West Central Reporter

One of Heidi Doyle’s goals as an agriculture teacher at Calhoun High School in Hardin is to educate her students on the inner workings of a farm.

“I do as many hands-on activities that I can to help the students learn the aspects of agriculture,” Doyle told West Central Reporter. “I also stay up on new technology within the world of agriculture and do my best to bring it into my classroom. Currently, in our classroom we have a tower garden and the students are growing different types of lettuce and basil. The students are learning to test the pH levels and nutrient levels to produce a healthy crop. We will be growing tomatoes, cucumbers and more lettuce in the future in hopes of students to have their own salad before the end of the year.”

Doyle, who started teaching agriculture in the fall of 2012, is intimately familiar with the subject matter.

Calhoun High School agriculture teacher Heidi Doyle

“I have always been interested in agriculture since I had been raised on a farm with cows, hogs and row crops,” she said. “I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t working hard on the farm, either feeding the animals or in the fields.”

Doyle previously taught special education for 16 years. She started working at Calhoun High School in April 2001 as a special ed instructor.

“I was raised by a mom and grandma who were both teachers and I saw the impacts that they had on the lives of students,” Doyle said. “I would always hear the stories from their prior students on how they impacted their lives, and I knew that I wanted to make an impact too.”

In addition to being an agriculture teacher at Calhoun, Doyle is also the school's FFA (Future Farmers of America) advisor. 

“My FFA group has worked hard over the past year to create the Warrior Food Bank to help those in the community when they have needs,” Doyle said. “Growing up there were times in my life when putting food onto the table was difficult for my parents, and I don’t want any family to feel ashamed when they need to ask for assistance during a rough time. It is my hope that my students are gaining the experience of being a leader in the community, humble and most of all caring for anyone that may come into their path.”

Doyle is also an active member of the First Baptist Church of Pleasant Hill, where she teaches the high school Sunday School class and is the co-youth leader. She currently lives on a rural farm outside of Pleasant Hill with her husband and two sons.