ANAHEIM, Calif. — Victoria Cardea, agricultural educator at West Rowan High School, is one of a select group of agriculture teachers nationwide who received the 2019 Teachers Turn the Key (TTTK) professional development scholarship from the National Association of Agricultural Educators.

As a scholarship recipient, Cardea attended the NAAE annual convention in Anaheim, Dec. 3-7. The Teachers Turn the Key scholarship brings together agricultural educators with two to four years of experience and immerses them in five days of professional development that addresses issues specific to the early years of teaching agriculture.

Participants also have the opportunity to become involved in NAAE leadership and network with other NAAE convention attendees. TTTK awardees come away from the experience with a long-lasting peer cohort and tools that will help them have successful careers as agricultural educators.

In addition to attending professional development, each of the TTTK scholarship recipients was also recognized at a general session during the NAAE convention.

The National Association of Agricultural Educators was founded as the National Vocational Agricultural Teachers’ Association in 1948. Today, the NAAE has grown to become a federation of state agricultural educator associations, providing service to more than 8,000 members nationwide in advocacy for agricultural education as well as professional development for and recruitment and retention of agricultural educators.

The mission, “Professionals providing agricultural education for the global community through visionary leadership, advocacy and service” is echoed through the various programs and trainings offered to members. For more information on the NAAE and agricultural education, go to www.naae.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/naaeagedu