Co-hosted by Massachusetts Food System Collaborative and Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom
Date: May 31, 2025
Time: 9:30 am – 2:00 pm
Location: 37 Wheeler Road, North Grafton, MA
Pre-Event Survey
To help inform our conversations and event evaluation, we would appreciate it if you could take 5-10 minutes to complete this survey.
Parking
Please note that parking is limited. There should be enough parking, but please follow these guidelines to help ensure available space. If you know others coming and are able to carpool, that is strongly encouraged.
What to Bring
Gift cards for educational materials from the National Agriculture in the Classroom store will be available for attendees after participation in the event.
Panel: Cultivating the Next Generation of Agriculture Literate Individuals
Hear from a panel of leaders on the ground working to provide agricultural education in a variety of ways including in the science classroom, throughout the school district, through vocational education, and on-farm field trips. The conversation will explore what is working well, what challenges exist, and inspire conversation about creative approaches to advancing agricultural literacy in your own communities and across the state.
Moderator: Maggie Nowak, Food System Specialist, DESE
Breakout Discussions
Engage with fellow educators and community partners in discussion about what is working and where we can go from here to create more robust agricultural education programming at various levels including elementary, middle, and high school, out of school programming, and postsecondary education.
Keynote
Explore the value of agricultural education, and how educators of all kinds can support agricultural literacy. Robin VanRotz grew up in agricultural education. As a graduate of Bristol County Agricultural High, she returned there to begin her career as a horticulture instructor before moving into school and district leadership roles as Assistant Principal and Director of Community Partnerships. Currently serving as Principal of Norfolk County Agricultural High School, Robin champions a vision of education that integrates rigorous academics with real-world agricultural experiences. A passionate advocate for agricultural education, Robin has contributed at the state and national level—from curriculum development to FFA leadership—and continues to believe that agricultural education provides the most powerful platform for developing critical thinkers, skilled professionals, and compassionate leaders.
Next Steps Strategic Discussion
Engage with statewide agencies, state government, fellow educators and community partners in identifying action items for furthering agricultural education programming and helping make it equitably and widely accessible statewide.
…plus opportunities to network, share, and inspire!
Funding for this event is provided by MA Department of Agricultural Resources.
Reach out to Emily Fidanza at emily@mafoodsystem.org with any questions.
