Jamie Keisel selected for 2023 WAIC Educator of the Year

This year, Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom (WAIC) named Jamie Keisel, a third grade teacher at Greybull Elementary School, the 2023 WAIC Educator of the Year.

WAIC was formed in 1986 to help students understand some of Wyoming’s most important resources. Today, the statewide nonprofit remains committed to this vision by providing educational resources to schools across Wyoming.

Over the last decade, WAIC has placed a focus on developing curriculum and finding educators who will champion Wyoming resources for their students, their classrooms and their schools.

As an active educator and champion in her school, local community and WAIC programs, Jamie is a perfect candidate for this prestigious annual award.

Wyoming Stewardship Project

The Wyoming Stewardship Project, which focuses on science and social studies in second through fifth grade classrooms, aligns with Wyoming Content and Performance Standards. The project includes three units for each grade level, including agriculture, minerals and energy and outdoor recreation and tourism.

The Wyoming Stewardship Project comes to life through the efforts of dedicated educators throughout the state, who tell the story of Wyoming resources and connect this story to their local communities.

Jamie has been an integral part of the Wyoming Stewardship Project, as she has been involved with writing, revising and teaching the curriculum. She also teaches lessons from both the agriculture and outdoor recreation and tourism units to both third grade classes at Greybull Elementary School.

In order to make lessons come to life for her

Continued on next page students, and to connect them to their local commu nity, Jamie brings in guest speakers from the Wyo ming Game and Fish Department, the local con servation district and members of the agriculture community.

Her students also write letters to local ranchers to learn about their stewardship practices before they take a field trip to see the ranch in person.

WAIC recognition

Misty Hernandez, a fellow third grade teacher at Greybull Elementary School, believes Jamie is incredibly deserving of this award.

She comments, “Jamie teaches our students to be good stewards of the land through her own examples and stories about the land and livestock she takes care of in her own life. When the students can see real-life connections from her, it increases their buy-in to what she is teaching.”

“Jamie truly loves teaching our students about agriculture in Wyoming and how to take care of our land and resources,” Hernandez continues.

As the 2023 Educator of the Year, Jamie will be recognized during the week of Wyoming State Fair at the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame Picnic on Aug. 16 at Riverside Park in Douglas.

During the ceremony, she will be awarded a cash prize of $2,500 through WAIC. The award is funded by the Vermillion Ranch, the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and Mantha Phillips.

Fairgoers Encouraged To Share Their Experience

The Wyoming State Fair (WSF) is calling on fairgoers of all walks of life to share their experience during the 2023 state fair through the inaugural Behind the Brand Content Contest.

Developed by WSF Marketing and Communication Liaison Kota Provence, the contest encourages those visiting the state fair to capture their day and their experiences.

“After photographing or videoing the fair, patrons will upload their content to social media with #behindthebrand, which will enter them into the contest,” explains Kota.

She notes a first, second and third-place prize will be awarded to the best content in two categories – photo/graphic and video/reel.

“This will give people the opportunity to explore creating digital content, which is something we do not currently offer as a category for fair entries,” she continues. “It also allows us to capture the different experiences at the WSF from the stories and people who are behind the brand.”

Fairgoers should be sure to capture their time at the WSF and upload their content by tagging #behindthebrand to be entered into the contest.