PHS Agricultural Program: 100 Years of Excellence
- In 1896 a group of wealthy settlers from Peoria, Illinois elected to come out to what is now Arizona and build a town that was named for their hometown, thus Peoria Arizona.
- This area had orchards, large fields, and livestock and soon grew into one of Arizona’s centers of Agriculture.
- In 1922 Peoria High School was built and in 1924 the Agriculture building was one of the first additions to the campus. Today the program is a magnet program for the Peoria Unified School District.
- Founded in 1928, the Future Farmers of America brought together students, teachers, and agribusiness to solidify support for agricultural education. In Kansas City's Baltimore Hotel, 33 young farm boys charted a course for the future.
- The FFA was founded as a program for boys in rural farming communities. Its original purpose, the education of youth in agricultural fields of study, is still recognized through its current programs.
- Every year since the 1920s the FFA has held a national convention every November in Kansas City. Recently that has changed as the convention rotates between Louisville and Indianapolis.
- Around 70,000 members attend the National Convention.
- The program was not for young ladies as girls were not allowed into FFA until 1969.
- The first girl was allowed into a Peoria High School Agriculture class in 1953.
- It started as an agricultural production-based program. Growing crops and maintaining livestock were important when FFA first started. Now it has evolved into things like nursery, hydroponics, and biotechnology.
- The Agriculture program and the FFA are tied together and at Peoria High School they have been the school’s most highlighted program.
- The FFA program is leadership-based. Students are given opportunities for leadership experiences throughout their time in the program through Career and Leadership Development Events, committee work, classroom activities, and as chapter officers. The Peoria FFA Chapter has a long history of leadership beyond the chapter level from the very first State President, Stanley Hopper, to two National FFA Officers, Cliff Saylor, and Melody Lawson.
- The AgriScience curriculum at PHS is framed around the national Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) which allows students to earn all three of their science credits required for graduation (environmental science, biology, & chemistry). These credits are recognized by the State of Arizona and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
- In their junior and senior years students can concentrate and diversify their agricultural experience through mechanics, animal science, and internship.
- Throughout their AgriScience program students participate in a work-based learning program called a Supervised Agricultural Experience. This allows students to do hands-on, self-directed learning in fields of interest to them.
Additional Information
What follows is a general history of the agriculture department at PHS. Most of the information was taken from yearbooks. If any of the information is incorrect or if you wish to add additional information, please contact us