Agriscience Pathway

The Intro to Agriculture / Intro to Agriscience course helps students acquire a broad understanding of a variety of agricultural areas, develop an awareness of the many career opportunities in agriculture, participate in occupationally relevant experiences, and work cooperatively with a group to develop and expand leadership abilities. Students study California agriculture, agricultural business, agricultural technologies, natural resources, and animal, plant, and soil sciences.

Sustainable Agriculture (aka Ag Biology)  is a one year course designed to integrate biological science practices and knowledge into the practice of sustainable agriculture. The course is organized into four major sections, or units, each with a guiding question. Unit one addresses the question, What is sustainable agriculture? Unit two, sustainable agriculture fit into our environment? Unit three, What molecular biology principles guide sustainable agriculture? Unit four, How do we make decisions to maximize sustainable agricultural practices within a functioning ecosystem? Within each unit specific life science principles will be identified with agricultural principles and practices guiding the acquisition of this knowledge, culminating in the development of a sustainable farm model and portfolio of supporting student research.

Ag Soil Chemistry explores the physical and chemical nature of soil as well as the relationships between soil, plants, animals and agricultural practices. Students will examine properties of soil and land and their connections to plant and animal production. Using knowledge of scientific protocols as well as course content, students will develop an Agriscience research program to be conducted throughout the first semester of the course.To complete that whole project each student will investigate and test an Agriscience research question by formulating a scientific question related to the course content, formulating a hypothesis based on related research, conducting an experiment to test the hypothesis, collecting quantitative data, and forming a conclusion based on analysis of the data. The result of this research program will be an in-depth research and experimentation paper that is technically written, based on scientific protocol, and cited using APA formatting. Additionally, students will develop and present a capstone soil management plan for agricultural producers, using the content learned throughout the course. Throughout the course, students will be graded on participation in intracurricular FFA activities as well as the development and maintenance of an ongoing Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) program.

This integrated class combines an interdisciplinary approach to laboratory science and research with agricultural management principles. Using skills and principles learned in the course, students design systems and experiments to solve agricultural management issues currently facing the industry. Additionally, students will connect the products created in this class with industry activities to link real world encounters and implement skills demanded by both colleges and careers. The course culminates with an agriscience experimental research project in which students design and conduct an experiment to solve a relevant issue. Final projects will be eligible for Career Development Event competition at FFA events. Throughout the course, students will be graded on participation in intracurricular FFA activities as well as the development and maintenance of an ongoing Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) program.

Farm to Table is a one year elective course where students learn the introductory basics of food science and food systems. Students will also be introduced to the agriculture background of food processing and how it goes from being in the ground to your kitchen table,  also known as, Farm to Table. Students will learn a wide variety of terms and how to prepare meals from the school garden. Students will be engaged with the school garden and learn basic practices on how to maintain a garden. This course entails a laboratory component and handling food products.

This course will cover spring vegetable growing practices for the small farmer and gardener. This includes plant propagation, soils and crop fertility, drip irrigation practices and scheduling, pest and disease management, heat management and laboratory field work. Principles of sustainable practices will be stressed.