By: Avery Davidson

The walls of Mrs. Aimee Perret’s 3rd grade classroom at Bridgedale Elementary in Jefferson Parish are adorned with positive messages written in rainbow letters like “I believe in myself” and “I will help others.” However, many of the children in the classroom were not able to read them the first day of school, as Perret’s students are learning English as a second language.

Aimee Perret of Jefferson Parish named 2020 Louisiana Ag in the Classroom Teacher of the Year.

To help those boys and girls learn English, language arts and social studies, she found a language they all could easily understand: agriculture.

Perret had her students read a story about sweet potatoes, a food many had never tried. She also introduced them to a beekeeper who taught the students about how bees collect pollen and nectar to make honey. Perret said watching them learn is rewarding, but the real victory is seeing them apply what they’ve learned.

“Outside on the playground, they would say ‘Mrs. Perret, there's the honeybee! It's going to make honey,’” Perret explained. “Those were the ‘aha’ moments that were super rewarding for me because they got it. They remembered it and then they were able to apply it. So, if I can enrich their brains, I'm not just giving them information, they're retaining it and able to make a connection. I'm doing my job!”

There was a time when agriculture was almost like a foreign language to Perret, before she met her husband.

"I grew up in a rural area, but not on a farm,” Perret said. “Then I met my husband and moved to a real farm and that was eye-opening.”

Now, Perret is doing more than teaching her students. Bridgedale Elementary Principal Julie Broussard says Perret is educating the other teachers about the lesson plans and materials available through the Louisiana Ag in the Classroom Program.

"She saw that if she pulled in some information about agriculture and some real life experiences about these things,” Broussard said, “that the students would not only connect more with the curriculum, but they would be able to experience things they never had.”

Perret had at least one new experience this school year: recognition as the 2020 Louisiana Ag in the Classroom Teacher of the Year.

“I was completely blown away. I was completely surprised,” Perret said. “I was being recognized for something that means so much to me. I really think it's important for kids to understand how agriculture affects them in everyday life—from the clothes they wear to the food they eat, to the way they get from one place to another. It's imperative for kids to know where all of these things come from.”

Perret received an iPad and a $500 cash prize from the Louisiana Ag in the Classroom Program as part of the award.

In November, Bridgedale Elementary School named Perret its teacher of the year.

To learn more about Louisiana Ag in the Classroom and to download resources for the classroom, visit their website.

Photos of Mrs. Aimee Perret’s 3rd grade class learning about agriculture, courtesy of Bridgedale Elementary in Jefferson Parish: