibilities. Every grade now has agriculture instruction as a regular part of their curriculum and has an agriculture project-based learning opportunity. He has built hoop houses, hydroponics towers, compost bins, a raised garden, a pollinator garden, a pumpkin patch, chicken tractor and chicken run, a perennial food forest of 120 fruit and nut trees, a shed, and more.
These educators will be honored at the 2026 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference “Illuminating Agriculture,” taking place June 22-25, 2026 in Providence, Rhode Island.
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