Pencils , binders , loose - leaf paper : These are the tools chance in most every gamey - school bookman ’s storage locker . But what about a soil - examination kit , a stethoscope and a sturdy brace of galosh charge ?
For about 188 Lexington , Ky. , educatee , these unexpected backpack fillers materialise to be the tools of their trade as they prosecute a diploma at the metropolis ’s new high school day , Locust Trace AgriScience Farm .
The first high school day of its kind in Kentucky , Locust Trace extend students hands - on training and life history provision along one of five running : plant and land science , biotechnology and environmental science , agriculture world power mechanics , equine and vet skill , and small- and large - animal science . bookman also have the chance to take core path in higher - degree math and advanced English , biological science and interpersonal chemistry .
The schooling , which opened this fall after most a class of structure , was born out of “ both a dream and a indigence , ” says Sara Tracy , Locust Trace ’s community liaison . Although Fayette County Public Schools , where Locust Trace is located , once offered a vigorous agricultural - teaching program , it had lessen in recent years : By 2010 , the city ’s Eastside Technical Center had only two Agriculture Department instructors on stave . Despite the lack of teachers , scholar still show a substantial interest in these fields , with veterinary medical specialty seem as one of the top alternative on a view of bookman ’ calling goal .
Coincidentally , it was a vet who planted the seed for the approximation that grow into Locust Trace , Tracy says . Dr. James Martin , a womb-to-tomb friend of Eastside Tech ’s dealer , Joe Norman , wanted to “ put together a computer programme where students could work with aveterinarian , ” Tracy explains .
The original design call for an Eastside Tech artificial satellite fix to be build on a Union land - grant site the schooling system had acquire in 2008 . Plans foretell for a one - room school and six - stall b where students could practice hand - on skills under a vet ’s direction . As Martin and Norman ’s idea gained momentum , however , the pattern expand : Locust Trace ’s campus now boasts a classroom construction and several barns , as well as land designated for features , include paddocks , orchards , vinery and more .
Determined to demonstrate that a tumid campus ( 82 acres ) could have a diminished carbon step , Fayette County ’s school day instrument panel ask that Locust Trace be design to run into LEED Gold standards . The end result , Tracy say , is a deftness that ’s “ almost as green as you may be . ” The campus boasts several sustainable conception , including :
Tracy enunciate the end is for the campus to produce more energy than it employ , adding that the only agent that keeps the school from being 100 - percent net - zero is its use of water supply - company imagination for key base hit features , like the sprinkler system .
Sustainability is part of the course of study , too . A “ green screen ” admonisher located in the schooltime third house allows students and instructor to see how much energy is being used in each schoolroom . When waste product or overutilization is find , pupil are task with finding creative solution for getting back on track .
Weaving sustainability throughout the curriculum is one example of Locust Trace ’s integrative , interdisciplinary approach to agricultural didactics . While students may focus on a specific track , their form work encourages constant coaction with peers in other fields . Students with an equid nidus , for instance , have been work with their peers in the plant science program to annihilate hazardous weeds and determine the optimum grazing land makeup for horse wellness . This sort of cross - grooming is all important for students pursuing 21st - C farming careers .
“ It ’s really about queer them to everything , ” Tracy say .
This vulnerability includes approach to deftness , such as the school’saquaculturelab .
“ The aquaculture lab is definitely unparalleled , ” Tracy says . With equipment equal that found in many college- and graduate - level lab , scholar will have the opportunity to raise and explore a variety of cosmetic , food and variation fish .
As for Martin ’s original program , last month they came to fruition in a big means with the elevated orifice ofLocust Trace Veterinary Clinic . A full - service practice staffed by veterinary surgeon and school technicians , the clinic provides a full slate of service to local client while simultaneously giving pupil in the school ’s veterinary - skill program an chance to observe and , when appropriate , assist with procedures .
“ The veterinary clinic is an incredible asset , ” Tracy says . Operating as a nonprofit , the clinic ’s client fees are reinvested in the adroitness , allowing for the purchase of state - of - the - art equipment . When it comes to ex-serviceman - school admissions , this cut - boundary approach give pupil the bound , Tracy explicate . “ You will not get in without handwriting - on experience , ” she verify .
As Locust Trace grows , Tracy says , the hope is that it will leave a successful role model of agricultural education that other suburban and urban districts can follow . Along the way , she hope it will open people ’s minds to what factory farm means .
“ A destiny of people hear ‘ agriculture , ’ and suppose honest-to-goodness - schoolhouse farming , ” she say , citing the forefather who was shocked not to find a grown , crimson barn when he dropped his daughter off on the first twenty-four hours of school . “ We were able-bodied to show him that it was so much more than that . ”
