The Urban Agricultural (Ag.) Academy started the school year off in the midst of construction, field trips, new staff and an upcoming greenhouse.

The updates which started last school year have finished and the academy is waiting for the greenhouse. It is predicted to be ready around the start of the next school year.

“I am happy with the updates,” Ag. teacher Tyler Schindler said. “There are a couple of things I would have appreciated getting an opinion on, but I am glad we have more space to teach our science-based lessons.”

Two new classrooms have also been added on the south side across from rooms 111 and 112.

“I like the new classrooms,” Urban Ag. Food and Natural Resources Instructor and Future Farmers of America (FFA) advisor, Taylor Cooper said. “There is way more storage space-wise and you can move around.”

Cooper believes the new classrooms are better than the portables Ag. participants were in before.

“The new classrooms are helpful by adding more space, but they don’t feel like classrooms to me,” sophomore Brooke Powers said.

The most difficult part for both Cooper and Schindler was the fact that the wi-fi router wasn’t installed into the new rooms until the second week of school.

Another issue is how the light switch controls both lights in the new classrooms.

Cooper is a new addition to the Academy. She is a co-sponsor for Future Farmers of America (FFA) and has a background in science.

“It definitely has been a change for me,” Cooper said. “The facilities are really nice as a new teacher.”

The greenhouse, which is predicted to be done next summer, is for all Ag. students. Cooper and Schindler are planning to grow food that’s available for the school and community there.

The greenhouse will include a rolling table, watering and regular bench systems. All of these are meant to make the greenhouse more organized and easier to use.

Additionally, the Ag. Academy is going on field trips to enhance student learning. Sophomores in the Academy visited Husker Harvest Days on Sept. 13. They will also attend a national FFA convention later this month.
The Academy teachers are making sure that their students are getting their share of volunteering and agriculture education done. The students have been experiencing new things, whether it’s outside with the soil, or inside with lab experiments.

Ag. Academy updates will end with the new greenhouse. Although staff has faced problems before, they are happy with the results they’ve seen so far.