The Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council and Kemin Industries have announced the recipients of the 2019 I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award sponsored by Kemin Industries.

The Southeast STEM region's honoree is Jacob Hunter, the agricultural science teacher at North Scott High School. Mr. Hunter has only been teaching agricultural science at North Scott for two years, but he experienced a 446 percent first-time enrollee increase between his first and second years of teaching. He worked with local agronomists, equipment dealers and grain marketers on the school's student-run 60-acre test plot, where students are also beginning to test drone technology and GID mapping trials. Mr. Hunter created an "early bird" club for experiential learning before school where ten students worked with a local professional to restore a tractor. Because of the work Jacob did with the North Scott school board, administration, local community members and neighboring school districts, the North Scott District will be establishing an Ag Science and Technology Innovation Center for the Quad Cities metro in the near future.

Mr. Hunter takes his professional development and continued education very seriously, and it shows. He has been certified in four courses in the Curriculum for Ag Science Education (CASE) and has completed all three modules for Next Generation Science Standards through Mississippi Bend AEA. Mr. Hunter serves on the Diversity & Inclusion Task Force organized by the National Association of Ag Educators, is a member of the Iowa FFA Association board of directors, co-chairs the Ag Issues FFA CDE and is an active member and mentor in the Iowa Association of Agricultural Educators. He was one fo three teachers chosen nationally to speak at National Teach Ag Day in the fall of 2018, which was live streamed to schools and businesses across the nation.

While Mr. Hunter is helping develop a five-year strategic plan for the agricultural education program of North Scott and has a personal goal to become an affiliated FFA chapter within the next two years, he also works to make ag education interdisciplinary at North Scott. He has partnered with the sociology and English departments to create a competency-based course while applying principles of ag science, and he's worked with the science department to create a biology course focused on agriculture and food. Prior to teaching at North Scott, Mr. Hunter served as the Director of Iowa Education Programs for the World Food Prize Foundation from 2014-2016. He let the Iowa Youth Institute and has taken the knowledge he gained in this position, as well as working on his family farm, into his classroom.

This award recognizes and celebrates one teacher from each of the six STEM regions who goes above and beyond to increase their student's interest in STEM. Each recipient is recognized for their dedication in representing I.O.W.A.; by being Innovative in their methods, Outstanding in their passion for education, Worldly in the way they help students see that STEM is all around them, and Academic through engaging students in the classroom to prepare them for higher education and high-demand careers. Each recipient was selected by a panel of judges after being nominated for the award by a colleague, school administrator, parent, student or community member and completing an application showcasing their contributions to STEM education. Each recipient will receive $1,500 for personal use and another $1,500 for their classroom.  Hunter and the other five recipients have each been honored with ceremonies in their classrooms with their students and peers and will also be recognized together at STEM Day at the Capitol, with Gov. and STEM Council Co-Chair Kim Reynolds and a representative from  Kemin Industries the morning of Wednesday, February 13th.

For more information about the award and all current and previous recipients, please visit www.stemaward.fluidreview.com.