GFB News Magazine
Morgan County ag teachers top of their classes
by Jennifer Whittaker
Editor
Posted on August 23, 2025 3:33 PM
Two Morgan County agriculture teachers with ties to Farm Bureau received state and national recognition this summer.
The Georgia Department of Education named Morgan County Farm Bureau President Rachel Kinsaul its 2026 Georgia Teacher of the Year (TOTY) during a May 30 banquet at Lanier Islands. Kinsaul is an ag education teacher and FFA advisor at Morgan County High School (MCHS).
Erin Pringle is one of six teachers nationwide honored with the 2025 National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award at the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference held June 23-26 in Minnesota.
As Georgia TOTY, Kinsaul is taking a one-year sabbatical from the classroom to advocate for public education in Georgia, speaking to the public about teaching and serving on the State Board of Education. She will compete for the 2026 National Teacher of the Year award.
Kinsaul expanded student engagement in agriculture at MCHS by launching a popular floral design course, which encouraged more girls to enroll in agriculture classes. Her Floral Arrangement of the Month subscription program raised funds while giving students hands-on entrepreneurial experience.
Kinsaul also initiated the school’s Sophomore Service Day to connect students with community service opportunities and led a successful $501,059 fundraising effort to construct a state-of-the-art barn on campus where students raise livestock. In March, Kinsaul was one of multiple teachers nationwide to receive a 2024-25 Milken Educator Award - an honor widely recognized as the nation’s preeminent award for K-12 teachers.
Rachel and her husband, Jason, won the 2019 Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) Young Farmers & Ranchers Excellence in Agriculture Award and placed in the top ten nationally. The Kinsauls served on the 2020-2021 GFB YF&R Committees.
Pringle received her award for work she did as an instructional effectiveness coach at Unity Grove Elementary School in McDonough. In August, she began teaching ag education and serving as an FFA advisor at MCHS.
At Unity Grove, Pringle created hands-on learning experiences to introduce students to agriculture and connect them to local careers.
Rachel Kinsaul
Erin Pringle
She also organized special events and student challenges that integrated agriculture across all required curriculum topics. Pringle partnered with local high school FFA students to design K-5 lessons and activities focused on gardening, animal care, crop planning, and environmental stewardship.
Pringle received GFB’s 2024 Georgia Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year Award. She worked with Henry County Farm Bureau on Ag in the Classroom projects.
GFB’s Agriculture in the Classroom program works to increase ag literacy among children and consumers through activities county Farm Bureaus do in their communities and through teacher training courses held statewide. The program provides tools for effective teaching about agriculture and to assist Georgia educators in implementing the instruction of ag-related concepts in the classroom.
For more information about Georgia Ag in the Classroom and to access educational resources visit www.gfb.ag/AITC .