Gilbert High School:
Farms Are Gone But Rural Roots Remain
Between 1990 and 2005, Gilbert was recognized as the fastest growing city in America, with a growth rate of almost 500 percent. What began in the 1920s as an agricultural town known for hay production and dairy farms had 5,717 residents in 1980 and 145,000 in 2003, and is now a family-oriented suburb with just over 200,000 residents. Two of its schools have the largest student populations in the state. With about 3,300 students, Gilbert high is second.Gilbert has a lot of racial, religious and socio-economic diversity but still hangs on to some of its roots. It has a nationally renowned Agriculture department and Future Farmers of America (FFA) program, with three teachers, close to 250 students, 13 classes and seven laboratories. Students that would have liked to have grown up in Gilbert’s more rural times have a chance to have hands-on experience and can pursue a career in fields such as agriscience, agribusiness or meat processing.
Ken Johnson has taught in the Ag Department for 20 years and remembers that “the day I was interviewed and hired at GHS, the corn was eight feet tall as I drove by the field going into the school. It is now a housing development.”
Most of the area’s farms have moved further south and east, toward Queen Creek, and most students don’t think much about its farming past. That, says Mr. Johnson, is a shame.
“There will be a few that try to hold on to the history and tradition, but they will be overrun by the newbies,” he says. “I used to teach students with an ag background and work experience, but now I teach students that would love to have grown up in their shoes.”
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