2026 ELITE CONFERENCE

The Elite Conference Registration is now open for high school students interested in pursuing a career in agricultural education!  

The need for agriculture teachers in the state of Illinois and nationwide is very high.  This one-day workshop gives students with an interest in teaching a chance to explore the possibilities agriculture education has to offer.  It is a great opportunity to meet other students with similar interests, talk with college and university representatives and get any questions answered.  This event will be held on September 18th, 2026.  

We would like to stress that teachers invite students who have a sincere interest in agricultural education to attend.  Due to capacity issues, we ask schools to plan to bring no more than 4 participants.  If there is still space available, we will allow for more.   

Included in this email are 2 word documents: a personal invite to the student and a letter to the parent/guardian of the student invited.  These special documents provide an element of distinction for this event.  NOTE: Please read and revise, as they are not "just print" documents!

We will have a track for those who are first-time attendees and those who have attended in the past.  We ask that students who have participated two times do not attend again.  Registration space is limited, so make sure to get students registered early.  Also consider having students check out teachag.net, compete in the Illinois FFA Ag Ed CDE, participate in a GAST grant or start an SAE project! 

Details:
When: Friday September 18, 2026; Est Time: 9:30 AM -2:30 PM
Where: Richland Community College, Decatur, IL
Dress: Official FFA Dress, or equivalent (dress shirt, dress pants or skirts)
Registration- please direct your students to complete!  (Registration will stay open till September 8th)
Cost: No Cost (Thank you to NAAE & CHS for providing funding through the STAR Program and FCAE for providing funding through the Illinois Ag Ed Line Item!)

If there are any questions, please email them to mcoy@ilaged.org.

Attachments:
Student Letter
Parent Letter