Jacksonville Middle School FFA Chapter Charter Signing Set for March 24

Jacksonville Middle School will make its FFA membership official on the evening of National Agriculture Day, signing the charter for its new chapter at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24, in a public ceremony at the school.

The signing marks the formal start of the chapter and its mission to help students develop leadership skills, agricultural knowledge, and community involvement through the National FFA Organization. Illinois FFA State Secretary Kyle Bradshaw is expected to attend. School officials say the entire community is welcome to come and celebrate.

The ceremony carries added significance beyond the calendar coincidence. When Jacksonville Middle School signs that charter, Morgan County will have FFA programs at every school in the area. Allison Wheeler, the agriculture teacher and FFA adviser at Routt Catholic High School, put it plainly in remarks to Jim Taylor of the RFD Radio Network: "Now every school in our county has an FFA program." Wheeler specified that in Jacksonville, Routt Catholic, Jacksonville High School, Jacksonville Middle School, and the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired all offer agriculture classes and FFA.

The chapter at Jacksonville Middle School did not wait for the ceremony to get started. Students launched a soft version of the program in February, participating in FFA Week activities and organizing fundraisers supporting PAWS and the school's annual Penny Wars. The March 24 event converts that momentum into an official standing chapter within the National FFA Organization.

The signing is the second new FFA charter in Jacksonville within the past year. Routt Catholic, a private school of about 105 students, officially chartered its chapter on Dec. 3, with Wheeler as its adviser. She had been hired in June and began teaching in August, becoming the first agriculture instructor in the school's 123-year history. Routt Catholic now offers introduction to agriculture and animal science, with an agribusiness class set to begin next semester.

The growth in Jacksonville reflects a broader pattern across Illinois. The Illinois Association FFA counts more than 42,000 members across 402 chapters statewide, and the National FFA Organization has surpassed 1 million members nationally. In Effingham, an agriculture program launched by Ty Totten ahead of the 2024-25 school year drew about 50 interested students at the start; enrollment has since grown to more than 80, with every enrolled student automatically joining the FFA chapter.

The Jacksonville Middle School charter ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m. on March 24 at the school.