FFA Director Melissa Lovett
State and nationally recognized FFA
FFA senior Nathan DeYoung
profile SHENANDOAH
Green energy, red-hot FFA teams part of education with values MIDDLETOWN – It’s an ordinary day at Shenandoah Elementary School and students are engaging in the old fashioned, time-honored playground activity of jumping rope. This time, though, they’re doing it not just for fun but also for a cause, raising money for the American Heart Association. Shift the scene to a routine Monday night and Shenandoah FFA students are in an unlikely place for teens – a public government meeting. They are among a packed crowd at the Henry County Courthouse, attending a Henry County Commissioners meeting. They are The school offers there not for student passionate, government extra credit, but to testify comprehensive on the divisive topic of and cutting-edge CAFOs. education. Fast-forward the setting to Christmas and it’s party time for Nathan DeYoung, a Shenandoah FFA senior. His destination was not a friend’s house but Middletown Head Start where he helped deliver gifts to needy kids. “The facial expressions those kids had that day were priceless,” DeYoung said. Such is the state of education at Shenandoah. From the youngest of students to the seniors in a nationally recognized FFA program, the school offers compassionate, comprehensive and cutting-edge education. The newest northern Henry County landmark – a towering wind turbine just north of Shenandoah’s school facilities – serves as a symbol for this corporation. It’s green and growing: in energy, status and state-of-the-art facilities. The wind turbine, constructed in 2013, will drastically reduce Shenandoah’s energy bills while, at the same time, serving as a cool educational tool for
students, as teachers apply real-life lessons to the wind-driven power generator. The school’s FFA program is state and nationally recognized. In 2013, its Ag Issues team, led in part by students who testified locally on the CAFO status, was among the top four in the nation. FFA is well respected here, says Director Melissa Lovett, who waited eight years for the job to open. “I knew this was the only place I wanted to teach,” said Lovett, whose students, active in everything from public meetings to charity events, have proven that FFA is much more than “farming, animals and dirt.” A new weight room was opened in 2013 for students and athletes, named in honor of the late Curtis Parker, a Sulphur Springs fireman and bus driver. A state-of-the-art media center is complete with a television studio where students can experience roles as announcer, producer and sound technicians. The school’s media director is thrilled with the facility. “It’s wonderful,” Colette Huxford said. “Having the windows, the high ceilings and the comfy chairs just invites the kids to curl up with a book and read. All the brightness is just very inviting.” Thanks to work by a data coach – a new concept many schools are utilizing – teachers also are able to track student progress in a state-of-the-art way. Shenandoah Elementary School Principal Brent Kinsey displayed a series of data cards created to ensure that no child falls through the cracks. Perhaps the most appealing part of the Shenandoah education effort is its homegrown nature. It starts with Supt. Ron Green, a Shenandoah alumnus. “There’s great leadership here,” Kinsey said. “I think Mr. Green is an outstanding superintendent. He has so much of his life invested in this school. He will not let it become anything but great.” ■
‘there’s great leadership here’ CHAMBER MAGAZINE, Spring 2014 | 21