MOUNT ULLA — West Rowan High School and its Future Farmers for America club have long been hailed locally for comprehensive and innovative programs. On Friday, the school drew the attention of the state as well.

Lt. Gov. Dan Forest visited the school to learn more about its agriculture and farm-to-table courses. Forest said he tours a lot of schools as part of his job, but “every once in a while you come across this jewel.”

West Rowan, he said, is one such school.

Led by students, Forest toured the school, visiting the agricultural building and the FFA’s land lab, where students grow and produce foods used in the school’s culinary classes.

“What’s so important about (the program) is not only do students learn where their food comes from, but they get to grow it and take it even one step further and prepare it,” Madeline Wilhelm, a 2017 West Rowan graduate and state FFA vice president, told Forest.

Wilhelm, along with current West Rowan students, walked Forest through the club’s growing process and its small flocks and herds.

“Farm-to-table is more than growing our own plants,” she said. “We also raise our own animals.”

Principal Jamie Durant said the visit was a good opportunity for students to put some of the soft skills they have learned in FFA into practice. The visit encouraged them to speak clearly and eloquently about their classes and their interest in agriculture.

When the farm-to-table program started a few years ago, Durant recalled telling students and teachers that it would likely garner notice from outside the community. Forest’s visit proved that.

“I think that … shows that we’re putting the mark on the map,” he said.

As Forest walked to the land lab to tour its greenhouses, gardens and pens, he complimented the look and layout.

“You make it beautiful as well as functional,” he told one student.

FFA members said the club not only teaches them about science and agriculture but also leadership skills and how to lead a healthier lifestyle. And its dedicated teachers have helped West Rowan’s program rise to the top, they said.

“We’re on line to be the biggest chapter in the state right now,” club President Parker Greene said.

That success, she said, is due to the students’ hard work and the passion and dedication of teachers.

“They see the potential in someone and bring it out,” she said of the faculty.

She and other students were over the moon about Forest’s visit.

“It’s really unique that our little school out of our little town got the attention of the state,” she said.

Rowan-Salisbury Schools Superintendent Lynn Moody said the visit adds an extra shine and meaning to the students’ work and studies.

“It’s exciting for the students; it adds credence to their hard work,” she said.

Forest praised the students’ passion, public speaking ability and hard-earned skills. He said West Rowan’s agricultural program is “a phenomenal success story” in North Carolina education.

“We need to let people know that there are some bright spots out there — and this is one of them,” he said.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.