By Angelica Fernandes, Agriculture Educator, Cloverdale FFA Advisor, Cloverdale High School
Cloverdale FFA was once chartered back in 1951 for only one year. It was then reinstated in 2021 when Angelica Fernandes came to work at Cloverdale High School. Ms. Fernandes was originally from Tulare, Ca, which is located in the Central Valley. Ms. Fernandes was hired as the new Farm to Table teacher during the Covid-19 school year. During that year, although students were not on campus, she decided to start up the FFA Chapter. Since then, the chapter has continued to grow and has become more well-known within the community and with students.
Cloverdale FFA students have had the opportunity to attend leadership conferences, speaking competitions, career development events and more. Cloverdale FFA students were able to attend the California State FFA Leadership Conference in Sacramento back in March for the first time. We also had 2 students show swine projects at the Sonoma County Fair which was the first time in Cloverdale FFA history!
Cloverdale FFA held their 1st Annual Tri-Tip Dinner Fundraiser in November with the help of Cloverdale Lions Club, and it was a success! On top of that, the CHS Garden is getting revamped for the program. With the generous support of multiple grants and donations, the garden is slowly becoming an outdoor classroom learning environment for students. There are lots of plans in the making for the program and we are hoping that more students want to be a part of such an amazing organization. With the support of the community, school staff, administration and district, Cloverdale FFA can continue to be the program where every student is welcome.
