Photo credit: Farm Credit Mid-America

If you visit Liberty Technology High School, you are not likely to find students sitting behind a desk. They are probably in the greenhouse checking the progress of the plants, in the barn feeding the goats or trimming a dog’s nails for a client.

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Located in Madison County, Liberty is one of 11 Innovation Impact Institutes in the Jackson-Madison County School System, serving students in grades nine through 12. These programs challenge the traditional models of learning to prepare students for careers, the military or college through hands-on, real-world experience. Liberty Technology High School houses the Institute of Advanced Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources & Technology program.

Photo credit: Farm Credit Mid-America

“We recognize that generations nowadays can be disconnected from agriculture,” says Megan Aiosa, Agriculture teacher at Liberty Technology High School. “We are trying to get people to understand the lifestyle.”

See more: Farm to Tray: Students Grow Fresh Produce

In addition to agriculture, which includes veterinary and horticulture sciences, students at Liberty can choose from several tracks, including cosmetology, culinary arts, automotive, cybersecurity and JROTC.

Photo credit: Farm Credit Mid-America

Student Success at Liberty Technology High School

Corey Kaelin, a senior, transferred to Liberty Technology High School in 2023 from a high school in California. Kaelin plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology and, like her counterparts at Liberty, has a jumpstart on her future. She gets daily frontline experience with plants and animals through the veterinary science and horticulture concentrations.

“You get to apply everything you learn immediately,” Kaelin says. “Conventionally, you would wait to come across a scenario, but I am using the skills I am learning now.”

Students don’t just learn about business from a textbook. They have opportunities to apply that knowledge in one of several student-run businesses.

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Crusader Cuts Grooming focuses on teaching introductory veterinary care and grooming for small animals. At Liberty Acres, located on 4.5 acres owned by community partner, Delta Faucet, students raise organic flowers, vegetables and fruits. The greenhouses, which focus on hydroponics and aquaculture, provide produce for the school’s cafeteria and supply food for Liberty’s culinary arts program where students gain experience through the campus restaurant, Taste of Liberty.

Aiosa says the program’s latest addition, the therapy barn, uses goats, chickens, cows and sheep as a therapy tool for all ages.

Photo credit: Farm Credit Mid-America

Funds From Farm Credit Mid-America

Private sponsors were critical to the project’s completion, including Farm Credit Mid-America, which provided funding for water and electricity to the barn.

Andrew Melton, Regional Vice President of Agricultural Lending for Farm Credit Mid-America, says the company had previously supported the aquaculture and greenhouse facilities at Liberty.

Photo credit: Farm Credit Mid-America

“We are always looking for opportunities that help guide, train and prepare today’s students to be tomorrow’s innovators in our communities and agriculture,” Melton says. “The therapy barn provides an excellent environment for students to learn, grow and develop a deeper knowledge and passion for agriculture.”

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Worth Eubanks, Insurance Officer for Farm Credit Mid-America, says the therapy barn was a meaningful way for Farm Credit to give back to the community.

Photo credit: Farm Credit Mid-America

“Partnering with schools and private entities provides an excellent opportunity for us to leverage relationships and resources in helping us meet our mission to secure rural America and agriculture,” Eubanks says.

Other community partnerships offer opportunities for dual enrollment at the hospital or nearby Black and Decker facility.

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Aiosa, who has taught at Liberty Technology High School for five years, says most of the students she teaches are from urban environments.

“I love that the students I get are a blank slate,” Aiosa says. “Students who have never even owned a dog are learning how to handle and feed a guinea pig, rabbit or dog and then move on to livestock. I love that light bulb moment that they get and to see them bond with the animals.”