Wayne County Wanderings: Honesdale teacher honored with state Ag award

Agriculture has always played a vital role in life and livelihood here in Wayne County.

For many generations, family farms were the backbone of our economy. More importantly, farming taught countless life lessons, from the value of a solid work ethic to the importance of discipline, focus and honesty.

Sadly, over the course of the past 50 years, providing for a family by operating a farm has become harder and harder. It’s a grim reality, illustrated by a local landscape dotted with empty silos, overgrown barns and fields fallen fallow.

By the time I reached high school in the early 1980s, once venerable organizations like Patrons of Husbandry (better known as Granges) and Future Farmers of America had all but disappeared.

It was a tragic trend, one that seemed destined to continue to the point at which the family farm would vanish completely.

Fortunately for all of us, farming is starting to enjoy a bit of a renaissance here in Wayne County. Through the efforts of dedicated folks like Kayla Pohle, students are once again showing interest in this most honorable institution.

A teacher at Honesdale High School who specializes in Agriculture Education, Pohle was just notified that she is this year’s recipient of the Outstanding Early Educator Award.

Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of Agriculture Education, this prestigious award is presented in recognition of a teacher who consistently demonstrates a passion for farming … and inspires her students to pursue it as a career.

“I’m really honored because I was nominated by fellow agriculture teachers who I look up to as mentors and friends,” Kayla said. “And it’s an honor because it’s a testament to our school, community and agriculture support system here in Wayne County.”

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Setting the Stage

Kayla (Hack) Pohle was born in East Troy, Wisconsin, a small town about the size of Honesdale that she lovingly calls “America’s Dairyland.”

The daughter of George and Janet Hack, Kayla attended East Troy High School, then headed off to Penn State to pursue studies in Agriculture, Extension Education, and International Agriculture.

After that, Kayla earned her Masters degree in Education at Wilkes University where she focused on Instructional Technology and STEM. She arrived on the scene at HHS five years ago and immediately set about reviving the school’s mostly defunct Ag curriculum.

It didn’t take long before administrators, fellow teachers and students were captivated by Kayla’s passion. In fact, her enthusiasm proved contagious.

“I love teaching because I really like learning and being part of developing, coaching and mentoring students,” she said. “I enjoy watching them progress and having those light bulb moments where a challenging concept suddenly makes sense.

“Agriculture education is important first and foremost because we all need to eat every day. We need farmers and agriculture workers to survive, and teaching students about all those things is really rewarding.

Pohle stresses the need to produce dedicated students who understand that agriculture in all its myriad forms is a realistic, challenging and exciting path.

“I can teach career and college-ready skills and bring in industry professionals to enhance student learning,” she said.

“So, whether it’s landscaping, food science, vet science, farming, grooming, butchering … or anything in between … teaching about those things is definitely important.”

From a personal standpoint, Kayla really wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to do for a living until college. Her grandparents were dairy farmers, but her firsthand experience was limited to working part time at a greenhouse and at a vegetable farm during high school.

However, Pohle did participate in both 4H and FFA. She also took Ag courses and was inspired by be particular instructor at East Troy.

“I really enjoyed the agriculture program I had in high school,” she said. “My teacher was not only a teacher, but also a coach and a mentor. He taught all of us about leadership and personal growth … and I wanted to continue that.”

Those lessons obviously took hold because by the midway point of her freshman year at PSU, Pohle’s fate had been decided … much to the delight of students at Honesdale High.

Full Speed Ahead

Over the course of her first five years as a teacher at HHS, Pohle has dramatically ramped up interest in Ag Studies.

She’s not only attracted both male and female students to her classroom, but almost single-handedly reignited interest in FFA. Now, she’s a familiar face at School Board meetings, introducing her students and proudly enumerating their achievements.

“Every year, we do something to grow, change or improve the program,” Kayla said “We’re as successful as we are because many community experts support us.

“It’s exciting to see how much we’ve grown and the programs we’ve added. From having aquaponics carts at each school to seeing students advance to the national convention … these are all great accomplishments.”

One former student who witnessed Kayla’s passion for Ag Education and FFA up close and personal is Lily Fries.

The daughter of Max and Jimmie Ann Fries, Lily grew up in Prompton and graduated from HHS in 2019, excelling in basketball and cross country.

Lily always helped out at the farm in Cold Spring, which was founded in 1942 and has now been in the family for four generations.

She was very active in FFA during her high school years and was among the group present when Honesdale was awarded its charter in 2018. Lily knows what a key role Kayla played in getting FFA back on track at HHS.

“I am very happy for her getting this award,” Lily said. “Kayla came to our school and gave it her all. She was open to anything and everything.

“I had a great experience with Future Farmers of America. It was very important to me. I met so many people and it really helped me with my confidence. I think FFA at HHS is really going to keep growing.”

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Greg Frigoletto was born and raised in Honesdale. He attended local schools before continuing his educational career at both Kutztown and the University of Scranton.

As Superintendent at Wayne Highlands, Frigoletto is passionate in his support of Agricultural Education in general and Future Farmers of America in particular.

He was thrilled to hear of Kayla’s award and only too happy to offer his congratulations.

“Agriculture has been and should always be a vital part of our community,” Greg said. “Over the last several years, we’ve been able to bring Agriculture Education back to Honesdale High School.

“And, we’re so very fortunate to have Mrs. Pohle ‘driving the bus’ for our program. We have always felt that to be successful, it’s about getting the right people in the right places. With Kayla, we have surely done that.

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“She’s helped create an award winning program, developing students into agriculture enthusiasts and scholars. She’s also had great success assisting her students to move on to agriculture post-secondary experiences.

“Kayla has made FFA a tremendous success. Kayla is very deserving of this award. She’s outstanding!”

Assistant Superintendent Tim Morgan agrees whole-heartedly with his colleague’s assessment.

Morgan is also a native Wayne Countian who’s devoted his life to teaching, coaching and serving as a school administrator. Tim is an avid supporter of Ag Education as well and can’t say enough about everything Kayla has accomplished.

“This award is a testament to Mrs. Pohle and her commitment to the program,” he said. “The school district launched Ag as a curricular option just a few years ago and it’s flourished under her leadership into a program that truly benefits students.

“The match between this curricular career path and our local community has been the perfect ‘marriage.’ The opportunities for our district and community to engage meaningfully has been wonderful.

“I have no doubt that this award will be one of many to come for Mrs. Pohle.”

A Bright Future

The Outstanding Early Educator Award exists to recognize young Ag teachers, and to encourage them to stay in the profession.

In addition to traditional classroom duties, teachers like Kayla are responsible for countless other tasks, from being FFA advisor, to organizing fundraisers and chaperoning field trips.

“A lot of times, we need to be a jack-of-all-trades,” she said. “For many of us, it’s not what the teacher has accomplished, but what our students and the community as a whole have accomplished around the agriculture program.”

At Honesdale, projects like helping to manage greenhouses, overseeing hydroponic crops, and monitoring animal facilities are par for the course. In addition, Kayla routinely organizes events that matter to the local community.

As mentioned in the citation announcing her award, Kayla provides programming for middle school students and hosts a community barn dance as a fundraiser.

Other notable achievements include having seven students receive their Keystone Degree, and several others being awarded grants totaling nearly $1,500.

Kayla also partners with teachers across the curriculum and grade level and teaches a three credit course to other educators in the district called “Integrating STEM and Agriculture.”

While that seems like an overwhelming amount of responsibilities, Kayla just shrugs and smiles. She genuinely loves her job and her students … and is quick to acknowledge everyone who’s supported her along the way.

“I’d really want to thank all the parents who trust me to encourage, coach and teach their kids,” she said. “They’re always helping at our various events.

“I’d also like to thank the administration for saying yes to a lot of the ideas we have and always supporting the program. And my advisory board who continues to offer ideas and advice to grow the program as well.

“And of course my husband. He supports my crazy schedule and is always there to offer a helping hand.”