BATON ROUGE - Northdale Superintendent's Academy is taking the barnyard to the schoolyard with its new farm program.The farm is located in the center of campus between academic buildings. Two goats and two pigs live on the farm, as well as several chickens, including a rooster. This is the program's first year in action, with the animals arriving over the summer."When the kids came back in August, they came back to a whole new scenery, and a whole new smell!" Northdale agriculture science teacher Chelsea Johnson said.Johnson added the program has seen a lot of support from faculty and staff, some members going so far as to begin calling her "Farmer Johnson.""I think it was a joke, but it caught on," she said.Northdale Academy is an alternative school."We're a non-traditional school, so we have to give our kids a different outlook going into the future. These kids are learning time management skills. They're learning life skills to take back to use in their everyday life. If it's them going to a job later in life, they have to be able to get up in the morning. Can you get up at a certain time? Are my animals going to eat at a certain time?" Johnson said.She added, that while only a month into the program, the change is already apparent."One child even told me they like to come and stand at the gate and clear their mind. I love the positive feedback," Johnson said.Sophomore Ke'Myrie Nicholas says working with animals taught him about responsibility and time management."There'll be something that's on my mind to remember. Oh, I have to go feed animals, make sure they're good, make sure the pigs aren't taking the chicken's food," Nicholas said.Sophomore Teleah Johnson said she had never considered a career in agriculture before joining the program."At first, I wasn't too sure about it, because I was like they're going to have the whole campus stinking," she said. "Since working in it, I've learned to love animals, I love talking to them."Teleah Johnson said farm life improved her school life too."With my assignments, I stay on top of my assignments. Anything my parents ask me to do? I try my best to do," Teleah Johnson said.While there are 91 students in the school's agricultural program, only 6 are selected to care for the animals as part of the "Go" team. These students must meet certain school goals to maintain the privilege of caring for the livestock."We check report cards, GPA, I check with their teachers throughout the semester to make sure they're on track. If you're not on track, you have to sit," Chelsea Johnson said.Chelsea Johnson also told WBRZ that she plans to take the students and the animals to a local livestock show in February.Permalink| Comments