BAKER CITY — Baker School District teachers Bibiana Gifft and Nicole Merchant have received the Outstanding Middle/Secondary Agricultural Award for an 11-state region for their agriculture education program.

The pair traveled to New Orleans on Tuesday, Nov. 30, to receive the award on stage at the National Association of Agricultural Educators National Conference.

“We were so proud to be announced, especially because there were some other impressive programs across the state in the running as well,” Gifft wrote to the Baker City Herald.

Gifft, an FFA agricultural teacher, said the application process, which started last year at the state level, is arduous.

“The application process includes a very long application, featuring categories including: classroom instruction, experiential learning, student leadership, program marketing, community partnerships, and professional growth of the agriculture instructors,” Gifft wrote. “We also submit multiple pages of supplemental documents (usually photos and newspaper clippings).”

Merchant, the agricultural science teacher and FFA advisor for the Baker Technical Institute at Baker High School, said in a written statement she and Gifft applied and received the Outstanding Middle/Secondary Agriculture Program for Oregon in 2020.

“After you win your state then you apply the following spring for the national level,” Merchant said. “They select a national winner from each region and we are in region 1 and there are six regions in total.”

According to its website, the NAAE is a federation of state agricultural educators associations with more than 9,000 members. They are involved in school-based agricultural education at any level and state and national education leadership.

They advocate for agricultural education, provide professional development for agricultural educators and work to recruit and retain agricultural educators in the profession.