I just came from a presentation in Cooperstown, NY by Sarah James of Sarah James & Associates. Ms. James’ city/town planning firm specializes in working with municipalities in the United States and abroad to develop and implement plans to reduce public and private dependence on fossil fuels, synthetic chemicals and, in general, all things unnatural and harmful. The firm describes their mission:

Sarah James & Associates is a consulting firm offering services in city/town planning and community development. We specialize in planning that is oriented toward the goal of sustainability, and community development that is also sustainable development. We also specialize in citizen-based participatory approaches to city and town planning, and planning for sustainability.

What’s this got to do with education? In the public sphere, one of the types of buildings over which local authorities exercise the most control is the public school. We may have less control over curricular issues due to state/national guidelines, but ADA/zoning/etc. guidelines notwithstanding, we can build our physical plants as we see fit - subject to the approval of the public.

Ms. James and the local residents focused primarily on the moral and social arguments for greening up our towns: revitalizing industry by creating green projects (therefore giving the jobless jobs and the purposeless purpose); providing for a cleaner indoor and outdoor environment that would increase both health and happiness, etc. It is a noble endeavor and one that may provide very real benefits to the community.

For the majority of those in attendance, these arguments were enough. The other 99% of the community who did not attend - as well as a few attendees like myself - require that one of three conditions must be met before giving approval:

1. An accurate, demonstrated cost/benefit analysis that will decrease taxes;
2. An accurate, demonstrated cost/benefit analysis that will deliver more utility for the money we’re already spending;
3. A justification of a tax increase by urgency or societal benefit.

#3 is just about impossible to prove - witness the debate on global warming. The majority of citizens of Upstate New York share similar views as I hold: While the American carbon footprint isn’t nearly as small as that of the Bongo-Bongo tribe, they didn’t invent the microchip or put anyone on the Moon. So, we need to focus on #1 or #2.

The concept of “Green Building” has sprouted to meet the needs of the moral/social arguments as well as the fiscal. The US Green Building Council has taken the lead in developing environmentally-sound plans for communities, including public school buildings; many architects and planners in public service are increasingly paying attention to the ideas coming from the USGBC, including a few - though nearly non-existent and hardly significant - that are part of Cooperstown Central School’s proposed Capital Project. The EPA has a Green Building section on its website that provides information for small changes in planning that can save not just trees and toilet water, but also dollars and cents.

Locally, we have two schools that have made use of solar power to reduce their dependence, both politically and financially, on traditional fuels. The Voorheesville Central School District and Bethlehem Central School District have recently (the last 2-3 years, I believe) installed solar panels that generate power used directly by the building underneath. You can read a bit about how solar power is used in schools in the following newsletters from powernaturally.org [click to view, pdf document will open in a new window; right click and ’save as’ to save]:

• School Power… Naturally. “News and views from Solar Works, Inc. to School Solar Coordinators.” [Adobe Acrobat Document, PDF; 77kb]
• School Power… Naturally. “News and views from Solar Works, Inc. to School Principals and Solar Coordinators.” [Adobe Acrobat Document, PDF; 36kb]

Organizations that promote green building and environmentally-friendly policies are too-often heavy on lip service and light on data, especially financial. Even so, it is worth considering whether your school’s proposed building projects [current and future] could benefit from some of the ideas presented by the USGBC or PowerNaturally.org. A socially responsible and fiscally viable plan could go a long way to delivering value to your district’s residents.

For those interested in Sarah James’ book, co-authored with Torbjorn Lahti, you can take a look [or buy it] at Amazon: “The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns Can Change to Sustainable Practices.” New Society Publishers, 2004.

Have any of your schools considered or implemented any of these Green Building solutions? All details appreciated.

UPDATE at 4/28/07, 2.23pm:

The LA Times has a bit about LA Unified’s Maywood Academy High School:

L.A. Unified’s Maywood Academy High School (right) was named a semi-finalist in the 2007 Sustainable Leadership Awards for Design and Development. The campus is the first LAUSD high school to receive such a distinction, according to a district press release.

Maywood Academy’s sustainable features include: the “use of recycled content in its construction, improved storm water management, use of drought tolerant plants and shrubs, maximized use of daylighting to save energy costs and improve visual comfort and implementation of various energy efficiencies - including a cooling system which shuts off when windows are opened, and a ‘cool roof’ which insulates indoor temperature.”

They also link to some photos of Maywood; it looks pretty chic and modern. I know from Analytics that there’s a mass of visitors to this site from the LA-metro area - is anyone familiar with this case?

With current Board members Betsy Del Giacco Jay and Kelly Branigan having decided to vacate their seats on the Cooperstown Central School District Board of Education, the Cooperstown Crier reports that three candidates have stepped into the ring:

The Cooperstown Central School Board will welcome two new members after the election May 15, as both of the current board members whose terms are ending have decided not to run for reelection. Kelly Branigan will step down after 12 years on the board and Betsy Del Giacco Jay after six years.

District clerk Darlene Bennett said three people submitted petitions for the two open spots.

They are Paula Greene, Mary Leonard and Matthew Tabor.

From what I hear, that last one’s a pretty handsome guy.

I’d like to thank Mrs. Branigan and Ms. Jay for their service to the Board over the years. Few people are willing to devote so much time without the promise of remuneration or recognition.

In “Change Will Be Good for Board,” The Crier’s editorial staff weighed in today with some thoughts on what this election really means:

We were glad last week to learn that three new candidates are running for two open seats on the Cooperstown Central School Board of Education.

That’s not to imply we had problems with the two outgoing members, Kelly Branigan and Betsy Del Giacco Jay. Branigan put in 12 years of dedicated service and Jay spent six years on the board.

We thank both for the time and energy they spent helping to improve our children’s educational experience and hope they’ll continue to contribute.

No, we’re glad to see the new candidates because of what it says about the community.

The editorial continues by recalling a tumultuous year in which residents - and, as the editors admit, even the local media - have questioned some of the District’s decisions.

They’ve missed a key point, though. The remarkable aspect of the three candidates is not just that we stepped forward to contend for a difficult job, but that we’ve done so out of a genuine desire to serve the District. Usually when there is a period of contention in public education, angst-ridden residents trumpet their gripes and groom their pet issues for an assault on the system. From what I can tell, there are no such vendettas or personal agendas in this race - and that is refreshing.

Other local Districts, like Charlotte Valley Central School and Unatego Central School, are overflowing with challengers. In contrast, the Oneonta City School District’s incumbents appear to keep their seats safe.

As the election nears - it is May 15th - I will give attention to issues relevant to the Cooperstown Central School District, including analysis of the proposed Capital Project and the 2007-2008 Budget. In a few days I will have a tab on the site on which all of this information will be aggregated and readily available. Readers who aren’t from the District or Upstate New York will still find the analysis both interesting and informative; most all issues facing public schools are highly relevant to all districts.

The mailing list for this site has grown over the last two months - if you haven’t added your e-mail address to the list, you can do so in the box at the top left of the site [or, if you’re reading this post’s individual page, you’ll also see a box at the end of the post]. I will send news and updates with greater frequency over the next few weeks.

As always, District residents can e-mail me at mktabor@gmail.com with any questions about the May 15th election or my views on the school budget or the Capital Project and I will respond promptly. You can also call my office phone at 607.547.1968 or my cell phone at 607.435.8354. Accountability and accessibility are key elements in public education.

I would like to wish all candidates in school board elections near and far the best throughout the process. I look forward to hearing from as many residents as possible and networking with school board candidates in different parts of the country.

Each weekday I spend a few hours reading 150-200 education articles from RSS feeds in Google Reader (well, I throw in FireJoeMorgan, Curt Schilling’s 38Pitches and Mark Cuban, too). I tag some of the better articles to my del.icio.us and bookmark others I’d like to write about. There are currently 100+ bookmarked articles that may or may not see attention; there’s an ebb and flow, but I just can’t seem to pare down the list quickly enough.

The point of this post? In addition to some great stuff, I read a ton of garbage-writing about education. Sometimes it’s badly flawed in terms of logic or facts; other times the language used is utter nonsense. I wish this tripe confined itself to the internet, but last night an educational architect told me that new windows in a classroom are “scientifically proven to give a double-digit increase in education.” I forgot to give him my e-mail address so he could send me a message as soon as he could explain what a “double-digit increase in education” was (and link me to the research).

But at least I’m not alone. I found solace in two recent posts that lamented jargon, gobbledygook and nonsense in academics.

• Mark Montgomery of Textbook Evaluator - a blog I increasingly pay attention to, as readers of this blog have noticed - challenges the meaning of the phrase “critical thinking.” We see it in grading rubrics, syllabi, lesson plans, everywhere in education - and you’d get a blank stare from 99 out of 100 educators if you asked them what it meant. Then you’d get 100 different answers. Mr. Montgomery says:

To me, the phrase “critical thinking” is empty. Let’s give it some shape or toss it in the lexical garbage can.

Read his pithy treatment to find out why. Sometimes all it takes is a few sentences.

• Right Wing Nation, another favorite, points us to a National Review article about the prevalence of intellectual tripe in higher education. Jonah Goldberg hits the nail on the head and does so with refreshing, uncommon wit. If you want to read a few of Goldberg’s best quotes, check out RWN’s prime selections. Or you can check out the whole thing. Here’s an example of what you’ll find:

The move from a structuralist account in which capital is understood to structure social relations in relatively homologous ways to a view of hegemony in which power relations are subject to repetition, convergence, and rearticulation brought the question of temporality into the thinking of structure, and marked a shift from a form of Althusserian theory that takes structural totalities as theoretical objects to one in which the insights into the contingent possibility of structure inaugurate a renewed conception of hegemony as bound up with the contingent sites and strategies of the rearticulation of power.

Judith Butler, a gender theorist at UC Berkeley, is proud to own that one. What’s the reason for all this?

Today’s intellectual elite — the stars of Harvard and Berkeley — speak in such gibberish precisely because if they spoke plainly, clearing the smoke from their ideas, we’d learn that their views cover the spectrum from boringly unoriginal to sand-poundingly stupid.

Goldberg might be on to something. But be careful, Jonah; they might appear crazy, but like Cosmo Kramer, maybe they’re so sane that they blow our minds.

• And finally, there’s ScienceGeek’s Educational Jargon Generator. I love this one - all you have to do is click “Generate Jargon” and you’ll see a verb/adjective/noun combination reminiscent of what you see and hear… well, everywhere in education. Here are my first three tries:

1. “engage metacognitive functionalities”
2. “morph thematic processes”
3. “benchmark site-based styles”

What are your favorite/most deeply-rued pseudo-edu-witticisms? Your gripes on nonsense? Those overused terms that just don’t seem to mean anything?

C’mon, don’t be shy.

The Carnival is back at The Education Wonks this week. There are posts about everything from technology in schools to Virginia Tech, so come and get it - you’ll most certainly find something that interests you.

This week’s All-Star Team:

• Dangerously Irrelevant addresses two of the most salient issues in education: leadership and technology. The Carnival linked to one of his posts, but after reading for an hour, I’ve got to recommend his entire site.
• Textbook Evaluator makes consecutive All-Star Teams with a thoughtful post on curriculum and how we think about education. We’re distrustful, we can’t back it up with much, anything goes, and the textbook companies will put things in order if we don’t. Eeep.
• Education in Texas details the war of attrition between a motivated, effective teacher and her administration. Guess who won?
• Polski3 makes the best of that undesirable end-of-year curricular panic.
• Three Standard Deviations to the Left tells us why administration talks to us like we’re idiots. He means teachers, but “us” suffices for students, parents, teachers, and the community.
• Right on the Left Coast endorses his opponent for all the right reasons.
• The Education Wonks tell us about James Calderwood, the Eagle Scout who earned every possible merit badge - 122 in total. Are there any teachers who have passed every single PRAXIS?

You can read the entire Carnival, including my submission about the Texas teacher fired for maintaining grading standards.

A note about next week’s Carnival, hosted by Dr. Homeslice:

Next Week’s Carnival midway will be hosted by Dr. Homeslice. Contributors are invited to send submissions to: drhomeslice [at] hotmail [dot] com , or use this handy submission form. Entries should be received no later than 9:00 PM (Eastern) Tuesday, May 1, 2007. Please include the title of your post, and its URL, if possible. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the midway should open next Wednesday morning.

If you’re interested in some other good stuff [not just education], you can see the best of what I’ve read this week by going to my del.icio.us.

Sometimes I wonder exactly what goes on in the Weapons of Math Destruction’s school district. We all know the feeling, buddy.

We’re making progress in educating the public about the realities of college admissions. On the American Prospect Online, Kevin Carey of Education Sector analyzes “Admission Impossible?“:

As Ivy League universities report — once again — that admissions rates have fallen to record lows, newspapers rush to publish stories documenting the increasingly “frenzied” (variants: “frantic,” “brutal”) competition among students vying for a coveted slot in an elite school. The stock characters include the tearful student — dreams crushed under an avalanche of rejection letters — the angry parent, the frenzied guidance counselor, and the college admissions official or other expert who notes with grateful wonder, “If I had to apply to my alma mater today, I couldn’t get in.”

There’s just one problem: it’s not true. The declining odds of getting into an elite college are mostly a statistical mirage, caused by confusion between college applicants and college applications.

Carey’s points - right down to the italics on applicants - echo those I wrote about on April 11th in “Why Seth Godin and the Wall Street Journal are Wrong About College Admissions.” We agree on the following causes for the proliferation of seemingly-hopeless admissions stats:

• More applicants. Simply, more people are applying to college than in the past; this is due to a larger population and a more accessible education system that has a greater number of openings.
• More applications. Students are applying to a larger number of colleges; the geographic area in which students apply is becoming broader; more applications means a few more acceptances and many more rejections.

It really is that simple. The bottom line? Carey and I agree that despite the rotten admissions stats paraded by every media outlet possible, getting into college isn’t tougher than it used to be.

Hopefully readers in Houston won’t be too dismayed by what they read on Monday; apparently the Houston Chronicle didn’t get this memo.

The blogosphere is a funny place. I check my Google Analytics account every few days to see how people get to this site, including the terms they use in search engines to find the articles. If there’s a search term that surprises me, I search it myself to see how this site came up and who else is around it. That’s how I came across E.C. Huey, a candidate for the Guilford, North Carolina school board, who weighed in on a recent injustice in public education.

Mr. Huey pointed me to a story in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that exposed the firing of a 6th grade teacher for refusing to give students grades that they didn’t deserve:

Problems for sixth-grade math teacher Michelle Kevil began last fall when parents complained to school authorities at Bear Creek Intermediate School in the Keller district.

One set of parents wrote Principal Tedna Taylor asking that their child be transferred from Kevil’s class. The parents hired a math tutor, they wrote, who couldn’t understand the child’s poor math grades.

I’ve heard this record spun on the Victrola more than a few times, but it never quite seems to wear out. Parents, unhappy with their child’s performance in a class - usually because the student just isn’t making the grade - go outside the system to prove that their child is, in fact, the genius they thought he was. It is true that some students have difficulty in a particular class for any of a host of reasons. It is not true that this is always the teacher’s fault. Encountering difficulty in management/staff relationships, teacher/student, parent/child, etc. is a normal part of life and it is important that we as educators and parents give our kids the strategies to work through them rather than avoid them altogether. Then another parent complained:

A second mother, whose child was an A student, also complained to the teacher. She disputed a half-point reduction on a math test on a question about a mixed number and a fraction. She asked that her child’s score “be adjusted accordingly.”

The mother added in an e-mail to Kevil, “We have been frustrated with this math class. It is hard for me to not view this [test] problem as trying to ‘trick’ the students.”

The teacher wrote back, explaining how she graded the problem and adding: “These issues have manifested themselves into an obvious personality conflict. We both only want what is best for your child. If your perception is that I am perpetually trying to ‘trick’ the students, perhaps this is the time to pursue changing” teachers.

And then another and another - discontent with a teacher tends to snowball in a community. I haven’t seen the math problem in question, but it’s safe to say that a “half-point reduction” on one test doesn’t warrant inciting a lynch mob. Kevil did the right thing by explaining her reasoning in full. One can only wonder how angry the parent’s e-mail was [or if it was one of many] if Ms. Kevil had to suggest that the student consider transferring classes.

It shouldn’t have come to that. If a parent is that unhappy, it’s time for the administration to mediate the conflict and, presumably, support their staff throughout the process. The administrator should determine whether the ruling was fair and if the teacher had done her job properly; if she had, she should be supported. If she hadn’t, she should be disciplined accordingly and given all available resources [especially peer/departmental guidance] to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. What happened? Principal Tedna Taylor wrote the following memo to Ms. Kevil:

“Michelle, I checked the grade averages across the campus and your failing rate is above the sixth grade average. I believe you have as many as 24 percent failing in one class and around 17 percent in the other classes. In the educational climate we are in at the federal, state and campus level, this is not acceptable. NCLB [No Child Left Behind] is clear, no child will be left behind and at BCI we embrace that philosophy. You should have 100 percent passing. We will discuss a plan of action when we return from the holidays.”

Principal Taylor harkens the blandest interpretation possible for No Child Left Behind [NCLB]: that indeed, no child should be left behind. According to Principal Taylor, this school interprets that mission as making sure all students are pushed through the system because the government tells them to do so. It is folly to expect 100% of a teacher’s students to pass; it is deeply offensive to suggest that a failure rate greater than 0% proves that a teacher is ineffective. This tendentious memo speaks volumes about how the Bear Creek Intermediate administration handled the issue. Ms. Kevil sums up her response succinctly:

The teacher says she believed that she was being asked to compromise her standards. “Don’t think I’m going to give grades out when a student doesn’t even deserve it,” she told me.

The Watchdog, the Star-Telegram’s consumer advocacy/news section, reviewed the documentation collected from the struggle between Taylor and Kevil:

The Watchdog reviewed more than 100 pages of letters, memos and e-mails provided by the teacher that show how the situation was handled. Nothing in the documents or in interviews indicates that the teacher was asked to alter grades. But Kevil said she believed that she was under pressure to do so.

“It put me in a position to regrade, add points, to change your grading policy, to change the material you were presenting so you don’t have any kids failing,” Kevil said. “Honestly, that’s how it was presented to me.”

Few principals are careless enough to express in writing such an embarrassing, shameful stance. Even so, an environment that encourages, “grade inflation and bumping and social promotion,” as Mr. Huey puts it, can pervade a classroom and render a teacher ineffectual. At the least, it creates irreconcilable [and wholly unnecessary] tension between everyone involved: administrators, parents, teachers and, of course, the students who are caught in the middle.

And then the district decided to terminate her contract at the end of her probationary year. Ms. Kevil maintained her will:

Other teachers, she said, told her to just pass the students. “Well, I can’t pass them,” she remembers telling her colleagues. “They have to do the work to pass.”

For that she should be applauded [and her peers who suggested to pass students unjustly should be decried]. Principal Taylor called this a “cop-out statement” and implied that Kevil didn’t know how to motivate students properly. The pressure continued:

The documents provided by Kevil show that Taylor performed walk-throughs during Kevil’s classes, asked administrators to meet with Kevil to discuss her methods, checked grades and tests designed by the teacher and requested that she make sure that her assignments mirrored those of other sixth-grade math teachers.

This is not the supportive environment I mentioned before; based on the evidence in this article and the [brief] testimony of both parties, it is reasonable to conclude that these interventions were closer to bullying than staff support. Kevil requested a transfer and was asked specifically by Taylor whether she was resigning; at that point she withdrew the transfer request and wrote a letter of grievance to the school board. She couldn’t follow it up because she couldn’t afford a lawyer [and in this case, she needs a skilled practitioner of employment law]. Because she didn’t pursue the grievance, the school board was unable to hear her case in full and voted 6-1 not to extend her probationary contract. Trustee Gerry Knowles said:

“A high failure rate, to me, tells me the subject is not being properly taught,” Knowles added.

Apparently Knowles concluded that the only force at work here is Kevil’s inability to teach. Remember, though, the vote wasn’t unanimous:

The lone dissenter in the board vote was Randy Pugh, whose wife is a math teacher at Bear Creek.

Pugh said, “I spoke to Michelle once when she was demanding a higher standard for the children. She was being pressured to lower that standard in order to have children passing, and that concerned me.” He said he referred her to the district’s grievance policies.

I laud Pugh for not bending to the majority, but the school board should have been more than concerned - horrified would be a more appropriate response - and voted to investigate this situation immediately and to the fullest. They didn’t.

Kevil wrote school board members this final statement: “I refuse to compromise my integrity because of an uninformed parent, a weak administration and a district that turns a blind eye.”

Kevil and other teachers with a commitment to standards and integrity face persecution by those who lack that will. Kevil’s not the first casualty and she won’t be the last; as administrators worry endlessly about the accountability of NCLB, exclusion rates and appearing on Newsweek’s best schools list, we’ll hear about teachers who keep their focus on teaching being thrown under the bus. Students and their parents are in a sense customers with the school serving as the business, but in education the customer is not always right.

I have no doubt that Ms. Kevil will approach her next job with the same conviction with which she carried out her duties at BCI . Her next employer will be better for it - and so will her students, who will be given genuine evaluation instead of being cheated by an administration that pushes them through a system with a shameful disregard for their well-being. I would wish Ms. Kevil luck, but those who maintain their integrity require little luck to be successful.

Asked how many of her students failed on the most recent report cards, Kevil answered three out of about 100.

The bad guys may have won the battle, but if teachers like Michelle Kevil stay committed, they won’t win the war.

The answer is obvious, isn’t it? You force the student to transfer to a new school and make sure the teacher doesn’t miss a day of work.

At least that’s what happened in Howard County, writes a frustrated parent to Jay Mathews’ Extra Credit column in the Washington Post:

Our son is a seventh-grader in Howard County. In January of his sixth-grade year, he accidentally knocked a binder off of his teacher’s desk. He attempted to reassemble the papers but was not able to do so, so he reported this to the teacher (despite his classmates encouraging him to keep it quiet). When he told the teacher, she expressed frustration, and he thought that was the end of it.

Unfortunately, she was still upset the next day and made the following announcement to another math class, “Tell K. not to come near me if I have a knife, because I will kill him!” As soon as class was dismissed, the students ran up to him, excitedly reporting what she had said.

That evening we called the police, who took reports from the kids who witnessed this, and then met with the teacher and principal. We said we would not allow our son to return to the school as long as this teacher remained. We were informed that removing her was not an option. We applied for a transfer, which was granted. Our son missed three weeks of school in the process. The teacher did not miss a day of work (imagine what would have happened to a student if he or she made such a remark!). We requested an apology and have not received one.

The school’s not talking - they never do, citing privacy issues. We’re only getting one side of the story here, but I think you’ll find it as convincing as I did. The teacher probably just has an awful sense of humor; even so, I think this one warrants some discipline. I have a feeling that the student, the family and the offending teacher are all being put in very difficult positions unnecessarily.

You might be surprised at Jay’s advice to the parents who want their son to rejoin his friends when they’re channeled into high school. This one’s worth a read - make sure you scroll down a couple paragraphs past the “Advanced Courses for Everyone” section. It starts under Dear Extra Credit.

This week I read about an innovative, effective program that encourages Upstate New York youth to develop and execute business plans related to farming and agriculture. Rural Youth Loans, offered through the USDA, provides funds up to $5,000 for motivated youngsters ages 10-20 to build their businesses. The Herkimer Evening Telegram reports:

Sarah Weeks, a 13-year-old eighth grade student at Gregory B. Jarvis Junior-Senior High School in Mohawk, takes part in the program and currently has a flock of 25 Shropshire Sheep.

Weeks participates with the program through the 4-H Club and exhibits her sheep at the Cooperstown Farmers Museum Show and other New York State county fairs, winning several awards.

She used the $5,000 loan she received to provide adequate housing and pens for her sheep and makes payments by selling lambs and with money she makes from exhibitions at livestock shows.

These loans provide the start-up cash that young people desperately need to develop; they’re also given guidance in planning and operations. Just think - when you hear another high school or college commencement speech about how the graduates are “preparing to embark on a journey into the real world” and to getting ready to “leave the safe haven of academia,” Sarah will have been operating a financially viable business for 10 years. Who would you rather hire?

Sarah’s not the only one getting an education in the realities of business and farming - her younger brother plans to take part when he turns 10 this summer. The Telegram article also mentions the Donahoe family:

Audrey Donahoe has six children, four of whom have taken out loans with the program and the other two who plan to do so when they turn 10.

“The kids have learned so much, from the application process, to opening up a checking account, and to the bank and loan process,” said Donahoe. “These are basic life experiences not taught in schools.”

You got it, Audrey - your kids are getting practical, relevant education in addition to their normal school curriculum. They wouldn’t have come across any of these basic skills during the school day.

Donahoe said her children also learned the business side of farming, whether buying animals or dealing with awkward situations.

“It builds equity at a young age and gives children a head start in the industry,” said Donahoe.

Not just in the industry - they’ll be light-years ahead of their peers in the job market. If they add to this experience a broad liberal arts education, they’ll be powerful economic and community leaders soon enough. Sarah’s an honor student; it sounds like she’s on the right track.

Jennifer Collins, who works with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Herkimer County and runs the loan program, said the program gives an opportunity to youths to become mini-entrepreneurs.

“It teaches kids to be responsible and to realize cost input,” said Collins.

For more information on the youth loan program contact the FSA Office in Marcy by calling [315] 736-3316.

If you’re not in the Leatherstocking Region of New York, you can find out about USDA Youth Loans in your area by going to the Farm Service Agency’s website for youth loans. You can also read these documents about the program - just click the following to view the files or right-click and ’save as’ to save them.

• farm_loan_programs.doc [MS Word Document, 133kb, opens in a new window]
• farm_loan_programs.pdf [Adobe Acrobat Document, 56kb, opens in a new window]

I wish I’d known about this when I was 10.