March FCS/Human Services Update

Division of Community Colleges & Workforce Preparation

 Spring banner

Message from Lisa

Happy Spring!  Spring breaks are all but over and we are almost out of the woods for additional snow days (cross your fingers!) and headed to the finish line of another fantastic year in FCS!  I have been traveling around the state meeting sharing some ideas on how FCS and CTE educators in general can be prepared for the required program approval process that will be happening soon at the Regional Planning Partnership level. Check out more on this in the CTE Redesign seciton as well as the 2017 Annual IFCSE State FCS Conference section of this newsletter!  

This past month I was fortunate to attend ACTE's Annual National Policy Seminar and help lead 3 amazing Career and Technical Student Organization students and 2 advisers as they shared their CTE stories with our elected officials in Washington DC.  The seminar focuses on policy and advocacy and these students and advisers did an excellent job of advocating for CTE programming and support on a national level.  Thank you to Iowa ACTE for the student sponsorship and to the Iowa Family and Consumer Sciences Educators (IFCSE) for the additional support that helped our FCCLA adviser attend!  It was cold, wet, and slushy, but that didn't hinder our CTSO students and their passion for advocating for the programs they know make a difference in the lives of all students!  While there, I was part of a Symposium panel that shared the challenges we are facing as we try to fill the CTE teacher pipline shortage.  I have been working with our Region III ACTE group to help strategize ways we can "ramp up" and fill those openings with quality CTE educators!  See below for more information how YOU can help your students "Say Yes to FCS" with our first annual "signing ceremony!"

Here are just a few pictures from our trip to DC

-Attendees at National Policy Seminar             Student CTSO leaders at NPS

    Team meeting with Senator Grassely

 

Above left:  National Policy Seminar team in DC -- Krista Goodman, Williamsburg FCCLA adviser, Micki Stallman, FCCLA Representative, Sandy Mille, Iowa ACTE Executive Director, Rhys South, TSA Adviser, Luke South, TSA Representative, Shane Sage, BPA Represenatative, Lisa Stange, Iowa ACTE Region III Representative, Kelli Deimer, ACTE Business Vice President

Above Right:  Student Leaders outside Senator Ernst's office    

Bottom picture: Iowa Delegation with Senator Grassely in his office.

 

CTE Redesign - Impact on Family & Consumer Sciences

Secondary CTE Redesign focuses on middle and high school students and is in line with the Future Ready Iowa initiative by building Iowa's talent pipeline and closing the skills gap so that more Iowans have quality career opportunities and employers have the skilled workforce they need.    

CTE redesign will:

  • Improve access to high-quality CTE through a statewide system of regional planning partnerships to assist school districts in providing an effective, efficient, and economical means of delivering programs.
  • Encourage alignment of secondary CTE offerings to in-demand occupations to meet the needs of employers.
  • Reform career and academic planning and CTE programming to encourage students to explore opportunities aligned to their interests through holistic career guidance, exploratory CTE coursework, and work-based learning opportunities.

Go to High-Quality CTE Framework which is ACTE's draft version of a definition of high quality CTE for more information.

Iowa's realigned service areas:

  1. Business, Finance, Marketing and Management
  2. Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
  3. Arts, Communications, and Information Systems
  4. Applied Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Manufacturing
  5. Health Sciences
  6. Human Services

Click Career and Technical Education Infographic for our state of Iowa graphic that shows the service areas and clusters represented in each area.

I have been traveling to many consortium and CTE meetings across the state and have had the opportunity to share some guidance for how we can best address the pieces of the bill that affect FCS curricula, courses, and program offerings.  Many of you meet together and discuss standards, critical competencies, and technical skills assessments as part of your work.  The bill directs us to move from voluntary approval of programs to mandatory approval.  The Regional Planning Partnerships that are being formed will be the first level for approval before they come to the state for final approval.  That means that even if your program was approved, it will need to be re-approved in the near future.  The timing of that will be written in the multi-year plan that the Regional Planning Partnerships will be developing in the coming year.  

With that in mind, this is a great time to have a deep look at your overall program goals, standards and critical competencies (not as independent courses, but the overall goals and standards of the program).  This will ensure that you have the groundwork done when it is your turn to have your program approved. Since the bulk of our programs are comprehensive, think about how those standards and goals link to Human Services careers. 

The IFCSE Conference, that will be held in June this year has the first day as a focus for us to visit our connections to Human Services and discover how we can best connect our comprehensive programs to this work and start the process of program self-study to be prepared for program approval.  Read on to see how you can register for this important conference!

Save the Date:  2017 Annual IFCSE State FCS Conference  JUNE 11-13 in Ames

Registration is now open for the annual Iowa Family and Consumer Sciences Education conference.  If you only go to one conference a year, this is THE ONE!!!  Network with other FCS educators, learn about some new initiatives, find some excellent resources!  All packed into three filled days of professional development at its best!  Register online using this link .  For more information, check out the attachments to the newsletter.

ALSO -- Don't forget to fill out your Iowa BEST award that recognizes the work each of us does yearly in Belonging, Excelling, Studying, and Traveling as we work to expand our knowledge and impact on the community. Find the application attached to this newsletter.

Finally, don't forget to send in your nominations for state awards at this link.  There are state awards for Educator of the Year, Outstanding New Educator of the Year, Student of the Year, Friends Award, and Lifetime Achievement.  The majority of these awards can go on to the state iowa ACTE awards, which go on to a national level.  Please take the time to nominate a colleague.  The recognition goes far in promoting not only the good work they do, but the good work that we all do in Family and Consumer Sciences across our state! 

Iowa AAFCS Geo Cache Project  "Be Smart with your On-line Cart"

Iowa AAFCS is once again sponsoring a Geo Cache project for Iowa students in grades 7-1o and will award cash prizes for educators and students.  The project time frame is from Aprill 22- May 5th and will tie in with Money Smart Week activities.

First step, teachers must register at this site:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/J2GFQJ9  by April 8, 2017

  1. Download 4 posters with informaiton about shopping on-line.
  2. Student reads poster and learns about shopping on-line
  3. Student scans teh QR code to find the quiz question.
  4. Student types in the answer.

If three of the four answers are correct the student name will be entered in a drawing.

Winner is announced after May 5, 2017. 

A fun way to learn about Financial Literacy as part of your FCS class, an FCCLA project or with a special event.  Register today! Be Smart wit  Your On-Line Cart!

Questions?  Contact Margaret Van Ginkel, vangin@iastate.edu

 

Foodborne Illness Education Opportunity - Science and Our Food Supply

Foodborne disease outbreaks and food recalls frequent the news. What organisms cause these diseases? What can an individual do to protect themselves from these diseases? What measures are being taken by the federal government to prevent transmission of these diseases?

 

Science, health, and family and consumer science teachers have an opportunity to provide inquiry-based lessons related to these outbreaks and recalls.  Lessons can be found in the curriculum Science and Our Food Supply developed jointly by FDA and NSTA. And, in order to prepare teachers to use these lessons, FDA provides a free multidimensional professional development program that will take place July 16 – 23, 2017 in Washington, DC. Included in the program are transportation to and from Washington and all housing and meal expenses.

 

During the program, selected teachers will participate in activities such as the following - meet with FDA and USDA scientists to learn about their current research on foodborne diseases and nutrition; work with instructors at the microbiology lab at the University of Maryland to learn proper techniques to use in doing microbiology labs with their own students; and, tour USDA’s farm in Beltsville, MD.

 

Selected teachers are asked to implement the curriculum in their classrooms during the 2017 - 2018 school year and to do a hands-on workshop on the curriculum for other teachers. 

 

To apply on line – deadline April 18, 2017- go to:   http://www.teachfoodscience.org/apply.asp

 

The Science and Our Food Supply curriculum guides on which the summer program is based are available from this website - http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodScienceResearch/ToolsMaterials/ScienceandTheFoodSupply/default.htm.  We strongly suggest you review these guides before applying for the summer workshop.

 

For more information, contact Mimi Cooper at mimicooper@verizon.net.    

 

Statewide Intermediary Network - Work-Based Connections Made Easier!

Your regional intermediary contact can:

  1. Connect high school students and teachers to local careers through relevant, work-based learning experiences
  2. Provide hands-on opportunities designed to help students better understand how to align their career goals with their post-secondary decisions
  3. Enhance classroom curriculum by showing real world applications

To find your regional Intermediary contact, click on the Intermediary Network List.

 

Save the Dates: Work-Based Learning Conferences

Below are two great opportunities to explore how you can incorporate work-based learning into your coursework.  All CTE educators can incorporate these aspects into their coursework and can facilitate student internships as long as they are in the content area you are certified to teach.  Check out these opportunites!

Learning Today • Leading Tomorrow - 5th Annual Iowa Work-Based Learning Conference

April 4, 2017 - 8:30 - 3:30 PM - Waukee Innovation and Learning Center, Waukee, IA

Registration - Early bird admission + membership through March 24 - $50 

This conference, put on by the Iowa Work Based Learning Coordinators, is a collaborative, workshop event to learn more about topics such as building robust business partnerships, leveraging your intermediary network, developing the best timelines and training plans, legal considerations and so much more. This conference dives deep into learning and provides collaboration opportunities for Multi Occupations Coordinators (MOC) running school-to-work internship programs.  We will be unveiling our new Membership PLC Resource at this event as well to connect and support each other on a continual basis throughout the year. 

 

Fast-Track Iowa's Future: A Future Ready Iowa Conference to Make Work-Based Learning and STEM Work for You

June 21, 2017 - Iowa Events Center, Des Moines, IA

This is a joint summit of the National Governor's Association Work-Based Learning Policy Academy and the Governor's STEM Advisory Council. The goal is to equip attendees with the knowledge, connections and resources to build school+business partnerships in home communities across Iowa.

 

It is open for registration. Up to 1,000 are anticipated. See: http://www.iowastem.gov/fast-track-iowas-future  

 

FCCLA logo                                                  

Interested in learning more about how FCCLA can advance your FCS programming?  Attend a district meeting and see how you can get your students involved, build strong relationships, and help advance your student's leadership opportunities! For information on attending a district event near you, contact our Iowa FCCLA Executive Director, Timothy Marx, or the state website.

WANTED -- YOUR stories and resources!!!

Do you have resources or stories and pictures you'd like me to include in our monthly newsletters?  Upload them here and I will include them as a way to share our stories with the field!

Important Dates for your calendar:

  • FCCLA State Leadership Conference (Des Moines, March 26-28)
  • Iowa Workbased learning conference (Waukee, April 4)
  • IFCSE State Conference (Ames, June 11-13)
  • Fast track to Future Ready Iowa (Des Moines, June 21)
  • ACTE Region III Conference (Indianapolis, June 21-23)
  • AAFCS National Conference (Dallas, June 25-28)
  • FCCLA National Leadership Conference (Nashville, July 2-6)

Do you have other local competitions and events, such as post-secondary CTE days, district FCCLA, etc. that should be noted?  Please send them to me and we'll get them on the calendar! Now that the state is using google, I hope to make a google calendar to share for 2017.

Go to this link for past FCS Education/Human Services Updates.


Lisa G. Stange, NBCT, MA Ed
Education Program Consultant
Family and Consumer Sciences
Bureau of Career and Technical Education
Division of Community College & Workforce Preparation
Iowa Department of Education
Grimes State Office Building
400 East 14th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-242-5032 (O)
515-414-0864 (C)
lisa.stange@iowa.gov
Twitter: LGStange
www.educateiowa.gov
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