COVINGTON, Ga. - Both the Eastside High School and the Newton College & Career Academy FFA chapters have been named as 3-Star Chapters by the National FFA Organization. This is the highest ranking an FFA chapter can receive in the Star program and marks the first time in the history of the school that the NCCA FFA chapter has been recognized with a Star designation.
“Reaching this level of success for a chapter is a testament of the students and their passion for their program,” Catrina Pollard, Eastside FFA advisor, said. “When I first began teaching at Eastside we barely had 50 students enrolled in Ag classes. Now we have doubled that! Our FFA members want to be successful. Georgia FFA recently ranked all the chapters in the state and released the Top 50. Eastside ranked 44th and was the only Newton County Chapter ranked in the top 50. I am so thankful to work with such a hardworking group of students!”
“NCCA FFA members take pride in the work that they do and strive to serve others,” Cecily Gunter, NCCA FFA advisor, said. “Achieving the National 3-Star ranking is proof of their success. Our students have focused on creating meaningful connections within the community and their servant leadership is a huge part of their success. FFA is truly a student-run organization and this honor is completely from their hard-work.”
“We’re building something special in the agriculture education programs in Newton County and the student and chapter successes are starting to speak volumes,” Marcus Pollard, NCCA FFA program advisor, said. “A 3-star gold chapter rating from National FFA puts us in the top one to three percent of all chapters in the nation. It’s because of the efforts of our students under the guidance of our teachers that have made it possible.”
The FFA Star program recognizes outstanding FFA chapters from throughout the country that actively implement the mission and strategies of the organization. These chapters improve chapter operations using the National Quality FFA Chapter Standards and a Program of Activities that emphasizes growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture. Chapters are rewarded for providing educational experiences for the entire membership. Chapters that received star ratings will be recognized at the 2018 National FFA Convention & Expo, Oct. 23-27 in Indianapolis.
“This designation really shows that our programs are fully engaged in all aspects of FFA and Agriculture Education and I’m very proud of our teachers and students for making this possible,” said Dr. Tim Schmitt, Newton County School System’s director of career, technical, and agricultural education (CTAE). “Newton County CTAE programs strive to be leaders across the state and nation and I can always depend on our Ag programs to be engaged in those efforts.”
The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 649,355 student members who belong to one of 7,859 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The organization is also supported by 225,891 alumni members in 1,934 alumni chapters throughout the U.S.
