Originally aired on Idaho News on March 21, 2024
EMMETT, Idaho (CBS2) — A local teacher in Emmett is teaching hands-on agriculture classes to kids all over Idaho.
Abigail Heikes says she understands that kids need options, after struggling herself during in-person classes. Her passion for helping kids and her love of agriculture combine into interactive science lessons, through a screen.
She said, “I thought that this was exactly what I wanted to do to serve that different population of students and to be a light.”
She teaches from her backyard ‘learning lab’, and her students can run the same tests and experiments she does.
Heikes said, “The lab portion in creating that hands-on environment, it just took a lot of dreaming, and very supportive staff and administration. And it’s been really really cool to see how the students have latched on to a brick and mortar type experiment from their living rooms or kitchen or wherever they choose to school.”
Recently, a 25-thousand dollar grant from the state has helped her grow her lab adding a dissection center, animal models, a hydroponics system, live animals, and soon an aquaponic system.
One of her students, Kathryn Burnette, says she looks forward to Mrs. Heikes classes. Kathryn said, “The things in this class really interest me and it’s something that because Mrs. Heikes does it along with us, I can understand it more and really apply it.”
To learn more about Idaho Technical Career Academy, visit https://itca.k12.com/.
