MFPA Scholarship Program l
MFPA Community Programs
The Mushroom Festival l Mushroom Farming in the News l Farm Profile
The Mushroom Festival l Mushroom Farming in the News l Farm Profile
Teacher Susan Yocum is Honored For Work with Mushroom Farmers
Kennett Square School District teacher Susan Yocum was named one of the Educator 500 Award winners for her work with the area’s mushroom farm community.
Yocum was one of the teachers honored earlier this year by West Chester University at the Union League in Philadelphia. Yocum has been active in providing information on mushroom farming to students in the Kennett School District and the community at large.
Yocum put together a book – titled Let’s Go to a Pennsylvania Mushroom Farm - but didn’t have the time or resources to produce 100 of the books for the upcoming Penn State summer workshop.
Mushroom growers contributed $5,000 of the $7,000 needed to have 2,000 copies of the book printed and State Representative Chris Ross found money from a state environmental educational fund.
“The book was an exciting two-year process,” she said. “One year I did research and wrote the book and the next year I raised the money for the book.” She said the books were delivered to the school and many of her native Mexican students related to the book and said their fathers’ jobs were in the book. Also, several book signings for Let’s Go to a Pennsylvania Mushroom Farm were held, including one at the Bayard Taylor Library in Kennett Square. She also gave one to then Governor Thomas Ridge.
Yocum took the book to Penn State and gave every teacher at the workshop a copy.
The book is a way to build bridges to the Mexican community, according to Yocum. She even visited Guanajuato, Mexico, and spoke with Mexican education officials.
With the help of former Pennsylvania Senator Robert Thompson, money was found to translate the book into Spanish. Families arriving from Mexico are given a copy of “Vamos a Pennsylvania a las Granjas De Hongo” and it helps eases their anxiety about moving to a new country. Carmen Pedraza and Rita Lopez helped with the translation.
The book is getting ready for a third printing.
Over the years Yocum has helped mushroom farmers by being a spokesperson and also aiding in the selection of high school students to receive scholarships. Also, mushroom farmers, she said, have been generous to the school community by donating the first computers to be used in her classroom, contributing teacher scholarships to Agriculture in the Classroom, and being involved in many other educational initiatives in including Read Across Kennett, After the Bell and Tick Tock Early Learning Programs.
Yocum continues her involvement with the mushroom farm community by teaching her course every summer at Penn State.
Link: http://www.agclassroom.org
Mushroom growers contributed $5,000 of the $7,000 needed to have 2,000 copies of the book printed and State Representative Chris Ross found money from a state environmental educational fund.
“The book was an exciting two-year process,” she said. “One year I did research and wrote the book and the next year I raised the money for the book.” She said the books were delivered to the school and many of her native Mexican students related to the book and said their fathers’ jobs were in the book. Also, several book signings for Let’s Go to a Pennsylvania Mushroom Farm were held, including one at the Bayard Taylor Library in Kennett Square. She also gave one to then Governor Thomas Ridge.
Yocum took the book to Penn State and gave every teacher at the workshop a copy.
The book is a way to build bridges to the Mexican community, according to Yocum. She even visited Guanajuato, Mexico, and spoke with Mexican education officials.
With the help of former Pennsylvania Senator Robert Thompson, money was found to translate the book into Spanish. Families arriving from Mexico are given a copy of “Vamos a Pennsylvania a las Granjas De Hongo” and it helps eases their anxiety about moving to a new country. Carmen Pedraza and Rita Lopez helped with the translation.
The book is getting ready for a third printing.
Over the years Yocum has helped mushroom farmers by being a spokesperson and also aiding in the selection of high school students to receive scholarships. Also, mushroom farmers, she said, have been generous to the school community by donating the first computers to be used in her classroom, contributing teacher scholarships to Agriculture in the Classroom, and being involved in many other educational initiatives in including Read Across Kennett, After the Bell and Tick Tock Early Learning Programs.
Yocum continues her involvement with the mushroom farm community by teaching her course every summer at Penn State.
Link: http://www.agclassroom.org