PEACH COUNTY, Ga. — Not every day can a teacher say they are the district-wide Teacher of the Year at a school where they were once a student. For Luz Morales, it's a significant accomplishment, but she's even dreaming bigger as she works to grow a new crop of student success stories in the high school's agriculture program.
The Peach County School District recently honored her as the Teacher of the Year.
"Being recognized at such a high level so early on in my career is pretty astonishing," said Morales.
She is only in her fourth year of teaching and has been working to build up the school's agriculture program.
"For the past three to four years, we have been really trying to boost the program after a while that's needed some help. We had tried to strive not only for the students but for the community because, in the end, we want this community to prosper," said Morales.
Coming from an agricultural background herself, she understands the importance of farming. So Peach County High School's FFA program being recognized by the national Future Farmers of America organization means a lot to her and the students involved.
"The national FFA organization ranked our chapter between one and three stars. [Three stars] being the best, so we were ranked nationally as a 3-star chapter for the first time in a very long time," said Morales.
You can already see the possibilities taking root with the students.
"This ag program has helped me build my confidence as a leader; it has also helped me learn lifelong skills that I will take with me for the rest of my life," said student Tim Deas.
"I would not want to be an ag teacher if they weren't my ag teachers," said student Alayna Mitchell.
Right now, Morales says they are working to grow their diversity in membership. They also want to build partnerships and involvement with the community to give students an even more extensive view of just what agriculture can offer them as a career.
On August 30, the Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education Department program holds an after-hours business event. The event is for any supporters interested in partnering with Peach County High CTAE.
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