First-grade teacher Jennifer Callahan has all sorts of things growing in her classroom in Terrebonne, Ore.

There’s a greenhouse in the center of her room where students grow plants and sometimes use produce to make food such as salsa and salads.

More Oregon ag education coverage

Jansen steps down from Oregon Ag in the Classroom

Jessica Jansen: ‘I love agriculture, and I love teaching people about it’

Salem teacher honored as Oregon AITC Educator of the Year

Student artists showcase Oregon agriculture

Ag in the Classroom pivots to take advantage of high-tech ‘silver linings’

“They really take it seriously. They understand too much water won’t help the plants grow, all those aspects of it,” Callahan said.

Youngsters even incubate eggs every year.

“It’s so exciting watching the chicks hatch in class,” Callahan said, adding that students make birth certificates and put the birds up for adoption.

Callahan, who teaches at Terrebonne Community School, was named the 2023 Educator of the Year by Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom. The award was announced on Saturday, Oct. 21, at the organization’s Fall Harvest Dinner and Auction at Oregon State University.

Callahan, who has been a teacher for 28 years, also spearheaded a community garden and outdoor learning space at her school.

She said she incorporates science into her daily lessons at every opportunity. She also believes that hands-on learning has a more powerful impact on children.

“No student has ever come back and said, ‘Remember that worksheet we did?’” Callahan said.

Callahan grew up outside Detroit, Mich., and among her father’s hobbies were gardening and beekeeping.

Callahan recalled weekends spent picking apples and pressing cider or tapping into maple trees and making syrup.

As a teacher, she wanted to inspire others by giving them similar opportunities that they might not have at home.

Many of her students live on farms and have animals. “I have students who bring me in tomatoes, which is one of my favorite things to get. It just means the world to me,” Callahan said.

Ag in the classroom

Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting agriculture education in K-12 schools and teaching students about farming, ranching and natural resources.

The organization provides free resources for teachers, such as lesson plans and even the greenhouses now in every grade level at Terrebonne Community School.

Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom’s dinner and auction raised $41,000.

During the event, it was announced that Jade Davidson, who is finishing a doctorate program at the University of Georgia, will become the executive director of Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom in January.

Jessica Jansen, who led the nonprofit for 9 years, scaled back her duties in July and looked to step down from the role to focus on her family.

Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom reached nearly 327,000 students in the 2022-23 thanks to 4,200 partner educators and about 700 volunteers.

Jansen said in an interview that the number of teachers and students involved in Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom grew by roughly 25% in the past five years.

The organization was well-positioned to continue to ship out kits and other resources during the pandemic when schools switched to distance learning, she added.

Science teacher Amanda Sater of Seven Oak Middle School in Lebanon, Ore., was the 2022 Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Educator of the Year.