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L-P High School agriculture teacher awarded $5K grant

Riley Hintzsche to use funding for equipment and hands-on learning expansion

Riley Hintzsche, agriculture teacher and FFA Advisor at La Salle-Peru Township High School, works with students in the agricultural classroom. Hintzsche was awarded a $5,000 CASE Implementation Grant from Corteva Agriscience to expand hands-on learning opportunities and purchase equipment such as sensors and agriscience tools for the program.

Riley Hintzsche, agriculture teacher and FFA Advisor at La Salle-Peru Township High School, works with students in the agricultural classroom. Hintzsche was awarded a $5,000 CASE Implementation Grant from Corteva Agriscience to expand hands-on learning opportunities and purchase equipment such as sensors and agriscience tools for the program. (Photo provided by Matt Baker)

By Maribeth M. Wilson

Riley Hintzsche, the new agriculture teacher and FFA Advisor at La Salle-Peru Township High School, has been selected as a recipient of a 2026 CASE Implementation Grant from Corteva Agriscience.

The $5,000 award will support the implementation and expansion of CASE 4 Learning (Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education) programming at the school.

Hintzsche said agriculture education is broad, meaning a surplus of equipment and supplies are needed for the many courses offered.

“Even as an experienced teacher, receiving grants for equipment and supplies is exciting,” he said. “The primary purpose of the grant is to purchase equipment and supplies for the greenhouse on the southside of the new ag building.”

Administered by CASE 4 Learning and made possible through Corteva Agriscience, the CASE Implementation Grants are designed to help middle and high school teachers fund equipment, course materials and software needed to facilitate inquiry-based agricultural science instruction. Awarded funds are sent directly to schools to implement proposed classroom enhancements that impact student engagement and real-world learning.

“These funds will allow us to continue to expand the curricular options within the program by providing hands-on, relevant and innovative opportunities in ag education,” Hintzsche said in a news release. “This award will support equipment for our agricultural classroom such as sensors, agriscience equipment and other materials associated to ag education.”

The grant will benefit roughly 60 students, estimated to be enrolled in ag education courses for the 2026-2027 school year.

CASE Implementation Grants are awarded to schools that have a CASE-certified teacher instructing at least one CASE course or to schools implementing CASE programming. Grants support tangible resources for facilitating the CASE curriculum that impacts student participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) aligned agricultural education.

For more information about CASE 4 Learning, visit www.case4learning.org.

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Maribeth M. Wilson

Maribeth M. Wilson has been a reporter with Shaw Media for two years, one of those as news editor at the Morris Herald-News. She became a part of the NewsTribune staff in 2023.