A groundbreaking ceremony was held at Chanute High School to recognize donors, partners, and the potential of an expanding program on Monday, June 23.
The Chanute High School Animal Science Learning Center will serve students taking animal science classes and the school’s Future Farmers of America chapter.
According to FFA Advisor Caitlyn LaHaye, the Chanute chapter was originally chartered in 1928. LaHaye said the program fell dormant sometime in the 1960s or 1970s and was rechartered in 2018.
According to LaHaye, the first discussions about building an animal science center began roughly five years ago.
“Within those five years, we can officially say we are getting ready to groundbreak this awesome opportunity for our students,” LaHaye said. “We know this is going to lead us far places. Hopefully, it will bring in some more students and get more kids involved in learning all about animals and agriculture.”
During the ceremony, Superintendent Matt Koester said “I am very excited about this project and very excited about what this will bring for the students of Chanute.”
Koester recognized key donors and partners including the estate of Merle and Lorella Tennis, Jim and Diserae Kepley, the Jim and Jean Cooper Foundation, Mike and Cece Mitchell, Koehn Construction Services, and Gravity::Works Architecture.
“It’s a huge day for Chanute, for FFA, and for the kids of our community,” Koester said. “Both the ones coming into the high school and for the ones already here.”
One student who will directly benefit is FFA Chapter Vice President Mylee Miller, who is excited to have classes in the new building.
“This is the biggest opportunity that I think will increase our numbers and will allow us to grow further in our chapter,” Miller said.
Miller is going into her junior year and will be taking advanced animal science this year, with a year of animal health classes to follow in her senior year.
“This is such an insane dream to be able to be handson like this,” Miller said.
Miller acknowledged that she got hands-on experience working with animals through participating in 4-H programs throughout her youth, showing animals. However, she said this building will allow other students to work with animals who may not have had that opportunity growing up.
“It’s just going to grow everybody so much in their walk in the agricultural industry,” Miller said.
FFA Advisor Zach Callaghan said he was consistently blown away by the support shown by the Chanute community to the ag program and the FFA chapter. He highlighted that this animal science center will be the first of its kind in Kansas.
“We get to be the ones setting the bar high here in the state,” Callaghan said.
The center will be home to animal science classes, as well as labs, which are difficult to do in the current facility.
“Beyond that, it really increases the capacity for what we are able to do,” Callaghan said. “Being able to house live animals there all the time is going to be a huge benefit to our students.”
Instead of exclusively learning from lectures or reading, students will be able to witness regular practices such as ear tagging in the classroom.
“Ideally the students are going to get to see the animal from birth to their plate,” Callaghan said. “They are going to see the animals being born, they’re going to know how to process the animals, they are going to know how to care for the animals, and in the end, they are going to see what happens to ensure that food gets to the grocery store and ultimately to someone’s refrigerator.”
Callaghan said in the future students may be able to keep their FFA Show animals on the premises.
CHS Principal Zack Murray said he was grateful to the community and the donors who made this possible.
“It’s just a super exciting day for our kids, our teachers, and the community,” Mayor Jacob LaRue was one of dozens who attended the ceremony.
“I think it is a fantastic opportunity for the school, and the community as a whole.”
The learning center is expected to be complete and ready for classes by the start of the spring semester in January of 2026.
“This center is another way that the community shows how much they support our school,” Koester said. “Our students are going to be exposed to many great learning opportunities because of the community support.”
