Philadelphia high school is a farm school

The FFA chapter at W.B. Saul High School teaches inner city youngsters all about farming and brings new recruits to those planning careers in agriculture. See video report here.

America’s Heartland – Episode 513 – Urban Agriculture

Philadelphia, the birthplace of America, the city of brotherly love. But, right in the middle of one of the largest cities in the country is a high school whose students have a heart for the heartland. When these teens leave their classrooms and books – it’s all about cow pens and brooms.

That’s daily life at W.B. Saul High School, a farm school so to speak with one of the largest FFA chapters in the country. Students spend half the day in class – and for the other half – it’s all ag!

When we asked Darryl Blakey, a FFA student from W.B. Saul High School, how it makes him feel to be in the FFA, he responded, “It’s pretty tough. We do this every day and it makes me feel that I’m very privileged to go to this school, ’cause they give you a lot of opportunities that I wouldn’t… If I went to another school, like my local school, I wouldn’t get it.”

Darryl Blakey is one of 550 inner-city students – who choose to spend their high school years learning about agriculture. This school has inspired his dreams. Darryl says, “I want to go to college and run cross-country in college and then graduate and have a farm.”

When asked, has this helped you want to have a farm? He answers, “Yeah, FFA and this school have helped me know my future, which is what I want.”

Nyasia Santiago is willing to spend three hours a day getting to and from school – for the ag opportunities at Saul. She explains, “This school opened my eyes to what I want to do for the rest of my life. Before, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I just… had no clue and then I came here and it just opened my eyes to it and I was like – that’s what I’m going to do.”

Kevin Kellerman, W.B. Saul Farm Managers says, “When these kids come to school today, you have a hard time getting them out of here at the end of the day. And it’s quite an experience that they learn that their food just doesn’t come from the supermarket. It comes from… away from here.”

This school is about all aspects of ag. students learn about greenhouses, even landscape design and a year long course in food processing.

Life lessons are learned here in more ways than one. Today, the students are preparing a steer for an inner city homeless shelter. Gaetano Amoroso, Meat and Food Sciences Instructor explains, “The interesting thing about this whole program is to watch them grow from beginning to end. They first come back here and see a hind quarter and a chuck of beef… ‘Oh, my gosh!’ And now it’s, ‘Okay, now what are we going to make out of it?’ We love to do everything at Saul from farm to table.”

Saul is stiff competition. More than 800 students apply each year . and less than 200 are accepted. And incoming freshmen must give up a chunk of their summer – to prepare.

W.B. Saul’s Principal, Wendy Shapiro says, “Kids today, all day long have told me that this place has changed their life. I think that they learn responsibility because it doesn’t matter really which side they’re on, whether it’s the animal side or the horticulture side, they’re responsible for caring for something, and they get to see the fruits of their labor.”

For Principal Wendi Shapiro – the impact of agriculture is as life changing as academics. She explains, “You know what, you take kids out of the inner city and you watch them come here. It’s mind-boggling! It really is. It’s exciting. It’s exciting, and I just think it just shows the world that kids in Philadelphia can do anything they put their minds to do. And I’m watching many of them be very successful.”

And for Nyasia, she says, “I wouldn’t want to go to any other high school than this!”

And for Darryl that success is learned from the lessons of the land. When asked, has this school helped you fall in love with farming? Darryl responds, “Yeah. I can actually say that in school, yeah. That I’ve fallen in love with farming at this school.”

See website with 4 minute video report here.