Agricultural education is continually faced with a shortage of qualified teachers. Unless those who have been trained actually enter and remain in the profession for a period of several years, the shortage of qualified teachers will prevail. In 2003, NAAE developed the Teachers Turn the Key professional development program as a means of encouraging young teachers to remain in the profession and to support and recognize participation in professional development. Since its inception, the program has impacted over 600 teachers across the United States.
The Teachers Turn the Key professional development program focuses on providing early-career agricultural educators with the tools and support they need to grow and flourish in the profession. Participants are challenged to improve their teaching and classroom management, develop time management skills, and immerse themselves in professional development activities that will support their professional goals.
NAAE members who are in their second, third or fourth year of teaching at the time they apply are eligible for this program. (When the program is held at NAAE convention, the participant will be in their third, fourth or fifth year of teaching.) Applicants must be a member of NAAE during the year of application and be a member of NAAE at the time of the convention at which they participant in the program. All program participants must agree to attend the entire NAAE convention.
Applications for the 2025 Teachers Turn the Key Program will open on April 15, 2025 and are due June 15, 2025.
