New opportunities: Ag-related topics added to curriculum

HINCKLEY, Ill. — Students at the Hinckley-Big Rock Middle School are learning about a wide variety of agricultural-related topics through three new classes added to the curriculum this year.

Zoey Dye is teaching 6th Grade Agricultural STEAM, 7th Grade Agriculture and 8th Grade Agriculture.

“The seventh- and eighth-graders have five choices for their exploratory classes, and they pick four, so I teach the majority of the seventh- and eighth-graders,” Dye said. “All the sixth-graders take STEAM, so we turned that class into an agricultural STEAM.”

“I think we’ve had wonderful success with the middle school because of the community and school support and we were able to hire a fantastic teacher,” said Tracey Sanderson, who has taught agriculture at Hinckley-Big Rock High School since 2013.

“We didn’t launch the middle school as an extension of the high school program; we gave it its own autonomy,” Sanderson said. “We chartered the middle school as an independent FFA chapter.”

Students in grades fifth through eighth are welcome to participate in Hinckley-Big Rock Middle School FFA events held locally or at the school. Activities at the section and state levels are available for the seventh- and eighth-graders.

“So, we can run two contest teams and train collaboratively together,” Sanderson said. “With a lot of other programs, usually the high school teacher gives some time to the middle school, but our middle school has its full legs.”

Dye grew up in the middle of Monticello and decided to take an ag class in high school on a whim.

“I didn’t have any friends in the class, but I like nature,” she recalled. “But my ag teacher saw my potential and she really pushed me.”

As a result, Dye was a chapter officer during her sophomore and junior years and as a senior was elected the chapter president.

“I knew I wanted to be in education and probably the end of my junior year I thought maybe I would teach agriculture,” she said. “I knew education was my path; it was just a matter of what subject area and what grade.”

As Dye realized there are a lot people who don’t know about the agricultural industry and many people have misconceptions about farming, that pushed her toward becoming an ag teacher.

“It’s so important now more than ever that we expose youth to agriculture,” she stressed. “And being near the University of Illinois, which is one of the top schools for agricultural education, it all fell into place.”

While student teaching at Streator High School, Dye learned about the new teaching position at Hinckley-Big Rock.

“It involved teaching at both the middle and high schools which is what I want to do and the FFA chapter was a separate charter which was even cooler,” the first-year teacher said.

“I feel very fortunate this has been as rewarding as it has and that comes from the parents, students, community and administration,” Dye said. “Everyone has been so supportive, and if I didn’t have that, I would not be as successful as I am now.”

“Zoey came highly recommended from her student teaching experience and she has middle school energy and ideas,” Sanderson said. “That’s what we wanted to hire, someone who understands the population well.”

The potential of middle school kids is amazing, Sanderson noted.

“In high school you start dealing with external stressors like jobs or sports,” she said. “At the middle school you can create exposure to leadership and the agricultural industry without the external stressors, so I’m curious to see how this population works through the program.”

All kids are welcome is the No. 1 rule for both Sanderson and Dye.

“Whether a student has a disability or comes from a low income, it’s doesn’t matter,” Sanderson said. “Above all, everyone has to belong.”

The middle school FFA members have participated in several community events this year.

“They really enjoyed the Culver’s fundraiser because they got to be the servers,” Dye said.

“We also helped with the Easter egg hunt at Plowman’s Park in Big Rock,” she said. “Our students hid all the eggs and watched the kids find them.”

The most recent event at Hinckley-Big Rock High School was FFA Ag Safety Day, which got its start in 2015.

“I had a group of students who wanted a tractor day. I liked the idea, but I questioned how it was providing something to the community,” Sanderson recalled. “I challenged them and said you can drive your tractor to school if you teach about your tractor.”

The first year, the event included a semi, a tractor and an ATV.

“It was a very small starting point and it keeps getting bigger and bigger every year,” Sanderson said. “Now we have about 600 kids going through the program from prekindergarten through eighth grade.”

Since it can be difficult to have a petting zoo in the middle of February during National FFA Week, the FFA members decided to move the petting zoo to Safety Day.

“The first responders’ community is the best because when you invite one, they invite their friends,” Sanderson said.

“If you invite police, they invite fire, and if you invite DeKalb County, then Kane County is going to be there, so we have drones, dogs and a smokehouse.”

Bryan Gorsky, a firefighter and EMT with the Hinckley Fire District, showed the kids some of the equipment on a fire engine. He graduated from Hinckley-Big Rock High School in 2023.

“I started as a cadet when I was 16 years old, which allows high schoolers to get a glimpse into the fire service and learn about it,” Gorsky said. “My father is a fireman, so I was born into it and always had a love for it, so I wanted to be a fireman since I can remember.”

As a freshman, Gorsky said he was a quiet kid who kept to himself.

“For whatever reason, Mrs. Sanderson saw something in me and pressured me to join FFA,” he said. “I caved in and went to my first meeting and it took off from there.”

Gorsky was active in many FFA events and the members elected him chapter president his senior year.

“That’s where I learned my ability to speak,” he said. “My SAE was on safety and I focused on the Hinckley Fire District and how they had out-of-date air packs and how to be safer on the job.”

One of the things that really sparked Gorsky’s interest in the fire service was public education and community outreach events like the FFA Ag Safety Day.

“I love it here today,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the FFA getting me out of my shell, I would not have the courage to talk to kids or talk about this awesome job.”

Looking toward next year, Dye said she is excited to add an officer team for the Hinckley-Big Rock Middle School FFA chapter.

“This year, I wanted to make sure all the students learned about agriculture and the FFA,” she said.

“Next year, we’ll have an officer team and I’m aiming for about six kids,” Dye said. “They won’t have titles, but they will plan the meetings and the outside events.”

“I’ve heard some really cool things so far from them and I want to involve the community more in my classroom and vice versa,” she said. “Students have also thought about making something and then selling it.”