Streator High agricultural teacher accepts role at La Salle-Peru High School

La Salle-Peru High School has taken another step in rebuilding its agricultural program by hiring Riley Hintzsche.

Hintzsche, a Streator High School agricultural educator and FFA advisor, said he’s been fortunate enough to have his hands in several ag programs, as they’ve built and revived themselves.

“I’ve learned that I enjoyed that,” he said. “I enjoy bringing programs back to life and bringing people together for a common cause.”

Superintendent Steven Wrobleski said he saw Hintzsche and his students present their program at a school board organization meeting held at SHS three or four years ago.

“I was very impressed with the student-leadership development program, the ranges of courses offered, and the real-world experiences students had,” he said. “I knew then that this is the type of program we would aspire to create at L-P.”

Hintzsche will end his 11-year run in Streator with several awards, including the National Association of Agricultural Educators in 2024, and the program itself has received high recognition under his leadership. The Streator FFA was named the premier chapter in Illinois out of 355 ag programs throughout the state.

In his agriscience course, students operate the Think OINK Project, where they artificially inseminate a sow and track her gestation, as well as farrow and care for the piglets. The students are responsible for all components of this project, such as feeding, vaccinations and even castration when necessary. Once the piglets are of weaning age, the students then have the opportunity to purchase a piglet for their supervised agricultural experience projects.

In Hintzsche’s horticulture course, his students created the STHS Edible Acre program. This is a 1/8-acre garden that contains eight raised beds, five compost bins, six potato beds and one small Morton Shed. The produce from this class project is then sold to the local community. This project builds upon students’ agriculture knowledge by providing them hands-on experience with horticulture practices and the farm-to-table processes.

Wrobleski said Hintzsche brings veteran teacher experience with a rich and deep knowledge of ag education.

“He transformed the Streator Township High School ag program into a nationally recognized program. We wish to do the same at L-P,” Wrobleski said.

L-P set a timeline at the end of October for its new ag program, after an “energetic group of students and families” fought to have the curriculum brought back to the school. Since the meeting, L-P has focused on establishing three work groups: a capital campaign team for a new ag building, an ag building construction design team and a curriculum design team.

Hintzsche said it’s a five-year commitment to rebuild an ag program, but any variables could speed the process along.

“I say it’s a minimum of five years because it takes five years for those kids to learn the program,” he said.

Students already have begun taking an ag class called Introduction to Agricultural Industry through Illinois Valley Community College, Wrobleski said.

Students also have registered for ag classes this fall (focused on the animal science pathway). L-P still is developing plans for the ag building.

“We’ve established a building design team composed of students, staff, parents and community members,” Wrobleski said. “Our team had our first planning meeting. Now I’m scheduling site visits to check out what other model ag programs are doing. We intend to have design plans completed by mid-April. From there, we’ll begin a capital campaign to raise at least 80% of the funds.”

Wrobleski said it’s a goal to have the building completed before the end of the 2025-26 school year.

Hintzsche said he is most excited for students to have their supervised agricultural experiences, a job outside of high school where they learn agricultural-related skills and they get to apply those in the workplace.

“It will really allow kids to feel as if they have full ownership in that program and really get to project that program forward,” he said.

Hintzsche will continue his position at Streator High School through the summer.

“We give our kids a lot of ownership and autonomy,” he said. “We want to make sure that they are ready to have a transitional point.”

He said he has enjoyed his time in Streator and, by remaining in La Salle County, he will remain working with individuals who he has known for the past 11 years.

“I’m still working with those families, still contributing to agriculture,” he said. “So, as I transition from one role to the next … I’ll still have the connections with the students that I’ve always had.”