Tell a Teacher: Apply for Funds to Train Equipment Builders

Educators may now apply for scholarships that will prepare them to train students for careers in farm equipment manufacturing.

Please reach out to teachers in your community and encourage them to apply. They can find the application at FarmEquip.org/casescholarship.

The deadline is Feb. 29.

This Association has invested $14,000 in the scholarship program for two consecutive years as part of a joint industry initiative that includes the Equipment Dealers Association and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.

“This is a tool that provides not only a financial incentive for teachers but an opening for shortline companies to cultivate relationships with educators who will ultimately supply well-trained candidates for employment,” said Executive Vice President Vernon Schmidt. “Scholarship recipients can become part of a broader partnership in which our members go into classrooms and students go into manufacturing plants.”

The $2,000 partial scholarships support teachers in two categories: mechanical systems in agriculture and agricultural power and technology.

Participating teachers will take classes over the summer through the Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE), a multi-year approach to agricultural science education. The National Association of Agricultural Educators manages the CASE initiative.

During the CASE Institute, teachers spend 80 hours working through lessons in the yearlong curriculum and learning how to deliver those lessons.

Since its inception, the CASE curriculum has helped more than 2,500 teachers achieve certification to teach its classes. However, only about 90 of those certifications are in equipment-specific courses. These scholarships are designed to change that by supporting two programs with a machinery focus. Seize this opportunity to support your local educators and build your workforce.