Janine Hodges

I am a product of Career & Technical Education. As a high school student, I became involved with the Agriculture Science program at Meridian High School. This sparked a passion for agriculture and hands-on learning, so after graduating from an incredible Agriculture Education program at West Texas A&M in 2019, I took my first teaching job as the Agriculture Science Teacher at Parma High School in Idaho. After teaching for 4 years in a job I loved, I got the opportunity to serve the Idaho Division of Career Technical Education as the Program Quality Manager (PQM) for Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resource (AFNR) education for the state.

What are your key CTE responsibilities in your current job role?

The AFNR Program Quality Manager position helps supervise agriculture science programs across the state and connects them to valuable resources. Primarily, I oversee the program standards, funding, and compliance for Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources programs in Idaho. I work with teachers to ensure they are administering high quality programs and providing them with the tools they need to be successful.

Why do you feel Career & Tech education is important the future of education?

Career & Technical Education provides our students with the opportunity to learn life long skills in a standards based setting, which maximizes learning potential and empowers teachers with standards based assessment.

What is the biggest benefit students can receive from enrolling in CTE programs/courses?

CTE connects students to viable careers and even more viable skills that impact students for life.

Please share some of your hobbies.

I love plants and animals, and can be found on a Saturday perusing the local farm supply store trying to convince my husband that we need chickens or another plant. My husband and I are involved in the agriculture industry and invest our spare time pouring into this passion.