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Gonzalez named outstanding Wisconsin Ag in Classroom teacher

A second-grade teacher in the Milwaukee Public School system, has been named the 2024 Wisconsin Outstanding Teacher by Wisconsin’s Agriculture in the Classroom program.

Ag in the Classroom coordinator Beth Schaefer tells Brownfield Joshua Gonzalez helped River Trail School became Milwaukee’s first specialty agriculture school. “Mr Gonzales is a second grade teacher who has spearheaded tearing out concrete to put in a food forest. He oversees hoop houses and additionally, he chairs the agriculture committee at this very innovative K through 8 school.”

Schaefer says it’s not just the students that are learning from Gonzales. “He also has developed several lessons including this all-school peanut butter activity that goes along for Black History Month with George Washington Carver. Plus, he is really leading teachers who maybe don’t have that much agricultural knowledge by helping them find lessons.”

Each grade level engages in unique agricultural activities, ranging from managing pollinator gardens and hydroponics towers to caring for chickens and running a compost program. The school also has a two-acre, sustainable orchard producing Asian pears, chestnuts and hazelnuts.

Gonzalez says teaching agricultural literacy empowers students to be more self-sufficient and embrace healthier lifestyles.  He also enjoys teaching many of his science lessons without a textbook.

Wisconsin’s Ag in the Classroom program is supported by Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board, Compeer Financial, Ag Country Farm Credit Services, Culvers, Ocean Spray Cranberries, and the National Agriculture in the Classroom program.