![Benjamin Williams and Reese Sherman, social studies teachers, explain department information a guest. "This [open house] was, for me, a great opportunity to meet family in the district that will soon be attending the high school," Williams said.](https://www.utimesonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/DSC_9117-1200x800.jpg)
The agriculture class was just added to U. City High School 2023-2024 school year. Before this addition, U. City did not have much of an agriculture program even though the agricultural industry in Missouri is an $88 billion industry with 62 percent of Missouri land used as farmland, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
“I think one of the reasons they added the class was that it is so underrepresented in the suburban schools,” Dr. Pamela Lester, science teacher, said.
Agriculture dives deep into the aspects of our everyday lives. There are so many different topics and it really shows how deep the world of agriculture really is. Its integral to the main three components of our lives: food, shelter, and clothing.
“Agriculture impacts everyone’s lives,” Dr. Lester said. “Everyone eats, everyone wears clothes and everyone lives in structures. And all those things are due to agriculture.”
Agriculture is a big part of the world, especially when the agricultural business and the plant industry are huge in St. Louis. Nearly 25,000 jobs in St. Louis county is related to the agriculture industry, and the World Wildlife Fund even penned St. Louis as “an emerging global hub for innovation in indoor agriculture.”
“I think it’s brought awareness to a lot of career fields that I could be interested in, and also has the foundation for a lot of future classes that I would be interested in taking in the agricultural field,” Angie Collins, sophomore, said.
The agricultural class helps talk about sustainability and how individuals can grow their own crops to feed themselves. Because in many areas a lot of people don’t know how to sustain themselves if something happens to the source of food.
“By bringing agriculture to University City we’re bringing a very important skill set and building awareness around a societal issue to bring a solution to a problem,” Dr. Peoples, principal and director of secondary education, said. “[This is] because of the importance of urban farming, the merging of very important societal concepts, food scarcity in urban spaces and the importance of sustainability in urban communities as well.”
The class has provided many opportunities that the school has never had before and is continually looking to expand these opportunities going forward.
“Agriculture is really big business here in St. Louis, as is the plant industry, and taking these classes there will be a pathway that gives our students the way to careers and jobs that really lead the way to having a big impact and great living,” Dr. Lester said.
The class offers pathways to college. The agriculture major in college can be intense, and this class really helps build the way to those courses.
“Being in the agriculture class really excites me,” Laila Lawerence, senior, said. “And opens up so many things for me to do in college that I really enjoy. And since I love dealing with nature, this class is perfect for me.”