Current Information on Coronavirus - COVID-19

March 3, 2022

New York FFA COVID Policy Update for Events Spring of 2022

Sub-State LDE’s:

-Students, Advisors, Chaperones, Volunteers, Judges, etc. are required to follow the host school’s guidelines to participate at in-person events. Please review the information provided by the host school.

-Students who are in quarantine/isolation but have qualified to compete at Sub-States will be given the option to participate virtually at a predetermined time on the same day using a virtual platform.

-If someone chooses to continue to wear a mask even if it is not required, that person should be treated with the upmost respect and kindness. NY FFA has a no tolerance policy for bullying. There will be no point deduction for a student choosing to wear a mask.

State Convention:

-Students who are in quarantine/isolation but have qualified to compete in an LDE will be given the option to participate virtually at a predetermined time on the same day using a virtual platform.

-Students competing in CDE’s at state convention will NOT have the option to compete virtually and should plan to compete in-person.

-With guidance regarding the pandemic seemingly changing on a weekly basis, we have not finalized the general COVID guidelines for this event. We will be working with the Onondaga County Health Department and using any guidance provided by the CDC or New York State Health Department to make determinations on what our guidelines will be as we get closer to state convention.

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January 14, 2022

Agricultural Educators,

In these rapidly changing times with new COVID variants, testing protocols, extensive illnesses, and lives disrupted, witnessing the harmonious and cooperative spirit among the agricultural education family has been remarkable. Our priority is to continue to provide our agricultural community with the support and services you can count on every day during this time of uncertainty. As new developments emerge regarding our programming or events, we’ll share information with you via list serves, as well as post this information on our website.

The health and safety of those in our agricultural education community, teachers, and our students remains our top priority. Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, as of 1/14/2022, New York Agricultural Education and FFA have made the difficult decisions to cancel the FFA Member Leadership Series Conference for students (formerly 212/360) on January 29-30, 2022 in Syracuse, and the State Leaders Conference on February 14-15, 2022 in Albany.

For complete information and updates regarding changes to the FFA Member Leadership Conference, January Professional Development for teachers, LDE’s, Sub-States, and the Welding Boot Camp, please visit the following link:

While it is disappointing that we will not be able to gather in person for some of our upcoming events, our hope is that we will be able to prioritize live in-person events in the future when it is safe to gather in large groups.

As we navigate these uncertain times, the well-being and safety of everyone will always remain our utmost priority. We are committed to facing these challenges and disappointments together, and dedicated to helping you stay informed about important agricultural education events and steps we are taking to serve all of our teachers and students throughout this pandemic and beyond.

As always, please reach out anytime with questions.

COVID Leadership Team
Shari Lighthall, Director, NYS Agricultural Education Outreach
Derek Hill, NY FFA Director
Betsy Foote, NYS FFA/NYAAE Governing Board Chair, President
Tara Berescik, NYS FFA/NYAAE Governing Board Chair, President Elect
Todd Eick, NYS FFA/NYAAE Trustee and Finance Chair

Programming Updates Related to COVID for January-March 2022

1/14/2022

We continue to face challenges with the ongoing pandemic. Unfortunately, we have had to make changes to our programming for a third straight year due to COVID-19. These are never easy decisions, and it disappoints us all when opportunities are cancelled or diminished. However, the safety of our students, teachers, staff, volunteers, etc. are at the center of our discussions and decisions. We will get through this and are optimistic that we will be able to hold events later in the year. Below are the updates as it relates to our upcoming events January-March.

2022 FFA Member Leadership Series:

-The student programming is cancelled for this event for the following reasons:

-Continued wide-spread infections of COVID-19 across our state

-With over one thousand participants registered, we are no longer able to properly social distance at all times.

-We also have concerns with our ability to enforce all the preventative measures (proper masking, handwashing, social distancing during meals, etc.) in place regarding COVID-19 at Member Leadership Series

-Chapters have already begun to cancel on their own

-What if we already submitted our payment for MLS?

-All payments received will be returned

-The professional development programming for teachers is going to take place as scheduled with the following updates:

-With space now available due to the cancellation of the student programming we will be using larger meetings spaces, which will allow us to socially distance

-If a teacher decides not to participate because they are no longer bringing students to the event, or they don’t feel comfortable coming they will be able to cancel their registration without penalty

-Teachers will receive a communication early next week assessing if they still plan to attend. If you are attending a new invoice will be issued and there will not be any late fees assessed.

- We are requiring proof of vaccination or negative test within 48hrs

2022 State Leaders Experience:

-This program is cancelled for this year for the following reasons:

-Continued wide-spread infections of COVID-19 across our state

-The Legislative Office Building (LOB) is currently closed (visitors are not allowed in the LOB) and would severely limit our ability to meet with legislators in-person

-Other like-minded organizations have or are considering cancelling their advocacy events in Albany and switching to virtual

-Individual opportunities that can still have an impact on students and support from our legislators can still be done at the local level:

-We will still be providing resources for teachers to use in their classrooms and to set up meetings virtually or at their legislator’s local office

-We encourage all our chapters to take advantage of the resources we have available and still meet with your legislators either virtually or if you are able to at their local office or invite them to your school

2022 District and Sub-State LDE’s

Districts:

-To allow as many students as possible to still have this enrichment experience in-person, we are going to allow each district to decide how they would like to proceed with their district level event based on local circumstances. The district host will take the lead on coordinating the district level LDE’s. Below are options that each district should consider:

1. In-person event only
a. The event will be conducted as planned
b. Follow all stated COVID guidelines (including the capacity limits of the facility)

2. Hybrid event
a. Those that can attend in-person will and those that are restricted by their school district from traveling would be able to compete virtually
b. To try and make this equitable, we are encouraging those districts that go in this direction have the students competing virtually do so through a live virtual platform (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.) on the same day with the same judges
c. Follow all stated COVID guidelines (Including the capacity limits of the facility)

3. Virtual only
a. The event would be transitioned into a completely virtual event
b. As with the hybrid event, we would encourage hosts to do this live through a virtual platform, however if you choose to allow video submissions there will need to be some additional rules in place that we can assist you with based on our experience last year

-We want to encourage all the district advisors to work together to come to a consensus with the host advisor taking the lead
-If the date of your event needs to be pushed back because of the changes we encourage you to do so as long as it is before March 9, 2022
-The district host will communicate any changes made regarding the district LDE event
-State staff will assist hosts with any questions they may have and is prepared to provide support as needed

Sub-States:

-We are currently still planning to host these events in-person
-At this time students and teachers should plan to compete in-person, not virtually for sub-states
-As we get closer to March, if the pandemic is still causing safety concerns about traveling, we will transition to a virtual event. We will decide by 2/19/2022.

February Welding Boot Camp:
-At this time, we plan to proceed with this program as planned with this small group of teachers.
-We are requiring proof of vaccination or negative test within 48hrs

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October 28, 2020

Agricultural Educators

The events that are affecting every corner of the world are most certainly being felt here at home. It is times like these that we cannot underestimate the collective power of working together and supporting each other. To that point, we want to thank all of our teachers for their courage and strength as agricultural educators around the state tirelessly work to develop ways to engage our students in new learning environments and manage our personal lives during these extraordinary times. Our goal is to ensure that you — our agricultural education community — remains informed and abreast of all decisions regarding future programing for you and your students.

As we continue to navigate these uncertain times, the following decisions were made by the COVID Task Force and affirmed by the board of directors and will directly impact our teachers, students and families.

As of 10/28/2020, New York Agricultural Education and FFA have made difficult decisions to change the delivery format of several upcoming events, including the 96th New York State FFA Convention.

We have based these decisions on the following critical factors:

● Our prioritized concern for our teachers, students, and community health and safety;

● Limited ability for schools to approve travel or fiscal expenditures;

● Closures of New York’s K-12 public schools and Universities in our state’s hot spots; and

● New York State’s current ban on all events over 50 people in place for the foreseeable future

● All District, Sub-State, and State Leadership Development Events (LDE) and Career Leadership Develop Events (CDE) scheduled for January, February March, and May of 2021 will be transitioned to a virtual format. This decision has been made to ensure that 100% of New York FFA chapters have the ability to safely participate and advance through each level of the local, area, and state level competitions while adhering to fiscal, health, and travel restrictions across the state.

● The 96th New York State FFA Convention will be held virtually in May of 2021.
While the event will look different in 2021, rest assured that we will continue to celebrate agriculture’s future leaders and conducting the organization’s official business. By making this challenging decision now, we can plan for this experience with a renewed focused on enhanced virtual engagement for our students and supporters. New York FFA looks forward to returning to an in-person convention in 2022.

We know there will be many questions about the schedule and format of the aforementioned updates. The NY FFA staff, board leadership, and committees, continue to meet regularly and work to finalize the details of upcoming events and distribute that information to all FFA advisors. Regardless of the change in format to these activities, we look forward to providing high-quality developmental experiences this winter and spring that will help FFA members to obtain and develop transferable 21st century leadership skills.

We will use our experience from the virtual NYS FFA Convention in 2020 and additional experience from the virtual National FFA Convention to ensure that NYS FFA continues to deliver a premier event for our students, advisors and supporters.

All New York Agricultural Education Outreach Staff continue to work each day fielding calls, supporting teachers and students, and planning events and programming important to our mission. Travel remains limited to only essential business. Please know we are available should you have any questions or concerns.

While we understand that these programmatic format changes are disappointing, it is essential that we prioritize the health and safety of everyone involved within our organization – including students, advisors, chaperones, stakeholders and staff – and we take that role seriously.

You have our commitment that we are doing all we can in this unprecedented situation. We want to thank you for your continued support and understanding as we work through this together over the coming months. We are deeply committed to keeping you informed and involved as we reimagine future virtual and hybrid events.

We want to end by expressing our sincere gratitude for your ongoing efforts to guide and provide leadership to your students, now when they need it most. During this unprecedented time, we appreciate the goodwill and resilience each of you has shown. Thank you for your amazing support as we work through this together. Be strong, be brave, and be steadfast!

We wish all of you good health and good spirits as we face these once in a lifetime scenarios together.
Should you have any immediate concerns, please contact us. We will get through this together.

Shari Lighthall, Director, NYS Agricultural Education Outreach
Derek Hill, NY FFA Director
Karen LaBombard, NYS FFA/NYAAE Governing Board Chair
Paul Perry, State Convention Committee Chair
Betsy Foote, NYS FFA/NYAAE Governing Board President Elect
Gleason Walley, Past NYS FFA/NYAAE Governing Board President

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June 26.2020

The National FFA Organization will host the 93rd National FFA Convention & Expo as a virtual experience this fall on multiple outlets. This decision, recommended by National FFA staff and affirmed by the National FFA Board of Directors, is due to the many challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The national convention will be hosted by the 2019-20 National FFA Officer Team and continue the tradition of celebrating and inspiring the hundreds of thousands of FFA members who are becoming what the world needs next. The event will allow FFA members, advisors, alumni, supporters, sponsors and exhibitors to connect more than ever before through virtual events, activities and competitions.

The national convention will occur virtually during the week of Oct. 28, as previously planned. Be sure to mark your calendar for Aug. 12 when we release specific details regarding the schedule, registration details, special guests and other pieces that deliver high-value and impact for FFA members. Delegates from across the country will also join virtually to accomplish the official business of the student-led organization as spelled out in the National FFA Constitution.

The participation of our National FFA Alumni & Supporters remains a central focus for FFA during this unprecedented time. We look forward to you joining us virtually in October to engage in activities and opportunities that will help you continue to impact FFA chapters in your communities, plus all of the other great national convention content.

We plan to return to Indianapolis and the State of Indiana in 2021 for an energetic in-person event that celebrates achievements and forms valuable connections for FFA members looking to make a strong next step. FFA is grateful to our hosting partners and stands committed to making a difference in Indianapolis this fall through contributions and service activities that support the people, places and organizations that have always offered their well-known brand of Hoosier Hospitality to our guests.

I’m looking forward to a unique and influential National FFA Convention & Expo this fall.

Warm regards, Mark Poeschl CEO, National FFA Organization and National FFA Foundation

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May 21.2020

As New York Forward unfolds and our state begins a planned phased reopening, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continues to disrupt our daily lives. While this public health crisis evolves and shifts daily, we will continue to adhere to the guidance and regulations provided by the New York State Health Department.

In making the informed and difficult decisions regarding upcoming agricultural education events and programming, our utmost responsibility remains to be the health and safety of our students. As educational professionals, we all have a shared responsibility to our chaperones, stakeholders, state staff and community supporters. In light of the decisions made by the National FFA Organization and for clarity of operational intentions, the following very difficult decisions have been made.

As of 5/21/2020, New York Agricultural Education and FFA have made additional difficult decisions to cancel all State Finals for Career and Leadership Development Events for the 2020 year.

We have based this decision on the following critical factors:

· Our concern for student and community health and safety

· The closing of New York’s K-12 public schools and Universities to in-person learning through the remainder of the school year

· Uncertainty as to when group gatherings can safely resume while adhering to social distancing guidelines

· The uncertainly of the status of the New York State Fair

· Equitable access to virtual events, contest integrity, and the execution of quality contests

· National FFA has canceled all LDE/CDE’s for the 2020 year

· The Big E will not be holding any in-person contests in 2020

While we understand that this cancellation is disruptive and disappointing, this decision was made in the best interest of everyone involved. This cancelation includes all Career and Leadership Development Events that are typically held at the New York State FFA Convention, Empire Farm Days, and the New York State Fair.

In an effort to still deliver on the promise of leadership development and career success opportunities to students, we are exploring ways to coordinate learning experiences and engage students with exhibition only activities throughout the summer. More information will be available as these options are discussed and developed.

As the situation changes on an almost daily basis at the moment, we want to ensure our teachers are well-informed as it relates to our FFA and NYAAE programming throughout the next few weeks and months. Please refer to our COVID-19 page for up-to-date information and the following FAQ pages and Cancelation Statements with specific details on upcoming teacher and student conferences, events, trainings and student leadership programming.

Please click on each event below for more information:

NYS FFA Convention/LDE & CDE Invitational - Cancelled

Incentive Grant Program - Updated

June 22-24, NYAAE Conference - Virtual Event

2020 FFA Summer Camp-Cancelled - Register for Camp in Box!
2020 NYS Fair CDE’s - Cancelled

New York Agricultural education is composed of many extraordinary teachers, innovative student leaders, and stakeholders who have shaped the future of agriculture in our state. Our students, teachers, and programs have weathered many storms that have affected agriculture and education. Throughout this particular storm, our community has continued to demonstrate resilience and solidarity as we have pushed forward and continued to serve our students and communities. It’s this type of leadership, and student-centered approach that makes New York Agricultural Education one of the premier education delivery systems that will continue to provide a sustainable future for agriculture now and beyond the current pandemic.

We want to end by expressing our sincere gratitude for your ongoing efforts to guide and provide leadership to your students, now when they need it most. We are proud to walk alongside you during this critical time as we engage our students and enrich their lives as future agriculturalists.

Please continue to offer support and care to each other, take good care of yourself and cherish your loved ones as we all navigate this truly challenging moment.

Should you have any immediate concerns, please contact us. We will get through this together.

With kind regards,

Shari Lighthall, Director, NYS Agricultural Education Outreach
Derek Hill, NY FFA Director
Gleason Walley, NYS FFA/NYAAE Governing Board Chair
Paul Perry, State Convention Committee Chair
Karen Labombard, NYS FFA/NYAAE Governing Board President Elect

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TO FIND UPDATES ABOUT COVID-19 FROM CORNELL UNIVERSITY- CLICK HERE

April 21, 2020

In today’s new virtual world where collaboration and engagement needs to take place across several mediums and communication platforms, New York FFA wants to assure our teachers, parents, students, and administrators that the safety of our students and teachers is our first priority.

We recognize that many virtual platforms for online collaboration, meetings, and conferences have come under intense scrutiny over the past few weeks regarding their security protocols. Many companies have put additional security measures in place to protect the privacy of its users. These features only create a safer platform is they are actually implemented by the host of each event. When hosts are not responsible with meeting invitations, pass protections, or the enabling safety features, all online virtual programs regardless of the security features it may have are vulnerable to breeches.

At this time after weighing out all our options for the near future, we have decided we will be conducting our online events with the updated Zoom version 4.6.10 (with new security features) online platform. We selected Zoom, based on the Pro license obtained and recommended by Cornell University, the capacity for large meetings and webinars, the utilization of breakout rooms, and the newly enhanced security features. This newly released update makes meetings more secure and safe from Zoombombing and phishing risks. Most notably, the update includes a new Security icon on the host’s control bar, which consolidates many meeting security options in one place. Below please find the additional security protocols embedded that we will be using on all events to ensure we protect the privacy of our students and teachers who attend our upcoming sessions. The following measures will increase the security of our sessions and reduce the chance of unwanted attendees.

· Lock Meetings
When a meeting is locked, no new participants can join—even if they are authorized users or have a password.

· Enable Waiting Room
The Waiting Room feature allows the host to control when each participant joins the meeting and only allows participants to join if you specifically admit them after confirming they are supposed to be in attendance.

· Rename Themselves
We will prevent participants from renaming themselves in the meeting. We will ask attendees to enter their full name and no nicknames will be allowed. This will allow staff to confirm the identify of each individual and match it with the registration list of attendees.

· Remove Participant
We have the ability to immediately expel a participant from a meeting if they are not supposed to be in the event. The removed individual cannot rejoin the meeting.

· Share Screen
We will automatically turn this option off and prevent students other than the host from sharing their screens.

· Chat
With the enhanced security features we have the ability to turn this option off if necessary to prevent participants other than the host from using the Chat feature.

· Annotate on Shared Content
We will automatically have this feature turned off to prevent participants other than the host from using annotation tools such as Draw, Stamp, Spotlight, Text, and Erase when screen sharing is used.

· Meeting ID’s and Sharing of Meeting Invitation
We will not share a meeting link publicly on our website or through social media. All registered participants will receive an invitation to join our meetings via email.

· Require password for participants joining by phone
When we have attendees joining by phone, we will require that they use a password to gain access to each event. Attendees joining by phone would not be visible by Zoom.

On 4.17.2020 we reached out to the NYS Education department, and below is the response we received regarding online video platforms and the utilization by CTSO Organizations:

As the ED Law 2d continues to change how districts and the like handle student information, a official guidance document is being constructed and will be released to allow for groups like the FFA to comply with this law. This guidance has not been released as of right now, and we are unsure what the timeline for release due to the current pandemic. For the time being, we are being told that these CTSO groups (FFA included) can act normally. At this current point, all we can provide is that there is no "right or wrong" platform, and the virtual platform that a district decides to use remains a local decision (per current guidance from the privacy office). Please note that Zoom among others is listed under the communication tools tab on the following link on the NYSED: http://www.nysed.gov/edtech/digital-tools.

We understand that some of your schools may have established different protocols for the use of online instruction. We ask that you please share the above information with the newly established safety features that we will be using with your administration and IT staff at your schools.

Please reach out with any questions, I am happy to speak with any teacher, student, parent, IT staff or administrator to discuss this further.

All the Best,
Shari Lighthall, Director
Agricultural Education Outreach

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April 17, 2020

The last several weeks have been unprecedented. Our hearts go out to you, your families, and anyone who has been directly or indirectly affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19). Our heartfelt thanks go to the brave people in our communities who are helping protect each one of us. It is times like these that we cannot underestimate the collective power of working together and supporting each other. To that point, we want to thank all of our teachers for their patience and understanding as agricultural educators around the state tirelessly work to develop ways to engage our students and manage our personal lives during these extraordinary times.

As many of you are already aware, the most recent Executive order issued by Governor Cuomo, extends New York State on Pause through May 15, 2020.

As of 4/17/2020, New York Agricultural Education and FFA have made additional difficult decisions to postpone the date of the CDE/LDE Invitational to August and modify the June NYAAE conference. The NYAAE professional development committee has already met to start creating a virtual event.
We have based these decisions on the following critical factors:

· Our prioritized concern for student and community health and safety;

· The closing of New York’s K-12 public schools and Universities through at least May 15 ; and

· Uncertainty as to when school will be back in session.

Please click on each event below for more information:

While it is disappointing that we will not be able to celebrate in person some of our students and colleagues achievements at upcoming events, there are still several ways to engage virtually, including participation in the virtual NYS FFA Convention, and virtual NYAAE Conference. We encourage everyone to participate in these live and recorded events so together we can support our students, teachers, and stakeholders.

While we are limiting our in-person activities at this time, be assured we are all still here to assist you. Please do not hesitate to reach out anytime.

At last year’s NYAAE conference we talked about resilience, who would ever have imagined it would test each and every one of us during the spring of 2020. Take good care of yourself and cherish your loved ones as we all navigate these unchartered waters.

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March 31 Statement

In these rapidly changing times with schools closed, events cancelled, and lives disrupted, witnessing the harmonious and cooperative spirit among the agricultural education family has been remarkable.

Our priority is to continue to provide our agricultural community with the support and services you can count on every day during this time of uncertainty. As new developments emerge regarding our programming or events, we’ll share information with you via listerves, as well as post this information on our website.

Please refer to our COVID-19 page for up-to-date information and the following FAQ pages and Cancellation Statements with specific details on upcoming teacher and student conferences, events, trainings and student leadership programming.

Please click on each event below for more information:

As we navigate these uncertain times, the well-being and safety of everyone will always remain our utmost priority. We are committed to facing these challenges and disappointments together, and dedicated to helping you stay informed about important agricultural education events and steps we are taking to serve all of our teachers and students throughout this pandemic and beyond.

During this unprecedented time, we appreciate the goodwill and resilience each of you has shown. Thank you for your amazing support as we work through this together. Be strong, be brave, and be steadfast!

We wish all of you good health and good spirits as we face these once in a lifetime scenarios together.

As always, please reach out anytime with questions.

Shari Lighthall, Director, NYS Agricultural Education Outreach
Derek Hill, NY FFA Director
Gleason Walley, NYS FFA/NYAAE Governing Board Chair
Paul Perry, State Convention Committee Chair

To print the 3/31/2020 statement, please CLICK HERE

March 16 Statement

The impact of COVID-19 on our way of life and the ability to educate our students could not have been predicted even just a few days or weeks ago. It is times like these that we cannot underestimate the collective power of working together and supporting each other. To that point, we want to thank all of our teachers for their patience and understanding as agricultural educators around the state tirelessly work to develop ways to engage our students and manage our personal lives during these extraordinary times.

As of 3/16/2020, New York Agricultural Education and FFA have made several difficult decisions to cancel or postpone numerous upcoming events, including the 95th New York State FFA Convention.

We have based these decisions on the following critical factors:

· Our prioritized concern for student and community health and safety;

· Recent cancellations/uncertainties with regional CDE and LDE qualifiers;

· The closing of New York’s K-12 public schools and Universities; and

· Today’s announcement from the CDC and Governor Cuomo banning all events over 50 people for the next 8 weeks.

As the situation changes on an almost daily basis at the moment, we want to ensure our teachers are well-informed as it relates to our FFA and NYAAE programming throughout the next few weeks and months. Please refer to our COVID-19 page for up-to-date information and the following FAQ pages and Cancelation Statements with specific details on upcoming teacher and student conferences, events, trainings and student leadership programming.

Please click on each event below for more information:

· March 14, District President Selection - Postponed

· March Regional Visioning Meetings- Postponed

· April 2-4, State Officer Selection- Postponed

· May 14-16, New York State FFA Convention- Cancelled

· May 15, Incentive Grant Program at State FFA Convention- Cancelled

· June 22-24, NYAAE Conference- Still Scheduled, will be re-evaluated by 4/22/2020

While we understand that these cancellations and postponements are disruptive and disappointing, it is essential that we prioritize the health and safety of everyone involved within our organization – including students, advisors, chaperones, stakeholders and staff – and we take that role seriously.

You have our commitment that we are doing all we can in this unprecedented situation. We want to thank you for your continued support and understanding as we work through this together over the coming weeks. We are deeply committed to keeping you informed and involved as we move through this uncertain time.

We want to end by expressing our sincere gratitude for your ongoing efforts to guide and provide leadership to your students, now when they need it most. Please continue to offer support and care to each other, take good care of yourself and cherish your loved ones as we all navigate this truly challenging moment.

Should you have any immediate concerns, please contact us. We will get through this together.

With kind regards,

Shari Lighthall, Director, NYS Agricultural Education Outreach
Derek Hill, NY FFA Director
Gleason Walley, NYS FFA/NYAAE Governing Board Chair
Paul Perry, State Convention Committee Chair

To print the 3/16/2020 statement, please CLICK HERE

March 10, 2020 Statement

As you are aware, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) continue to monitor the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The leadership of the NY FFA, NYAAE, and Cornell University have been proactively working with local and state public health organizations to monitor the coronavirus outbreak and to minimize future community spread as well as to protect the health and safety of our agricultural communities.

As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continues, we regret to inform you that this weekend’s FFA regional Substate competitions have been CANCELLED.

Effective Wednesday, March 11, 2020 we will be postponing or cancelling all large group scholastic gatherings, events/conferences and travel for our FFA Officers, State Staff, and Agricultural Education Leadership through April 5, 2020. We will reassess these events/travel restrictions no later than April 5, 2020, and will update you as soon as information is available.

We are exploring our options to reschedule postponed or cancelled events, and hope to have a new plan in place very soon.

While we understand that this cancellation is disruptive and disappointing, it is essential that we prioritize the health and safety of everyone involved within our organization – including students, advisors, chaperones, stakeholders and staff – and we take that role seriously.

We thank you for your understanding and patience. Should you have any immediate concerns, please contact us.

Best Wishes,

Shari Lighthall, Director, NYS Agricultural Education Outreach
Derek Hill, NY FFA Director
Gleason Walley, NYS FFA/NYAAE Governing Board Chair
Paul Perry, State Convention Committee Chair

To print the 3/10/2020 statement, please CLICK HERE

March 6, 2020 Statement

As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continues to develop, we are monitoring the situation and assessing potential impacts on the New York State FFA. We are sending this information out now only out of an abundance of caution so that we can proactively monitor this concern to protect the health and well-being of the Agricultural Education and FFA communities.

We are reviewing our planned events and will make decisions about holding these activities based on best available evidence and guidance from school and health officials. At this point state and local health officials have stated that the current risk to our communities remains low.

In the event that public health concerns dictate further restrictions on travel, group meetings, or gatherings, we will update you on any contingency plans that may need to be made to our upcoming FFA and agricultural education events.

Because the situation with respect to the coronavirus is so fluid, we encourage all our teaches to regularly review and follow the latest information from the CDC https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html.

Please help us model the sharing of best practices for health and hygiene, taking proactive steps to prevent possible exposure and transmission. If any teacher, student, judge, or chaperone is ill, they are NOT to attend events. We also encourage teachers and students to limit contact by not shaking hands, hugging, and thoroughly washing hands on a regular basis. Most importantly; NY FFA should model appropriate contact, and use elbow and foot bumps when greeting each others.

In closing, New York FFA along with National FFA’s first responsibility is the safety of everyone involved with our organization – including students, advisors, chaperones, stakeholders and staff – and we take that role seriously. We are here to assist in any way we can. Let us know what questions or concerns you may have, and how we can best support you.

Best Wishes,
Shari Lighthall, Director, NYS Agricultural Education Outreach
Derek Hill, NY FFA Director
Gleason Walley, NYS FFA/NYAAE Governing Board Chair
Paul Perry, State Convention Committee Chair

To print the 3/16/2020 statement, please CLICK HERE

Current Information on Coronavirus - COVID-19

National FFA statement on Coronavirus-COVID-19