St. Helena FFA was originally a chartered chapter from 1940 to 1970 with the first chapter meeting taking place on November 28, 1940. The Administration of St. Helena Unified School District abolished the program in 1970, at a time when vocational education and agriculture were considered unimportant, and State budget cuts made it hard to keep special programs in public schools. In the mid-1990s, a local group of St. Helena High School Alumni from the ’60s and 70’s got together and began to explore the idea of reviving the program in St. Helena. There was an incredible amount of interest and support in the community to bring the program back to the high school. A committee was formed to raise funds through grants and community donations and to research facility and staffing needs for the re-birth of the program. In 2000, the District and many devoted industry partners renewed their commitment to the Agriculture curriculum by reopening the department at the high school. In 2001 the program was re-established with one teacher (Randy Mendes) and approximately 40 members and has grown to a staff of three (Randy Mendes, Sarah Herdell, and Judy Aschwanden) and enrollment of over 250 members. In 2015, the first Viticulture course offered in California was established to teach students about the local industrial sector. In 2011 state-of-the-art facilities/classrooms were constructed to allow students to advance within agriculture courses.