School & District Management

Rural Teacher of Year Tends Crops, Pupils

November 01, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Rich Lessen isn’t your grandfather’s agriculture teacher.

On second thought, maybe that’s a fitting description. After all, he’s a fellow who likely can be found tending the school crops, or spending time with students at the county fair or statewide FFA conferences.

BRIC ARCHIVE

The 2005 National Rural Teacher of the Year, Mr. Lessen brings his lessons home to students at Delavan High School in Delavan, Ill., by devoting himself to student activities that often launch youngsters into careers way beyond the family farm.

“We’re not training a student to be a farmer. We’re just letting them know a lot of the jobs out there in the rural world come back and relate to farming,” Mr. Lessen said after receiving the award in August.

These days, his work stresses leadership development and taking students to speak at state and regional conferences. He teaches 7th grade science, works with older students in agri-science, and tends the school’s 10-acre farm, where seeds are tested for soybean companies.

Given by the Norman, Okla.-based National Rural Education Association and sponsored by John Deere, the rural teacher-of-the-year award includes a $2,000 prize and a $1,000 grant to the winner’s school.

Now in his 30th year of teaching, Mr. Lessen said he hopes to use the school’s prize money to help build a campus greenhouse that could attract a bright teacher to replace him once he retires.

He speaks of his fellow teachers, including his wife, Karen, who teaches 2nd grade at the 500-student K-12 campus in Delavan, about 50 miles north of Springfield, Ill., as a supportive group.

Known for a daffy sense of humor, Mr. Lessen laughed when he recalled what he was doing when Delavan’s principal, Andrew Brooks, called him in August to tell him of the national award.

“I was working out at the county fair at the hog show,” Mr. Lessen confessed.

Mr. Brooks remembered the call. “I could hear the pigs squealing in the background. Of course, it might have been the kids,” he said.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the November 02, 2005 edition of Education Week

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Achievement Webinar
Student Success Strategies: Flexibility, Recovery & More
Join us for Student Success Strategies to explore flexibility, credit recovery & more. Learn how districts keep students on track.
Content provided by Pearson
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
Shaping the Future of AI in Education: A Panel for K-12 Leaders
Join K-12 leaders to explore AI’s impact on education today, future opportunities, and how to responsibly implement it in your school.
Content provided by Otus
Student Achievement K-12 Essentials Forum Learning Interventions That Work
Join this free virtual event to explore best practices in academic interventions and how to know whether they are making a difference.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About The Director of PD Persona?
Directors of Professional Development influence purchasing decisions, but how well do you understand the key factors at play? Test your knowledge of this key buyer persona and see how your results stack up with your peers.
School & District Management 'Pre-Apprenticeships' Give Teachers a Taste of What It's Like to Be a Principal
Western Kentucky University is piloting a model to develop future school leaders.
7 min read
Photograph of two multiracial educators walking and talking in a school hallway. The woman on the left is mixed race Hispanic and African-American, in her 30s. Her coworker is a Filipino woman in her 40s.
E+
School & District Management Some School Staff Might Need a Measles Booster. Here Is Who's Affected
Some educators could have received their measles shots during a five-year span when an ineffective version was given.
3 min read
A sign is seen outside of Seminole Hospital District offering measles testing, Feb. 21, 2025, in Seminole, Texas.
A sign is seen outside of Seminole Hospital District offering measles testing, Feb. 21, 2025, in Seminole, Texas. The biggest risk from the outbreak is to unvaccinated people, but a small number of people who were vaccinated decades ago might need updated shots to ensure they’re protected.
Julio Cortez/AP
School & District Management Opinion Want to Lead Your School Well? Find the Right Coach
When done well, the positive effects can transform not only principals but schools and system.
Nancy Gutiérrez, Michelle Jarney & Michael Kim
5 min read
Professional looking through a telescope supported by other leaders, coaching, developing
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty Images