GFB News Magazine

Westhafer receives National AITC award

by Caroline Leonhard
GFB AITC Coordinator

Posted on September 25, 2026 6:44 AM

Dr. Stephanie Westhafer received national honors at the 2026 National Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) Conference held June 22-25 in Providence, Rhode Island. Westhafer was one of seven teachers presented the 2026 National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award. 

The National AITC Organization, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and Farm Credit partner each year to honor teachers in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade for the innovative ways they use agricultural concepts to teach reading, writing, math, social studies, science, technology, engineering and the arts.

Westhafer, a teacher at West Jackson Elementary School in Braselton, develops ag literacy programs to help her students make authentic connections between agriculture, science and their everyday lives. She utilizes a learning garden and the Little Sprouts Garden Club to show her students how plants grow, what they need to thrive, and how food moves from seed to plate.

She received Georgia Farm Bureau’s 2025 Georgia Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year Award. Westhafer has worked with the Jackson County Farm Bureau on AITC projects.

The Georgia AITC program works to increase ag literacy among children and the public through the activities of county Farm Bureau volunteers in their local communities and through teacher training courses held statewide. 

For more information about Georgia Ag in the Classroom and to access educational resources visit www.gfb.ag/AITC.

GFB Educational Programs Manager Caroline Leonhard may be reached at cwleonhard@gfb.org. Visit www.gfb.ag/AITC  for resources to teach children about agriculture. 

Dr. Stephanie Westhafer /Photo courtesy of Caroline Leonhard