The Decatur Public Schools Foundation in Illinois has received a $9 million commitment from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation to help build a Future Farmers of America Agriculture education center, WAND reports. 

Established in 2018 with a $1.65 million donation from the Buffet Foundation, the Dwayne O. Andreas Ag Academy will use the latest funding to expand its facility and supplement the coursework and National FFA Organization programming available to Decatur Public School students enrolled in its program. The academy, where educators and FFA advisors from both Eisenhower and MacArthur high schools teach, has enabled students from both schools to work collaboratively and build a hands-on “living science” farm.

“By building this facility, I believe it further solidifies the reputation of the Ag Academy and its students as among the best in the United States,” said Howard G. Buffett, chair and CEO of the foundation. “We appreciate the support of this new project by the mayor, the city council, the county board, and the ongoing support of the school board, which originally embraced the inception of the Ag Academy.”

(Photo Credit: Getty Images/Dmytro Diedov)