Outstanding Secondary Program

Outstanding Secondary Program 

 A goal of NAAE is to promote outstanding programs in agricultural education and effectively communicate success stories. The Outstanding Secondary School Ag Ed Program Award promulgates that goal. Agricultural education programs in secondary schools are eligible to participate in this recognition program. 

 2017 State Winner - Jefferson County High School

Jefferson County Advisors (left to right)

Adam Martin, Jim Satterfield, Mike Maples

Jefferson County High School is located in Jefferson County, Tennessee.  Jefferson County is rural county located in the middle of East Tennessee approximately 30 minutes from Knoxville and the University of Tennessee.  Beef cattle and forage production are overwhelmingly the major agricultural enterprises in the area.  The Jefferson County High School student body consists of approximately 2300 students at both the Main Campus and Freshman Academy.  The Agricultural Education Department at Jefferson County High School is comparable to the size of the school.  Currently there are 235 students enrolled in classes with approximately 55% being female.  The FFA Chapter is an affiliate chapter so 100% of the students are also FFA members.  The Jefferson County FFA Chapter is a very active chapter and is the largest club or organization at Jefferson County High School.  Four programs of study are offered: Veterinary and Animal Science, Agricultural engineering and Applied Technologies, Horticulture Science, and Environmental and Natural Resource Management.

Additionally, there are two dual enrollment opportunities for Jefferson County agriculture students, Agriculture Business and Greenhouse Management/Plant Science.  Both of these courses are offered through the State Department of Education.  Jefferson County has been a three teacher department since 2000 with two of the three teachers having graduated from Jefferson County High School.  Mike Maples has been teaching for 30 years, Adam Martin for 17 years, and Jim Satterfield for 26 years.  The Jefferson County Agriculture Department believes strongly in the three circle model, balancing classroom instruction, supervised agricultural experience (SAE), and FFA.