From ‘I Do’ to Blue and Gold

A Love Story Rooted in Agriculture Education

PRAIRIE GROVE, ARK. – Many years ago, it started with “I do.” Now it’s early mornings in the shop working on projects and late nights at stock shows caring for animals and the kids that show them. 

For Clint and Sarah Hale, a married agriculture teacher team, this is a true reflection of their way of life. 

Both Clint and Sarah have been teaching for over fifteen years. They both loved their previous roles at their schools as well as the agriculture programs they helped strengthen, but two years ago the couple had the opportunity to come together at Prairie Grove High School. They found this newfound togetherness refreshing. 

“I used to always say that when you’re in a two-teacher program, it’s like, getting married without dating first,” Sarah Hale said with a laugh. “Well, we at least dated first.” 

In agricultural education, personal and professional life often comes together. Agriculture teachers share classrooms, finances, and even kids. Clint and Sarah have both walked this path before, balancing long days, making important financial decisions, and shaping the lives of their students. But now, they get to do these things as one.

Together, the couple is working to create something new with the old traditions that remain strongly present in the Prairie Grove agriculture program. 

Clint and Sarah have been a part of two highly successful programs. Sarah has spent the past 10 years at Lincoln High School, where she has changed the lives of many students. Clint has been at Prairie Grove High School for 18 years, creating opportunity and experience for all.

Working at different programs and having different schedules made it difficult for the Hale family to schedule their personal lives. They struggled to find moments together away from their work and were always going in opposite directions. 

However, even when working at different programs the Hale’s worked together. Clint and Sarah’s “date nights” consisted of helping each other with their program’s fundraisers, banquets and projects, meaning they each had to do all these events twice. 

“We have always helped each other. When we were at different schools, he would help me with my events and I would help him with his,” Sarah said. 

One of the biggest advantages of the couple working in the same program is sharing the same schedule, which means they only have to plan and host events once a year.

The transition into teaching at the same program has also been easier for their two children Claire and Gus. Many times, Claire and Gus would be unsure of where to go after school each day. But now that their parents work at the same school, the kids can know where to go after school, and they get to spend extra time with both parents. 

Although everyday isn’t an easy day when working with your significant other, they both agreed the transition to becoming teaching partners in addition to life partners was rather easy. 

As many married couples do, Clint and Sarah share the same values and expectations. This helps prevent professional disagreements and hold their students to the same set of high standards. 

“We both hold kids accountable to the same standards,” Clint said.

Holding their students accountable has been a key step in continuing the success of the Prairie Grove agriculture program. 

While the Hales have been successful inside the classroom and competitive among the other FFA chapters in Arkansas, their success goes well beyond their roles of teaching and advising FFA students. For them, success is seeing students grow throughout their four years of high school and then helping them transition into whatever is next. 

“Really, the more students that we can see have career success, that’s the ultimate goal,” Sarah said. 

The Hales obviously enjoy being a part of the highs and lows that come with being a high school agriculture student and FFA member. They get to watch students grow and expand their knowledge from basic agricultural literacy to finding careers in agriculture following graduation. 

The Hales empower students to find their passion and dive deep into it. By building a close-knit and supportive community within their program, they have opened doors for students to grow and find a place in not only a school program, but also a place in the world. 

Aubree Wood, a Prairie Grove FFA officer affirmed that the Hales becoming a team was good for the program’s culture. 

“We are more of a community and everyone works well together, since Mrs. Hale has been teaching in our program,” Wood said. 

As the program is becoming more tightly knit, the Hales hope to continue growing the program by engaging more students to be involved and helping them find a place to fit in, whether that is a judging team, a leadership development event, or an FFA officer position later down the road.

The Prairie Grove population is growing and changing rapidly, so the Hales, along with their newly hired junior high teacher, Trinity Riggs Kenny, are working to create a space for everyone to gain more knowledge about where their food and fiber comes from. 

While the demographics of Prairie Grove are clearly changing, the Prairie Grove FFA traditions have stood the test of time. The Prairie Grove agriculture program has been around since the 1940s. 

Many current students have close relatives that have contributed to shaping the Prairie Grove FFA. One of Clint and Sarah’s favorite things to do as teachers is to help students continue those deeply rooted traditions, Sarah said. 

For its efforts to prepare students for careers over the years, the Prairie Grove agriculture program has received many awards and recognitions. Their most recent success, at least partially attributable to the Hales, was being named the 2024 Outstanding Agricultural Program by Arkansas Farm Bureau. 

This award is given to one Arkansas agriculture program each year. To receive this award, a program must be nominated and then voted on by Agriculture teachers across the state.

“We feel honored that our fellow competitors and colleagues voted for us,” Sarah said. 

The Prairie Grove agriculture program was selected out of the 208 high school agriculture programs across Arkansas. 

“It was an honor, for sure,” Clint said, “that they would think of us and that they recognized the hard work our students are doing.”

What began with “I do” has grown into something far greater than either Clint or Sarah Hale could have imagined. Together, they have built not just a marriage, but a mission – shaping the Prairie Grove agriculture program with shared purpose, passion and heart.