When the 7:50 tardy bell rings at Carpinteria High


School, the milling groups of students disappear, the slamming of lockers subsides, and the once-bustling quad takes on the atmosphere of a ghost town. In the northeast corner of campus, however, the action is just picking up in the agriculture department. Tool- boxes rattle open; handfuls of alfalfa are fed to wait- ing animals; hose spigots turn, coveralls are pulled over school clothes, and sparks fly from welding guns. “This actually gets me up in the morning because


I’m looking forward to it,” says senior Alejandro Car- ranza, as he rolls a tractor back into its barn. Every day presents a new problem to solve, and Carranza enjoys rolling up his sleeves and using a combination of brains and brawn to unravel the mysteries of the tractors. While Carranza and the tractor group tinker away


on machinery, another senior, Coco Crowfoot, is busy at work in the animal barn. Crowfoot completed a plumbing project and an electrical project as an ag mechanics student, but her heart is in animal hus- bandry. She arrives at the barn every morning at 7:30 and returns every evening at 5:30 to feed and care for her steer and goats. It’s challenging, she says, to


be responsible for her animals’ happiness and health, “especially at 7:30 on Saturday morning, when I really don’t want to roll out of bed.” But she does, because, “having an animal is like having a kid. You’re like a mom.”


Department head, Bobbi Roderick, explains that in


her teaching and advisory role she often feels like a mother to the FFA students. Since competitions are held throughout the state, Roderick and her fellow advisor John Avila spend many weekends each year driving students north and south to display their mastery of skills. And many of the skills Roderick and Avila teach are important to life on and off the farm. In addition to completing independent projects, the students develop skills in public speaking, parliamen- tary procedure, leadership and community service. “It’s what education should be,” says Avila. “We’re


not just teaching to a test; we’re teaching life skills.” This academic year, one of the program’s primary


foci is giving students the opportunity to grow com- mercial crops. Over the holiday season, students sold 500 poinsettias grown in the greenhouse on campus, and a crop of lilies were sold in the spring. Through a partnership with the Orfalea Foundation, Roderick


40 carpinteriaMAGAZINE


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