LaVonne Vichlach

Hello from Iowa! My name is LaVonne Vichlach and I am working with Scott Harvey. We are both retired instructors from Hawkeye Community College and we are in the process of developing Turfgrass classes, Horticulture classes and Nursery classes that can be taught in high schools. Once completed, courses receive certificates that can be used for college credit. We are writing course materials at the 7th and 8th grade level and aiming them at those grade levels. Seventy percent of our students are not being well served in their high school curriculum. They are more likely not to go on to college. We are working with Canvas, a Learning Management System (LMS) to provide coursework that will reach those demographics that include Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians. Those demographics have been identified through a state of condition of education for the state of Iowa as not prepared for college. Not every student wants to go on to college but they should have an opportunity to learn a skill set that will allow them to have an entry level job. Getting to them earlier might also shape their career and educational choices and they might take their educational goals to a new level that includes 2 or 4 years institutions. You need to get them while they are younger. We are working with the State of Iowa FFA. Our pilot will be ready for Spring 2021. https://mimicom-edtech.org/