Tilleman Will Lead Agriculture Educators

 

January 11, 2023

In December, Eric Tilleman, a former Chinook resident and a long time agriculture education instructor and FFA Advisor, was elected by the Agriculture Teacher delegates from each state to represent them as President Elect of the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE). A member of the NAAE for nineteen years, Tilleman will serve in his leadership role for a three-year term, starting with President Elect, President, and then Past President.

The position will involve representing over 9000 agriculture education teachers on National Boards, such as the FFA, Career and Technical Education, and Association of Career and Technical Educators. In that capacity, Tilleman will provide a voice to advocate for teachers, programs, and students across the nation to invest in agricultural education. He attributes much of his passion for agriculture-related issues to his foundation of having grown up on a farm and ranch in North Central Montana.

Although serving on the NAAE board is voluntary, his work in that position will complement his current professional role as the Agricultural Education Specialist for the Office of Public Instruction (OPI). As a specialist with the OPI, Tilleman assists the 109 programs in Montana with curriculum, funding, and meeting other needs of Montana's agriculture education teachers. He has worked in this capacity for three years, a role he accepted after having served for sixteen years as the FFA Advisor and Agriculture Education Teacher for Cascade School District.

The NAAE presidency will enable Tilleman to advocate for programs not only in Montana but in the nation, as well. "I will be traveling to other states for conferences, where I will be able to see what is working and what is not in order to evolve our agricultural education programs in Montana to better serve the needs of our students," Tilleman said.

During his leadership tenure with the NAAE, Tilleman plans to pursue several goals for the organization. Those include providing a place where ideas from the various states can be housed on legislation, in advocacy programs, and with teaching strategies. According to Tilleman, dissolving the Communities of Practice platform created a gap that he hopes to bridge. "As an organization, we need to find a way to build something similar or partner with groups who are already providing specific areas for these documents and idea sharing."

Another goal involves creating more opportunities and providing workshops to the growing profession. "For example, partnering with the National FFA Organization to help teachers fill out American Degrees, Proficiency Applications and CDE Prep would be beneficial. NAAE needs to help new career teachers, teachers who have never been in FFA, our teachers coming directly from industry, or teachers looking to branch out in new areas," Tilleman explained. "I believe the NAAE needs to ensure that our conferences are providing professional development and pathways for all groups."

His third goal is to strengthen mentoring programs. "I know in Montana, which is like many other states, we are seeing a greater percentage of teachers under ten years of teaching and/or industry credentialed teachers who are filling the need to keep programs going. We need to make sure we are aiding every teacher," Tilleman said.

To his position, Tilleman not only brings passion, education, and experience but several awards. He was selected as a Teacher Turn the Key recipient, Region I Ideas Unlimited winner, Outstanding Educator award individual, Regional Secretary 2016-1019, and Region I Vice President 2019-2022.  He considers NAAE to be an important organization for agricultural teachers because it advocates for Ag-Ed on the national level, provides resources to create successful programs at local levels, and gives teachers, what he calls, an ag-ed family.

"We are a family that supports others in our state and the nation through professional development opportunities, award recognitions, relief fund grants, and sometimes just an ear to listen to our struggles as teachers. NAAE has been a member driven organization and will always be a member driven organization that assists all teachers, no matter where they teach," Tilleman concluded.

 
 

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