COOKEVILLE, Tenn. The Tennessee Department of Education College Career and Technical Education division has hired Stuart Watson as Senior Coordinator for the FFA. In the role, Watson will lead the department’s work involving the FFA program, an intracurricular student organization for those interested in agriculture and leadership.

Watson is an experienced agricultural educator with stints at Obion County and Dyersburg City Schools. In fact, Watson is a past Dyersburg FFA member himself, earning the American FFA Degree and being elected as State Sentinel in 2006. He is familiar with supporting the statewide FFA program. From 2016 to 2018, he worked within the Tennessee Department of Education as a Regional Consultant for FFA, responsible for West Tennessee. Watson spent the past five years as FFA Advisor and agricultural educator for Obion County High School.

In 2022, the Tennessee Departments of Agriculture and Education executed a Memorandum of Understanding, establishing a working partnership to administer the agricultural education program in Tennessee. The new partnership expanded staff support for FFA with six new positions in the Department of Agriculture with a sharp focus on growing and improving the student organization. The staff in the Department of Education, including the newly established Senior Coordinator for FFA position, continues to lead curriculum development and, with the help of Watson, will offer critical classroom and teacher support.

“I am excited to be given this opportunity to help pioneer a new era in agriculture education,” said Watson. “I look forward to the opportunity to strengthen our resources for educators, foster supportive and growth-oriented experiences for students, and cultivate a stronger experiential learning program so students may increase access to hands-on learning.”

Watson’s first day in his new role was Friday, July 7, 2023.

–Tennessee FFA Foundation