(Submitted by Marshall Stewart,
President of the National Council of Agricultural Education)

This is to update the ag ed profession about the recent developments surrounding the National Council for Agricultural Education. The Council board of directors voted in March 2002 to restructure and refocus its organization back to its original intent of being the leadership entity for the ag ed community. Since its inception in the early 1980s, The Council has had a great impact on ag ed through its work in curricular development, strategic planning, and partnership. However, over the years the curricular development segment has often become the primary focus of the organization rather than focusing on leadership for the ag ed program. The Council board took action to move out of project management and curricular development and to focus totally on leadership for the profession. Here are the results of this action:
 
A. Other than completing current projects, The Council is no longer pursuing curricular development projects. Existing curriculum inventory has been bid out to existing curricular centers. The bottom-line is that The Council will no longer be managing curricular projects after those that are in process are complete. However, The Council will continue to develop a listing of curriculum priorities, which will be addressed by others involved in developing materials.

B. The Council, effective October 31, will no longer have full-time staff positions. Historically, Council staff have been involved heavily in project management. Some examples include: aquaculture materials, Profession Growth Series materials, and Reinventing Ag Ed for 2020. Under the new arrangement, The Council will influence the management of future initiatives, but will not provide staff to carry these out. The day-to-day management of Council business and board meetings will be handled by the National US Department of Education ag ed leaders, Dr. Larry Case and Mr. Coleman Harris. The Council has worked very diligently to assist staff with severance packages that provided a positive transition of staff to new positions. The future financial functions of The Council will be handled by an entity or individual yet to be identified by The Council board.

C. The Council will operate on the contributions of the ag ed community. After all curriculum projects are complete, The Council will operate on a budget of $76,000 per year. This will provide funding for board meetings, task forces, and other Council initiatives. The Council will continue to have the authority to request special project funding for ag ed initiatives (not curricular) through direct solicitations or through the National FFA Foundation.

D. The Council is continuing to maintain a fiscal office space in the Ag Ed National Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the desire of the board to facilitate and partner in the continuation of the Team Ag Ed initiative. The Council’s president and other board members will be very active in administrating and promoting The Council.
 
In the past few weeks, several individuals have indicated to me that they had heard the rumor that The Council was “out of business.” Hopefully, this will help to remedy these misconceptions. The Council is not “out of business.” Rather, The Council is getting back to business…the business of agricultural education! More detail on how The Council will function will be provided after the October board meeting.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me or any of The Council board members. We value and encourage your input and involvement. A list of current Council board members can be found on The Council’s website at http://www.teamaged.org.