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Garland wins GFB teaching award


Posted on November 10, 2020 12:00 AM


Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) has awarded Cherokee County teacher Karen Garland its 2020 Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year Award. Garland, who teaches kindergarten through fifth-grade science at Clark Creek Elementary STEM Academy, was recognized for incorporating information about agriculture into her classes, while meeting curriculum requirements. 

As the award winner, Garland will receive a $500 cash prize and an expense-paid trip to the 2021 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference currently set  for Des Moines, Iowa. She will also be invited to present a workshop on her teaching methods at the Georgia Farm Bureau Educational Leadership Conference.

Garland credits the Agriculture in the Classroom and Farm to School programs with providing her with an exciting way to reach students that

Karen Garland is the 2020 Georgia Farm Bureau Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year. Representatives of her school and the Cherokee County Farm  Bureau, which nominated her for the award, celebrated her award with flowers and cake.

makes teaching fun. She uses the school’s vegetable garden as a springboard for teaching her students math, writing and science skills as they monitor the growth of the garden recording plant measurements and journaling their observations. Cherokee County Farm Bureau, which nominated Garland for the award, has worked with her on numerous projects and CCFB members volunteer in Garland’s classes as readers or to  help with Ag in the Classroom activities.