10/13/2026
📒🌾 Record Book Fridays are in FULL SWING! 💙💛
One thing we are really focusing on this year in the Tina-Avalon Agriculture Department is getting our students more involved in their SAE projects and learning how to keep accurate records!
For those who may not know, SAE stands for Supervised Agricultural Experience. SAE is one of the three main components of agricultural education, alongside classroom instruction and FFA!
An SAE gives students the opportunity to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it to real-life experiences. And no, you do NOT have to live on a farm or own livestock to have an SAE!
There are several different types of SAE projects students can complete:
🌽 Entrepreneurship: Students own and operate their own projects or businesses. This could include raising livestock, growing crops, mowing lawns, or selling products.
💼 Placement/Internship: Students work for someone else, whether paid or unpaid. This could be working on a farm, at a grocery store, restaurant, local business, or another workplace.
🔬 Research: Students conduct experiments, investigate problems, and explore questions related to agriculture.
🌱 School-Based Enterprise: Students help operate a business or project through the agriculture program, such as growing and selling plants or other products.
📚 Service-Learning: Students participate in organized projects that benefit their school or community while developing skills and reflecting on what they’ve learned.
Students can also complete Foundational SAEs, where they explore careers, develop employability skills, learn about personal finances, and discover opportunities in agriculture.
So what exactly are Record Book Fridays?
Every Friday, we dedicate class time to working on SAE record books using AET (The Agricultural Experience Tracker), an online record-keeping platform designed specifically for agricultural education and FFA students.
Through AET, students learn to document several important areas:
⏰ Journal Entries: Recording hours worked, activities completed, and skills learned.
💰 Financial Records: Tracking income, expenses, purchases, and profits or losses.
🐄 Inventories: Keeping records of livestock, crops, equipment, supplies, and other project assets.
📸 Pictures: Documenting projects and showing progress from beginning to end.
🏆 FFA Activities and Accomplishments: Recording meetings, contests, leadership activities, community service, awards, and other experiences.
These record books are a part of our agriculture classes, not just an extra FFA assignment. FFA is incorporated into our agricultural education program, and we want students to understand how all three parts of agricultural education work together!
Parents, this is where you come in! 👀
Please encourage your students to keep up with their record books! Ask them what they’re working on, remind them to take LOTS of pictures, and encourage them to record their activities as they happen rather than trying to remember everything a month later.
Even the little things matter! Feeding livestock, working a shift at their job, purchasing supplies, attending an FFA meeting, or learning a new skill can all be valuable things to document.
And just because we work on record books every Friday doesn’t mean students should only update them on Fridays! The more they keep up with their records throughout the week, the easier it becomes.
Why does all of this matter?
Record books teach students responsibility, time management, financial literacy, organization, and the importance of accurate record keeping. They also play a HUGE role in earning FFA degrees, applying for proficiency awards, documenting accomplishments, and qualifying for certain scholarships and recognition opportunities.
A student’s record book can tell the story of everything they’ve accomplished throughout their agricultural education experience, from their very first day in class all the way to graduation!
My goal is for students to leave our program with more than just a grade. I want them to have something that shows the time, effort, skills, and experiences they’ve gained along the way.
We are starting with the basics, learning how to navigate AET, and building our record books a little at a time.
A great record book isn’t made in one Friday. It’s built through consistency, dedication, and a whole lot of hard work! 💙💛
