LAURENS COUNTY, Ga. — When walking into Miss Robbie Wilkes' agriculture class at Northwest Laurens Elementary School, you'd think it's just a regular class until it's time to go outside.
"I teach students things like where their food comes from, where their clothing comes from, who the people are behind those items, and how they get on their plates," said Wilkes.
She also teaches students about the importance of nutrition and how to care for animals. They don't just learn out of a book, the students get hands-on experience.
"Getting their hands dirty is something they like to do anyway, but they're being a part of the foods that they're growing. We grow hydroponic lettuce, carrots," said Wilkes.
Kix Mccullars, Chance Spires, and Ja'Toriah Stanley are all in Wilkes' 4th grade agriculture class.
They all say that this is their favorite class, so we asked them why they love it so much.
"My favorite part is probably feeding the animals," said Kix.
"My favorite part is to come outside to feed the animals, the ducks, and Ozzy," said Ja'Toriah.
"I like playing with the animals," said Chance.
Wilkes says that elementary agriculture program is new to Georgia. This is the third year that Northwest Laurens has had the program, and Wilkes says each year just gets better.
"This is so exciting because Georgia is the first state to have an elementary agriculture program like this and have standards based for that program. Laurens County is even more exciting because we have three elementary schools right here in our county that offer this program to their students," she said.
Only 26 elementary schools in Georgia have this program.
"My goal for this class is to open their eyes to a world of opportunity, so that one day they will look back and appreciate and understand what this class offered them," Wilkes said.
The Agricultural Education classes being taught at Northwest Laurens Elementary School will put students on track for the Career, Technical, and Agriculture Education (C.T.A.E) program offered within the district's middle and high schools.
PREVIOUSLY FEATURED SCHOOLS