CLARYNNE ISHIKAWA MILILANI HIGH SCHOOL Senior Christina Pancho, a student in Mililani High School's Cooperative Agriculture Education course, plowed her share of land before planting.

Mililani agriculture program
lets kids earn education

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By Ashley Kitabayashi
Mililani High School

Months of planting, watering and harvesting agricultural produce reinforce skills essential in succeeding in the real world.

The Cooperative Agriculture Education course, created in 1996, along with the Accelerating Quality Use of Agriculture and the Future Farmers of America organizations, were established to nurture these values.

The Cooperative Agriculture Education program was formed for students who were "much more self-motivated to excel," says agriculture teacher Jeff Yamaguchi.

This course is similar to an agricultural business in that it is the only school enterprise that earns money by selling produce.

In comparison to the regular education course, which involves learning the basic knowledge of harvesting plants and is open to everyone, this class is based on recommendations from FFA and AQUA Co-Advisers Yamaguchi and Monica Matsumura.

Factors such as positive attitudes, enthusiasm and the willingness to work hard are considered before members are chosen.

Senior Luke Hunter, one of the program's chosen few, said of joining the class, "One of my top college choices is Texas A&M, and I was thinking I needed to take a vocational class, and this class appealed to me."

Applying those skills to the curriculum, students take part in an open market business, located in the school parking lot on Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. This idea, which originated with school retiree Alice Kotake in 1996, has given people from the community an opportunity to buy and sell products from numerous vendors.

"It was the intent to establish a school-to-work enterprise, where students could market the products of their labor," Matsumura said. "It would also be a chance for our students to have an audience to sell their homegrown produce."

Another example of the class' involvement with the community is through FFA. Students sell poinsettias, bonsai and marigolds at MHS craft fairs for fund-raisers.

Yamaguchi recalled: "Last year, we grew the marigolds and we gave the MTA (Mililani Town Association) over 200 potted marigolds to plant around the community."

FFA also participates in an annual Oahu district competition, which takes place every February. There, members showcase their occupational skills such as public speaking, self-confidence and agricultural job-related skills. The first- and second-place winners move on to compete at the state level.

The MHS FFA placed first in the district for the agricultural demonstration for five consecutive years. Last year, 2002 graduate Nicole Kunihisa took first at Hilo in the state essay competition, while 2002 graduates James Blas and Noelle Peralto took second in corsage making. Placing third in the agricultural demonstration were 2002 graduates Thompson Ah Loo and Gary Deliz.

Matsumura said, "They get to meet people from all the outer islands by participating in these contests."

She added, "A lot of the kids they meet from the outer islands come from very strong agricultural backgrounds, which is not the case here in Mililani."

Working hand-in-hand with FFA, AQUA is a school-to-work, nonprofit organization. Each student enrolled in the Cooperative Agriculture Education course receives a scholarship from the money earned through AQUA.

Yamaguchi explained that the amount of money received is based on how much work was put into the course itself.

Stressing that value, Yamaguchi dreams that his students will walk away with "an appreciation for hard work."

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