Catherine Poole, an agriculture teacher at South Warren High School (Warren County), earned the regional Golden Owl Award for the Barren River region. Photo provided by Catherine Poole
Catherine Poole is expanding what agricultural education looks like for students at South Warren High School (Warren County) as she was recently recognized as a regional Golden Owl Award winner.
The Golden Owl Award is an honor presented by the Kentucky Future Farmers of America (FFA) Foundation. The award recognizes agriculture educators for their contributions in helping shape the next generation of leaders. Recipients can be nominated by students, colleagues and supporters.
Poole’s path into agricultural education started as an interest in high school, as she didn’t have much of a background in the field.
“When I started my high school career, I got put in an agriculture class, and I wasn’t really sure about it,” she said.
She joined her school’s FFA chapter and said the experience brought her new friends and encouraged her to pursue agriculture for the rest of her education.
“When I graduated from high school, I originally went to college to do agricultural business,” she said. “And it only took me a few months to figure out that I wanted to give that same opportunity to students that was given to me.”
Poole earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Western Kentucky University in 2020 and a master’s degree from the University of the Cumberlands. She completed an education specialist degree from Murray State University in May 2026.
Within her classroom, Poole said she is committed to providing an inclusive environment for her students.
“I strive to create an environment inside my classroom that’s inviting for students in all walks of life,” she said.
Regardless of their agricultural background, prior experience or country of origin, she said she strives to “create an environment that is welcoming to them and a place where they feel like it’s safe to learn where they can ask questions and be kind of vulnerable and learn things that way.”
Poole said she develops hands‑on activities that help students understand the realities and the science behind agriculture. One example is soil sampling. Students learn how to collect, prepare and send soil samples for analysis. When the results come back, they interpret the data to understand nutrient levels and soil health.
“They get to see that hands‑on part of it, the science side,” she said, which helps students move beyond stereotypes of agriculture as “just farming.”
Poole’s students took a field trip to the Kentucky Horse Park in Louisville during the 2025-2026 school year to offer students a look at Kentucky’s horse industry.
Poole said for many of them it was their first time interacting with horses and, for some, their first time riding one.
“The hands‑on things are the things that stick with them and that’s how I think they learn best,” she said.
She collaborates regularly with her fellow teachers, local professionals and the school’s Agricultural Advisory Council to ensure students are receiving real‑world learning opportunities.
Industry experts and professionals visit her classroom to demonstrate how their knowledge of agriculture applies in their daily work.
“Having those professionals come in and show them how they use that knowledge that they’re learning in class, that helps a lot so they can see how that applies outside of the classroom,” she said.
The Agricultural Advisory Council, which is made up of community members and local industry professionals, meets twice a year to help evaluate the program.
Poole said the council reviews the strengths of the program curriculum and helps identify areas it can improve to ensure the program is growing just as the industry does.
Poole said the recognition of the Golden Owl Award was extremely humbling, as she has only been teaching for six years.
“To be nominated by my peers, community members and students, it’s inspiring because it helps me realize that people are seeing the work that I’m doing and they appreciate it and that means something to me,” she said.
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