A group of special needs students at Willows High School got the opportunity to show off their goats on Wednesday at the Glenn County Fair Junior Livestock Auction.
It's part of the school's FFA Mighty Honker Goat Program. During the five-month-long program, a group of special education students work alongside general education students who act as their mentors.
The goal is to teach developmentally disabled students how to feed, exercise, clean and care for goats to show and auction.
According to their agriculture teacher, the Mighty Honker Goat Program is one of only three of its kind in California.
"Seeing them have the relationships between the students with special needs and then the gen ed students is truly amazing. They've worked hard. It's been a long five-months with them every day in class, but we're just excited to see them here, and the smiles and the high fives and hugs, that's where it's at," said their agriculture teacher Staci Alves.
The students were able to participate thanks to a $5,000 donation from Golden State Farm Credit. The donation helped the school purchase whites and FFA jackets, feed, food bins, medicine, and all show supplies for the animal and the student themselves.
"The whole experience is fun, from raising the animal to taking care of it and then building this kind of community and camaraderie with the students in the ag department and the students in the special education department; I mean, they probably would've never crossed paths before, so I think it's just kind of fun to see it and it warms your heart," said Kris Costa, community outreach manager for Golden State Farm Credit.
The four special education students who participated in the program told KRCR they had fun and that friendships are the most significant things they will take away from the program.
Kate Amaro and Carli Lanzi, two of the mentors in the program, told KRCR they will take away leadership and communication skills from the program.
The goats will be sold on Saturday at the Junior Livestock Auction sale. Each student will receive up to 40% of the proceeds.
--
To report errors or issues with this article please email the editorial team.