Kelly McKiernan, an eighth-grader at Academy at the Farm, feeds ‘Little Bit,’ a baby cow she is helping raise. Kelly is one of 90 students in the school’s agriculture program.

Kelly McKiernan wiped her hair from her face and placed a bottle of water to the mouth of a baby cow. Her boots were caked with mud, and an unrelenting sun beat down as "Little Bit" drank voraciously.

This scene could be any family ranch in America. But it's occurring at Academy at the Farm, a charter school outside Dade City, Florida, that is redefining classroom boundaries.

An eighth-grader, Kelly has been involved with the school’s agriculture program, which includes raising goats, cattle and hogs, as well as hydroponic farming, since its inception three years ago.

“I like to learn a lot about every animal, not just one particular kind,” she said. “I help out with a whole bunch of the beef. I feed them, walk them and train them to get ready for the (Pasco County) fair.”

Nearby, seventh-grader Samantha Williams was tending to another goat.

“I just started in Future Farmers of America last week,” she said. “I haven’t gotten to show any animals yet, but I’m looking forward to it.”

With a name like Academy at the Farm, one might expect the school to have a thriving agriculture program. The independent, K-8 charter school is situated on 15 acres among the rolling hills, farmland and orange groves of northeast Pasco County.

But there’s much more to the school than its name may imply. (more…)