CLENDENIN, W.Va. — The town of Clendenin will host a meeting Tuesday to gauge interest in having an agriculture program at the new Herbert Hoover High School.
The High School Agriculture Education Forum will be held at the Clendenin Community Center. Clendenin Mayor Shana Clendenin is hosting the event.
During a similar event held last month, Clendenin said she was excited about the possibility of having an agriculture program in Kanawha County, extending interest about putting the program at the new high school, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2021.
“What’s really driving it now is community interest,” said Jason Hughes, assistant director of the state Department of Education’s Agriculture, Science and Natural Resources Cluster. “I know the mayor, who is kind of hosting this meeting, is very interested in this program.”
The only current agriculture program in the Kanawha County Schools systems is at Carver Career Center, which focuses on pet grooming and plant services.
Hughes said farming programs have evolved due to new technology and industry innovations, but that doesn’t mean the core of the program has changed.
“There is a great demand for students in this state to still produce food, and we have many that are doing that,” he said. “We also have many students who are doing the research and the science that’s involved in agriculture or the business or the marketing.”
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.