INDUSTRY EDUCATION

By John Kmitta

TURFGRASS EDUCATION AT THE high school level has been on the rise in recent years. We have shared news of the success of the programs at Brentsville District High School, Atlee High School, Louisa County School District, Atwater High School, Corona Del Mar and more. But there are many other high schools offering turfgrass management courses to their students, and still others looking to start similar programs.

When Thomas Dale High School in Virginia launched its turfgrass management offerings in 2001, it had 26 students in the program. Today, the program has two teachers and 160 students.

“ Our administration has taken notice, and bought into what we are doing,” said Bryan Sheetz, landscaping / turf management teacher at Thomas Dale High School.“ They realized that we are creating jobs, and a lot of our students have internships and high work-based learning; so they are putting students into this program because they can be career or college bound.”

According to Sheetz, the program has received recognition in the state of Virginia, and has garnered support from Virginia Tech, as well as business and industry partners. Students from the program are working in parks and rec, and even interning or working game day crew for the Richmond Flying Squirrels Minor League Baseball team.

South Forsyth High School in Georgia began its turf management pathway in 2018. The three-year program actively recruits students from area middle schools to come to South Forsyth to take the turf management pathway.

The first year of the program is a basic Agriculture class, but it is the only Ag class in the county that focuses on plant science.

“ That course is probably the hardest one because we front load all of the learning, as it applies to everything we do after that,” said Kyle Turner, turf management pathway instructor.“ So we’ re learning about roots, stems, leaves, and all the different functions within a plant.

26 SportsField Management | May 2025 sportsfieldmanagementonline. com