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Teacher Liz Schroeder Earns Chamber Laurels
Doniphan R-I educator Liz Schroeder has always done her job with no expectation of special recognition.
However, Schroeder’s reputation for excellence recently came to the attention of the Ripley County Chamber of Commerce, which bestowed on her the high honor of 2022 Educator of the Year.
Schroeder learned of the chamber’s decision Dec. 20 while leading a crew of FFA students who were helping out at the monthly Ripley County Resource Ministries food distribution.
Schroeder, an agriculture education instructor at R-I, leads her students by example, giving her time to many community projects.
As the district’s ag educator and Future Farmers of America sponsor, she says she is doing exactly what she has always wanted to do, where she wants to do it.
“I was lucky enough to have had Alan Slayton as my ag teacher and then had the chance to teach with him for 11 years. That’s pretty special. Ag education and being part of FFA made a huge impact on my life, and I want to share those same opportunities with my students,” says Schroeder.
“FFA affords kids so many opportunities. They get to see what it’s like out in the world. They get to go places and do things they have never done before.
“I believe there is something in ag education for everyone,” says Schroeder.
While the acronym “FFA” seems to imply the organization is only for prospective farmers, that is far from being true, says Schroeder.
“Ag education is so much more than that. It teaches kids where their food comes from. It gives them basic knowledge so that they become better consumers, and better informed voters.
As teachers, says Schroeder, “We never know what will spark a kid’s interest. That’s the best part of being an ag educator. Maybe one student will discover an interest in botany or another will decide he or she likes bugs and will decide on a career in entomology.
Better still, maybe a student will develop a passion for teaching agriculture.
“There is a shortage of ag teachers right now, and that means there may be some schools that cancel their programs,” says Schroeder.
That is very concerning to a woman who is passionate about ag education.
“It’s not outside the realm of possibility that, once I retire here, I might take a job at a smaller school, one which might otherwise close their ag program if they were unable to find someone to teach there,” she says.
Schroeder, a 1994 graduate of Doniphan High School earned her degree in agriculture education from Missouri State University. She came back home to teach.
“I was an aide for a year while I waited for a position to open up. Then in 1999, I was hired to be an Ag teacher,” she says. “I am thankful that Dennis Braschler recommended to the board to hire me, and gave me the chance to fulfill a dream.”
The rest is history.
“What I love about agriculture is that anyplace: a meat shop or pig barn, can become a classroom,” she says.
As part of their education, Schroeder and her fellow ag instructor Matt Pendergrass encourage their students to become involved within the community as volunteers, which is why she became involved with Ripley County Resource Ministries.
“That’s just one of our projects. The kids also volunteer for the US Forest Service and take part in trail clean-ups, signage installations and build picnic tables. Our kiddos put in a lot of time with the Ripley County Fairboard, helping with clean-ups and building projects.”
They help out at the Red Cross blood drives, Ripley County Chamber of Commerce FreedomFest, and they coordinate petting zoos at many of the local events,” says Schroeder.
As Educator of the Year, Schroeder will be a guest of honor Jan. 27 at the Chamber of Commerce annual banquet.
Also to be honored is Serra McCabe, who was named chamber’s citizen of the year.
Schroeder has this to say about being named Educator of the Year: “I am not really the type of person who seeks that sort of thing--which is probably pretty ironic because I do encourage my students to strive for special honors and awards.”
Schroeder and her husband, Brian, have five children. Son Justin, 21, is a student at Missouri State University, where he is majoring in food science; Bailey, 20, works at Gates in Poplar Bluff; and Matthew, 18, is a Doniphan High School senior. He plans to attend Mizzou, where he hopes to major in geology science and minor in Petrology.
Kendall, 15, is a Doniphan High School sophomore, and 12-year-old twins Peyton and Aggie, attend Doniphan Middle School.