Message from Lisa

 

 

Not only is April National Autism Awareness Month, but it is also National Child Abuse Awareness Month, National Fair Housing Month, National Decorating Month, National Youth Violence Prevention Week, National Soft Pretzel Month, National Family Volunteer Week, National Soy Foods Month, National Pecan Month, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Stress Awareness Month and yes, it is even National Fresh Celery Month (!)-- to name a few that relate to our content areas! In addition to some of the above observances, I always enter into April thinking of the saying "April showers bring May flowers." This reminds me that despite the odd weather that April brings with the ebb and flow of temperatures, sunshine, clouds, rain (and snow!) there is hope and promise of better things to come in the not too distant future! So it goes for education in the month of April! Many of us enter into the last quarter or trimester of our school year reflecting on our students' growth (or lack of it) and seeking opportunities for summer professional development. We generally are all-but-ready for time to catch up on travel, hobbies, or family while those of us that are planning to retire are entering our last few months of our teaching careers with apprehension for the future of the program that we have built so lovingly during our careers.

This month has also been a busy one for the CTE Bureau in the state of Iowa. Our department consultants have attended Regional Planning Partnership meetings as they finalize their bylaws and multi-year plans in order to prepare for the work of reviewing mandatory program approvals in the coming years and collaborate to determine the best ways to assure equitable access to Career and Technical coursework for all students across the state. I have been able to attend several FCS regional area and consortium meetings as well. As you are probably aware, our department budget has had several cuts during the fiscal year, so travel has been limited. I am happy to "attend" your meetings via ZOOM or work to do more than one visit that is clustered together regionally on the same day. I am also always just a phone call or email away if you have questions as you work to prepare for program approval.

Professional Development Opportunities

• "Saving Play" is the topic for the Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children's (Iowa AEYC) Spring Leadership Conference. The conference will be held May 6th at Prairie Meadows Events & Conference Center in Altoona from 8 - 4. Registration is under $100 for members and non-members. Learn how child-led, open-ended play addresses learning domains that deal with approaches to learning, literacy, mathematics, science, and physical development in addition to Iowa Erly Leaning Standards and Iowa Core. All participants will recieve a copy of the new Redleaf Press book, Saving Play by Gaye Gronlund and Thomas Rendon. This would be an excellent conference for those of you who are teaching an Early Childhood course and/or program. For information on the conference, click this link.
  
  
• The Iowa Family & Consumer Sciences Educators (IFCSE) Summer Conference will be held June 11-13 in Ames. If you only get a chance to get to one conference a year, this is the ONE to make time for! The theme of this year's conference is Human Sciences Connections in FCS and CTE. For the conference brochure and registration information, click here.
  
  
• Biotechnology Education Workshops are a great way to learn to incorporate STEM into your classes as well as obtain some professional development or graduate credits while you are at it! The first course is scheduled to integrate with the summer FCS conference in Ames (see above)! $200 stipend for Iowa teachers is also part of the package! For more information, check out this link.
  
  
• Association for Career and Technical Education Region III Conference, "Gear Up and Take Off" will be in Indianapolis June 21-23. This is an excellent chance to learn more about connecting to CTE programming across the midwest and gain an insight into how others market and recruit students, integrate core content, and teach employability skills, to name a few session topics. Iowa ACTE has scholarships available for travel and hotel to offset some costs (email Iowa ACTE Executive Director Sandy Miller for more information) and Perkins can help pay for registration! For more information on the conference, click here.
  
  
• Fast-track Iowa's Future: A Future Ready Iowa Conference to Make Work-Based learning and STEM Work for YOU is a joint summit of the National Governor's Association Work-Based Learning Policy Academy and the Governor's STEM Advisory Council that will equip attendees with the knowledge, connections and resources to build school and business partnerships in your home communities. The conference is in Des Moines June 21st. For more information, check out this link.

 

SUMMER COURSES FOR ENDORSEMENT SEEKERS:

If you missed the flyer from the February newsletter, NOW is the time to sign up for summer classes!

• FCEDS 508 - Models for Teaching Family & Consumer Sciences - 3 credits
  May 15 - July 7 ONLINE
  Meets requirements for FCS Methods requirement
  
  
• FCEDS 500F - Special Topics in Housing and Interiors - 3 credits
  July 24 - 28 on campus 8 - 5 daily for one week
  Meets requirements for the Housing content course

Registration deadline is May 5th!

Questions? Contact Troy Anderson (tander@iastate.edu) or Michale Hansen (mhansen@iastate.edu)

 

Each of us have a responsibility to engage advocates, fellow professionals and students in the efforts to secure the next generation of Family & Consumer Sciences educators across all practice settings. Your are invited to join the movement to sustain and grow the critical educational programs that develop the capacity of individuals and families to care for themselves and their communities.

This past month, we were excited to hold our first ever "Say Yes to FCS" signing event the State FCCLA Leadership Conference on March. While we didn't "sign" a large number of students this year, we know from our Iowa State University sources that there is indeed a good-sized class of incoming freshmen and transfer students that have been accepted into the FCS licensure program for this coming fall. The signing event brought attention to our career area and as I heard from one adviser, "...I must admit that I wasn't overly excited about the say yes to FCS signing...with only a few kids..and thought it might be a little boring for the other members..." She went on to say what an impact it had on two of her students who looked at each other during the event and said, "that will be me next year." They shared they plan on pursuing FCS education at ISU in 2018!

Just today I had another email from a current FCS educator who is disappointed that there are no applicants for a position that is being vacated due to a transfer to a new school. Her comments rang true, "This is a little bit of a wake up call for me; I've always advocated for FCS but not as much as I should. I need to let students know that FCS Ed. is a viable career option, very employable, and enjoyable!"

So what can YOU do? Well, there is a webinar coming up next week (April 27th at 6 PM EST) with some ideas for how you can join the movement to help grow our next group of FCS educators. In addition, they will be discussing National FCS Educator Day which is May 4th! Check this link for more information! If you are unable to attend, the webinar will be archived here within 48 hours of the event.

Welcome to FCS and Education to the following "first class" of signees! Former FCCLA State Executive committee member Landon Calderwood from Traer, IA transferred to FCEDS at Iowa State from Wartburgh College this winter after volunteering last spring at state leadership conference and realizing that FCS is where his heart is! Landon did an amazing job sharing his "aha" moment in his decision to become an FCS educator. Also signing are two other FCCLA members: Shantell Brown is from Lenox and has been accepted into the FCEDS teacher licensure option program at Iowa State this coming fall. Melayla Cannon, of Sumner-Fredericksburg is committed to attending Iowa State following a two-year stop at Hawkeye Community College. She has already gone the extra mile and has been sure to comunicate her transfer plans with Hawkeye and already has the transfer agreement in place to help her plan her coursework there this fall!

   

Resources and Connections

There are so many excellent connections to what we do in our classrooms and what others are sharing as important pieces for individual and family well-being.  Here are links to just a few articles I came across this past month:

 Baking can be great for your mental health

Going Green with Sustainability - Classroom Resources

Beyond Sex Ed:  How to Talk To Teens About Love

Taking Action on Food Insecurity

Calendar

• National Restaurant Association Show (Chicago, IL, May 20-23)
• IFCSE Conference (Held jointly with Iowa AAFCS) (Ames, Iowa June 11-13)
• Fast track to Future Ready Iowa (Des Moines, June 21)
• ACTE Region III (Indianapolis, Indiana, June 21–23)
• AAFCS National Conference (Dallas, Texas, June 25–28)
• FCCLA National Leadership Conference (Nashville, TN, July 2–6)

 

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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

• 2017IFCSEConferenceBrochure.pdf