Teacher of Year 2002

Kim Smiley
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Kim Smiley does her part to make students aware of just important agriculture really is.

Kim Smiley of Red Owl, SD has been selected as South Dakota Ag In The Classroom’s "2002 Teacher of the Year". She shares this award with Kristi Sweeter who teaches at Tri Valley Elementary near Colton, SD. Agriculture is important to Kim and as a teacher she feels it is very important to incorporate ag related activities into her classroom.
Kim, a 2001 SDAITC Summer Ag Institute graduate, has spent all of her 15 years as a teacher educating students at rural schools. Kim currently teaches in a rural school in Meade County near Stoneville, SD. She may have a classroom with students from 1st through 8th grade. While some may see this as quite a challenge, Kim takes the opportunity to teach about agriculture at many different levels. "I try to involve ag with every topic that I teach. Instead of teaching it as a separate topic, I try to relate it to what we are learning every day."	Bread In A Bag The class worked together to make Bread In A Bag. It took a lot of kneading, but the end result was worth it!
" A lot of the rural kids know about ranching, but it is my goal to teach them about some of the other areas they may not be familiar with."

Kim was honored at the South Dakota Ag In The Classroom Annual Meeting in Sioux Falls, SD in December 2002. She had the opportunity to share some of her curriculum with the members and sponsors who attended the event.
SDAITC board member Tammy Basel presents Kim with a plaque recognizing her efforts in educating yout about our number one industry--Agriculture!

Some of the activities Kim has done with her students include a honey unit with a visit from a local bee keeper.
The class also celebrated Dairy Month by experiencing milking first hand at a local dairy! Bread in a bag and wool angels are other activities Kim shared with the class.

Kim plans to continue incorporating agriculture in her lessons and hopes that every student leaves her classroom with a greater understanding and appreciation of agriculture. She also encourages other educators to share the message that agriculture is an important part of everybody's lives.

For her accomplishments, Smiley will represent South Dakota at the National Ag In The Classroom Conference in Washington, DC in June 2002. She will also share her experiences and successes with other teachers during SD Ag In The Classroom workshops.