Organizational Structure

The California Agricultural Teachers' Association (CATA) is the professional organization for teachers of agriculture in the secondary schools and community colleges in California.

The smallest subdivision of CATA is the Section, which is made up of all the agriculture teachers in an identified geographical area, usually consisting of one to four counties in size. The Section has a set of elected officers who plan a full calendar of activities for the year. Programs or activities at the Section meetings might include: Inservice Workshops, Spouses Night, Administrators Night, FFA Competitive Events, Joint meetings with Extension Service and Agricultural Commissioners Personnel, etc.

The next unit of organization within the CATA is the Region. There are six regions in California, each consisting of 4-7 Sections. Each Region has a fall and spring Regional Meeting, planned and conducted by Regional Officers. In addition, each Region holds two business sessions during the CATA Summer Conference.

The Fall Regional meeting usually has, as it's focus, professional development of agricultural teachers. Organizational business may be conducted as necessary, and usually deals with concerns from the Sections, or follow-up business from Summer Conference.

The Spring Regional meetings are scheduled in February, March, or April, and focus primarily on issues facing the professional organization. Agenda items for this meeting are usually generated from concerns voiced at Fall Regional meetings, or generated by the CATA Governing Board at it's Winter meeting.

The CATA Governing Board is composed of the elected State Officers, the State Division Chairs and Chairs-Elect, and the six Regional Presidents. Governing Board meetings are held in January (Mid-Winter meeting) and June, in conjunction with the CATA Summer Conference. Governing Board duties and responsibilities are outlined in Article VIII of the CATA Bylaws.

To provide for the orderly transaction of business, the CATA is organized into three Divisions. Secondary teachers meet within the Secondary Division to discuss concerns and deal with business items unique to high school programs. The Community College instructors conduct business unique to the Junior College programs within the Post Secondary Division. The entire membership comes together in the Operations Division to deal with issues that affect all instructors, regardless of teaching assignment or location.

In order to discuss issues in a smaller forum, each of the above divisions has a set of subcommittees that meet at Summer Conference, and in some cases, at various times throughout the year.

Officer Responsibilities