Special Report
Take the whole high school to the FFA convention
On Wednesday morning, 44 students and a dozen adults will get on a bus in Granton, Wisconsin and take-off for the National FFA Convention. For most schools, 44 students going to the convention is quite a large delegation…for Granton High School, it is 75 percent of the student body. A few of the kids are staying back because the co-op football team with Greenwood has a playoff game on Friday night. Some who have gone in the past are staying back this year because the bus is full and they want to give others the opportunity.
Granton is a town of 379 people smack-dab in the middle of rural Wisconsin, there are more Amish children than public school children in the district. There have been graduating classes of a dozen yet the community was determined to keep the school going. A year ago, it looked like the beginning of the end, the school board decided to entertain offers from neighboring schools to send their high school students to their school. This would be the final year for Granton High School.
It was at that time that the school decided to send every school kid that wanted to, to the National FFA Convention as one “last hurrah”. While Granton has always been a small school, it has had one of the most outstanding agriculture and FFA programs in the nation. For 39 years the program was built and nurtured by Francis Steiner. Known as “Mr Agriculture”, Steiner guided the chapter to national recognition; he was named one of the top ag instructors in the nation in 1983. Upon his retirement from teaching, the daunting task of filling his shoes was given to a Granton alum, Cheryl Steinbach.
Some likened following Francis Steiner to following Vince Lombardi at Green Bay but in Granton’s case, Steinbach was up to the task. She says Steiner gave her the tools and the confidence to do the job, he worked with her, gave her his notes and then stepped back. “He said I believe that you are capable of doing this and I will be there if you need me but I will not be looking over your shoulder.” He added that he was just a phone call away if she needed him. Steinbach says, “I called him a lot that first year.”
That was 25 years ago and Steinbach has taken a national award-winning chapter to even higher levels. Needless to say, things have changed dramatically in the classroom and in the FFA over the years but they have been done judiciously and with an eye on the Granton tradition. She says the key has been developing projects and curriculum which appeal to a broader base of students. “If I had to look at the one thing that really strengthened our program is the amount of service projects that we got involved in.” The Granton FFA has become known for hosting benefits for people who are facing difficulty not only in their community but neighboring communities as well.
The real testament to the success of the program lies in the fact that not only does just about every student in the high school belong to the FFA, but the junior high students and a number of graduates who maintain their membership for the four years beyond high school. As a result, the Granton FFA membership consistently runs around 100 in a high school with about 55 students.
This has been a trying year for Steinbach; late last March, Mr Steiner passed away, just a couple of days later the school board made the decision to discontinue the school. Over the summer, all of her colleagues at GHS either retired or took jobs at other schools; she decided to stay at Granton.
Which brings us to 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, 44 students and a dozen adults will board the bus at Granton High School and take-off for the National FFA Convention where they will see three more of their members receive their American FFA Degree…and Mrs. Cheryl Steinbach receive an Honorary American Degree. It will be an especially happy time for the folks from Granton, last week the school board decided to keep the high school open beyond this year and their ag instructor has a list of things the chapter is going to do.
Steinbach’s advice to young teachers…”Never give up!”
AUDIO:Steinbach talks about the program 14:00 mp3
Congratulations to a small school, who has beat the odds, with help from strong leaders! May you continue your success!