LITTLE ROCK — Julie Hathcote, a theme specialist at Chenal Elementary School  in Little Rock, is Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 2015 Ag in the Classroom Outstanding Teacher. Hathcote was recognized during a special ceremony at the school April 7.  

Farm Bureau established the award in 2006 to recognize teachers who have exemplary programs which integrate agricultural concepts into their curricula. 

Hathcote graduated from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville in 2007 with a  masters degree in Early Childhood Education. She taught one year at Baker Elementary in Little Rock, then joined the faculty as a kindergarten teacher at  Chenal in 2008. She was named the theme specialist last year. In this role Hathcote is able to teach all 535 students at the school on a weekly basis.

“My position as the theme specialist is to incorporate the school’s theme into each child’s educational experience,” Hathcote said. “Each week I teach a lesson to every teacher’s class that integrates one or more elements of science, creativity, language arts, math or engineering.” The school’s theme this year is, “A world of creative expression and environmental awareness for educational excellence.” 

Hathcote wants to make each of her lessons hands-on, engaging and memorable. An example of this is her Trail Camera project where she installed a camera in the woods surrounding the school to capture photographs of wildlife that would come out at night or when people weren’t around. “Through this project, we were able to encompass many academic areas including science, environment and social studies,” Hathcote explained. 

She has also integrated agricultural concepts into her lessons by having Matt Jackson of Arkansas Farm Bureau bring the Mobile Ag Experience trailer and Milk Cow to the school to teach students about Arkansas crops and animal agriculture. The school has a raised-bed garden where children are able to plant lettuce, radishes and a variety of flowers. She also plans to teach them about poultry by incubating eggs, so her students may watch and learn the embryonic development of baby chicks. 

“I believe my classroom is one in which all students can thrive, participate and experience learning in an innovative way,” Hathcote said. “At Chenal Elementary we take pride in assuring our students receive environmental and agricultural experiences to better equip them with a lifelong knowledge of and appreciation for the world around them.”

Hathcote receives an expense-paid trip to Louisville, Ky. to represent Arkansas at the National Ag in the Classroom Conference, June 16-20.

Click Photo for High Resolution Version

Andy Guffey (left) assistant director of education and Ag in the Classroom for Arkansas Farm Bureau, with Julie Hathcote, 2015 AITC Outstanding Teacher and Felecia Hamilton, principal at Chenal Elementary School.