Strand teaching ag, advising FFA at SHS

Jerry Strand

A reputable, former Emmetsburg agricultural education instructor has accepted the half-time role of vocational agriculture teacher and FFA advisor at Spencer High School.

"I enjoy what I do and I'm looking forward to doing a lot here," Jerry Strand said Wednesday afternoon in his SHS classroom.

The rural Cylinder resident began teaching Small Animal Health, Horticulture and Vocational Agriculture I classes at SHS on Monday, Nov. 3. Strand, who replaced long-term substitute teacher Darrel Weishaar, will also be responsible for leading classes such as Landscaping, Large and Small Animal Science next semester.

The 58-year-old recalls his interest in becoming a teacher being sparked following his freshman year at the former Cylinder High School, where he enrolled in agricultural education classes and participated in FFA. The following year, Cylinder consolidated with Emmetsburg, which did not have an agricultural education program in place.

"I thought I missed out on something for three years there. That's kind of how I got interested in being a teacher," Strand reflected.

After graduating from Emmetsburg High School in 1969 and securing a farm operations degree from Iowa State University, Strand worked as a seed salesman in South Dakota before choosing to pursue an agricultural education degree from South Dakota State University. He taught in Colman, S.D. for two years before being asked to start an agricultural education program at Emmetsburg High School in 1978.

Strand, who retired in May after teaching at Emmetsburg for 30 years, also coordinated a shared ag program between Emmetsburg and Sentral School in Fenton from 1992 until 2005. During his tenure, Strand also served as an FFA advisor. In this role, he earned an Honorary Iowa FFA Degree and mentored FFA member teams that competed well in many state and national contests.

His goal is to continue the longstanding tradition at SHS.

"I want to get a good soils team, fill all the speaking contests and get people entered in those," Strand said of the Spencer FFA program, which Charity Mueggenberg assists with. "...I'm here for the kids and I want to make sure they do well."

Strand, who also served as Emmetsburg's athletic director the last three years, worked part-time for a Cylinder-area farmer for two months before starting his new position at SHS.

Strand and his wife, Kathy, who retired as an Emmetsburg special education teacher in May and is currently working for Iowa Lakes Community College as a special education aide, have two children: Joel, who is pursuing his doctorate degree in physics at the University of Illinois, and Kara, a junior at Iowa State University.

Away from school, Strand enjoys golfing, traveling, spending time with his family and attending all sorts of sporting events. The ISU season-ticket holder has also operated a family Christmas tree farm since 1990. This season, he explained, will be the last for the Strand Tree Farm.

"We had a long search for a quality instructor, and we were very fortunate being able to find who we found," SHS Principal Joe Mueting said of Strand. "We're excited about having somebody of his caliber here with us. He brings a great deal of experience and vision for where we can take our ag program."

Spencer school board members are expected to formally approve the hiring of Strand during a 5:30 p.m. meeting on Nov. 24.