$3.50 Spring/Summer 2013 Volume 31, Number 1
Surviving NLC “Have a plan! Write out a schedule for students, chaperones and officers. The schedule should include what they will be wearing each day, what activities they are responsible to attend, what supplies they will need for each activity and leave spaces to fill in room assignments. Each person should bring the schedule with them to NLC though bring extras just in case. Our chapter uses a ranking system to decide which event/tours we will be attending and each student prioritizes what they want to do from a list of possible activities. We use a gold scoring method where the lowest scored event is our top priority. This works for us because each student has input on what the group wants to do. Once we have our events/tours selected they are added to the schedule. Each student packs snack items in their personal luggage but our chapter also ships a box of snack items like granola bars, fruit snacks, gum and care package items to the hotel just in case we need a pick me up. If we know these items are available near the hotel at a reasonable cost we purchase them on-site. Find a source of inexpensive water as soon as possible. Kids get grouchy when they are dehydrated and so do advisers!” —Cathe Felz, NCT “Make sure your students know what they’re doing before they get there because once they’re there they will get caught up in everything else. I would also suggest to take some time with your students to walk the hotel once you get there. It is a VERY large Tip for NLC: complex and the last thing you want Utilize your FCCLA App is your students missing a session or for the latest updates, acSTAR Event because they got lost. Finaltivities, and events! ly, I would say to make sure you review dress code with your students for the Each night, sit down with week. By planning ahead you know your your students and use the students won’t have to spend more time app to review and create going back to change and their suitcases a schedule for the upcomwill be lighter, which is a definite advaning day to be sure when tage when you’re trekking to your room! and where they need to be. PS: Always check the blog and There are so many great webpage before you leave as well!” sessions at NLC and you —Allison Kreifels, NCT won’t want to miss out on any of them!
The FCCLA Membership Kit The new 2013–2014 Membership Kit will be sent out to all advisers after the National Leadership Conference. The kit has all the information you need to educate yourselves and students on all the great experiences and lessons that FCCLA has to offer. Within the kit, you will find resources on competitive events, lesson plans, the Leadership Academy, and Adviser Academy. Also included with the kit is the membership poster and 2013–2014 At-A-Glance poster. FCCLA National Staff wishes you and your students a fun, safe, summer, and we hope to see you at the 2014 National Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee!
2
the adviser | spring/summer 2013 B o a r d
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, Inc.® The Adviser is published by Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, Inc.® as a recognition and resource tool for chapter advisers. Kenatu Muleta Director of Marketing, Membership & Communications Jon Giuffre Marketing & Communications Coordinator Lydia Hess Denmark Intern Executive Director DeVall Advertising Design & Production The Adviser may be reprinted, excerpted, or photocopied accompanied by the following statement: Reprinted with permission from The Adviser, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, Inc.® We welcome comments, suggestions, and reports. Send to The Adviser at— National FCCLA 1910 Association Drive Reston, VA 20191-1584 (703) 476-4900 • FAX (703) 860-2713 www.fcclainc.org Email: natlhdqtrs@fcclainc.org
CONTENTS Features Surviving NLC............................ 1 Board of Director’s Notes........... 2 Executive Director’s Notes.......... 3 Chapter Management NEC Farewell............................. 5 National Updates....................... 6 Keep Truckin............................. 7 No Kid Hungry: What You Can Do................... 9 Competitive Events: Doing More With Less...........10
Although the 2012–2013 school year is coming to an end, there is excitement in the air for FCCLA! I am sure all of us are counting down our final days of school, but also anticipating, The National Leadership Conference in Nashville. The Board of Directors and National Staff are welcoming many new and exciting changes that will improve operations, management, and communication with chapter advisers, state advisers, and members in the coming months.
notes
Leslie Watkins
It is with great pleasure on behalf of the Board FCCLA Board Chair of Directors to introduce you to your new FCCLA Executive Director, Sandy Spavone. We are excited for the leadership, experience and vision that she brings to us in this new role. Upon accepting the position, Sandy noted, “Continuing to expand the FCCLA membership, and the leadership development opportunities for youth members as they participate in Family and Consumer Sciences Education, will truly create a powerful force for the field and for youth leadership. I am looking forward to working with the FCCLA Board of Directors, National Executive Council, State Advisers, Chapter Advisers, and National Staff to lead the organization to a new exciting phase of growth and partnership to make FCCLA the Ultimate Leadership Experience for all who participate.” Please join us in welcoming her!! We have had new faces working hard on staff in an interim capacity. Lydia Hess Denmark has done a fabulous job of stepping in as Interim Executive Director and is working tirelessly with staff on all the many details of the National Leadership Conference. Kenneth Ott has been with us since March and is doing a great job with keeping our financial systems current and moving forward as our Interim Senior Director of Finance. Ken brings a great deal of association background and experience to the position and has already been a huge asset to our family. Our latest addition to the National Staff is our new Senior Director of Information Technology, Terry Wilson. Terry brings a wealth of experience, skill and expertise to FCCLA with a strong association IT background. He will be working on all of our technology needs to update our IT processes, website, and affiliation system. Many of you will get to meet him in Nashville in July. We are truly thankful to have all three who bring fresh ideas, technology, and expertise to move FCCLA forward during this transition! The focus areas for the 2012-2013 Board of Directors have included: n
Appointment of a Search Committee for selecting a new Executive Director;
n
Improvement of our financial records and reports and finalization of audits;
n
d i r ecto r ’ s
Leading FCCLA Forward
Adviser’s Guide to Student Activity....................13 How to Develop an Advisory Board......................14 Things to Do Second Semester...................15
o f
To ensure that all states are receiving correct state affiliation dues;
n
Research and implement a functioning affiliation process that meets chapter, state and national needs;
n
Improve communication with the National Staff and those in the field; Continued next page
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America®
3
the adviser | spring/summer 2013 Continued from page 2 n
Response to areas of concern with the “What’s Working and Not Working” survey results;
n
In depth review and recommendation of By Laws that make changes to the Board of Directors to strengthen our decision making body;
n
Review of Policy Handbook and Employee manual for revisions;
n
Review of National Programs and suggestions for improvements that meet the needs of our members.
Serving as the Chair of the National Board of Directors has been a great honor and humbling experience for me this year. We truly have committed Board members who have given tirelessly this year to make certain that we move FCCLA forward and to make FCCLA: the Ultimate Leadership Experience. I have been truly amazed at their diligence and sacrifices. FCCLA has been a part of my life since I was 13. During my high school career and teaching career it has continued to impact my life in more ways than I can begin to share. My motto in life is to: “Leave things better than I found them.” That has always been a part of who I am and what I have tried to impart with my students. I can assure you that as I leave the role of Chair in July, I have given my best, as have your Executive Committee and your Board of Directors, to leave FCCLA better than we found it. There’s always room for improvement for us, personally and professionally. I challenge you, Advisers and members, to “Leave FCCLA better than you found it”. Thank you for your love and dedication to our great organization! Leslie Watkins FCCLA Chair Board of Directors
e x ec u t i v e
d i r ecto r ’ s
notes
From the Executive Office… As the result of the following initiative, it is projected that the need for quality care providers may open up a stronger secondary to post-secondary relationship through the Early Childhood Education and Training pathway. We need letters of support for how FACS education and FCCLA can be a part of this initiative. A letter writing campaign would be a good way to support and promote the initiative. www.house.gov/representatives/find and
Lydia J. Denmark FCCLA Interim Executive Director
www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/ senators_cfm.cfm This is a MUST at this time to connect to current issues and funding.
Arne Duncan: Universal preschool is a sure path to the middle class By Arne Duncan, Apr 18, 2013 11:45 PM EDT The Washington Post Published: April 18 Arne Duncan is secretary of education. Source information about studies mentioned in this column has been posted at www.ed.gov/early-learning/research. President Obama put forward a plan last week to make access to high-quality early learning a reality for every 4-year-old in America by making full-day preschool available to families with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. Parents, teachers and principals nationwide agree that we need to do more to ensure that children from disadvantaged families begin kindergarten at the same educational starting line as do children from better-off families. The president’s plan includes a cost-sharing arrangement with states, with the entire federal investment of $75 billion covered by a new cigarette tax, and with incentives for states to make programs available for even more middle-class families. Members of Congress have asked me: How do we know early learning works? What about its lasting impact?
Let’s examine the record. At an elementary school I recently visited in Bladensburg, teachers told me how much better-prepared students are for the classroom if they’ve been to preschool. “It makes a huge difference,” said one 21-year teacher. Research backs her up. Studies consistently demonstrate that high-quality early education gives children the foundation they need Continued next page
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America®
4
the adviser | spring/summer 2013 to succeed. No study is perfect, but the cumulative evidence that high-quality preschool works is overwhelming. Consider a study of 4-year-olds in Tulsa who attended Oklahoma’s high-quality universal preschool program, with small class sizes and welltrained teachers—features that are components of the president’s proposal. They started kindergarten seven months ahead in literacy skills and four months ahead in math skills. Likewise, children who attended Boston’s high-quality preschool program gained seven months in literacy and math. Studies of preschoolers in New Jersey showed substantial gains in literacy and math. These consistent gains are critical steps toward long-term success in school. Skeptics of early learning say these programs “don’t work” because some studies have failed to find major effects in later grades—the so-called “fade out.” But that’s not quite right. The most rigorous research that can be compared with what we are proposing—high-quality, full-day preschool—shows crucial benefits in high school graduation rates, employment and avoidance of criminal behavior. Although the best scientific evidence for the long-term effects of early education comes from studies of multiyear programs dating to the 1960s and 1970s, a recent study of New Jersey students who received one year of high-quality public preschool found that by fifth grade, they were less likely to be held back or placed in special education. The few more recent long-term assessments of public preschool consistently indicate similar benefits, including increased graduation rates and reduced arrest rates. High-quality preschool appears to propel better outcomes by enhancing non-cognitive skills such as persistence, self-control and
emotion regulation—skills that depend on early brain development and social experiences and contribute to long-term academic outcomes and career success. The study often cited by skeptics—the Head Start Impact Study—isn’t a great comparison to the president’s proposal. It examined the effect of offering access to Head Start, not the effect of participation (nearly 20 percent of the 4-year-olds in the Head Start group never attended). The president’s proposal would require higher qualifications for staff than was the case in this study, and this administration has begun putting in place needed quality-control improvements to Head Start.
Preschool works. But is it worth the cost? Studies of the savings from highquality early learning demonstrate that the answer is yes. Graduates of such programs are less likely to commit crimes or rely on food stamps and cash assistance; they have greater lifetime earnings, creating increased tax revenue. Although the range of savings varies across studies, the studies consistently find robust returns to taxpayers. Can we replicate what works? We can, and we must. If the United States is to remain a global economic leader, high-quality preschool must become the norm. The moral case is compelling, too. As President Obama has said, every child should have the
opportunity, through hard work, to join the middle class. Children shouldn’t be denied equal educational opportunity at the starting line. The countries we compete with economically are well ahead of us in preschool opportunity. We rank 28th in the proportion of 4-yearolds enrolled in early learning in surveys by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and 25th in public funding for early learning. Fortunately, we have great examples to learn from: Oklahoma, Georgia, New Jersey and Boston all have excellent preschool programs. Making quality early-learning opportunities a norm for every 4-year-old will take more than money. It will take a new commitment to recruiting and keeping excellent staff, and tackling many of the other challenges in our K–12 system. That’s why we propose to invest an additional $750 million to support innovation and preschool capacity-building in states. To make a critical difference for all children, high-quality early learning must be followed by rich educational opportunities and robust learning experiences at every stage of the journey to college and careers. The evidence is clear. We need to stop asking whether early learning works—and start asking whether we have the national will to make it a reality for the children who need it most.
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America®
5
the adviser | spring/summer 2013
Hello FCCLA members! As state meetings come to a close and summer is quickly approaching, we wanted to take this opportunity to reflect with you on the past year we have served in FCCLA. As members of the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America, we all have been able to serve our communities in different ways. While traveling across the nation to visit state conferences, we were genuinely inspired by the work you all have done in your states. The service to your communities speaks volumes as to why FCCLA is crucial in today’s society. Your efforts with our National Outreach project partners, Share Our Strength and March of Dimes, has spread National Outreach Partners awareness and hope about issues our nation faces. One of the National Executive Council’s goals this year has been to increase membership. With the new national membership recruitment campaign, iRecruit, members across the nation have helped us spread the red and tell other youth about the benefits of this organization. YOU are the inspiration behind everything we do because members are the foundation of this organization’s strength. Watching young leaders transform through STAR Events, national program projects, or officer positions reminds us what we are all about: The Ultimate Leadership Experience. We have been honored to serve as your 2012–2013 National Executive Council and hope you truly gained leadership skills and lessons you will use the rest of your life. The success we were able to achieve this year was because of your dedication and passion. We are sincerely grateful. In closing, we challenge you all to join us in giving back to this organization and grant future generations the same opportunities we have all been blessed with because of FCCLA. In FCCLA Sprirt, The 2012–2013 National Executive Council
The Ultimate Leadership App Stay up to date with FCCLA info delivered straight to your smartphone throughout the year and at all of our national level conferences!
Capitol Leadership National Cluster Meetings National Leadership Conference Download the free FCCLA app today to take the ultimate leadership experience with you wherever you go!
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America®
6
the adviser | spring/summer 2013
N A T I O N A L
Updates
Plant Competitive Events Seeds Now to Harvest Success Later! It’s nearing summertime and one of life’s simple joys is eating a home-grown, vine-ripened tomato. Harvesting that juicy tomato in July means months of previous planning, preparation and nurturing. But the best plans (and plants) can be ruined by bad weather, pests, or inattention. It takes all of the right conditions in the garden to result in that tasty tomato. FCCLA Chapter Advisers know that their chapters’ competitive events projects also thrive under the right conditions. Start thinking now about your chapter’s plan of action for Competitive Events for next school year. How will chapter officers promote participation in FCCLA contests, the Family and Consumer Sciences Knowledge Bowl, Skill Demonstration Events, or STAR Events? What activities will need to take place so that students can best prepare for success in competition? Spring and summer is a great time to work with your chapter officers to plan for success in the coming school year. (Remember that all STAR Events projects must be developed and completed within a one-year span beginning July 1 and ending June 30 of the school year before the National Leadership Conference.)
New STAR Events for 2013–2014 Applied Math for Culinary Management Chapter Website (online) Interior Design—Commercial Sports Nutrition
New Skill Demonstration Events for 2013-–2014 Consumer Math Challenge Culinary Math Challenge Speak Out for FCCLA
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America®
7
the adviser | spring/summer 2013
Keep on Truckin’ Given its world-renowned reputation, you’d probably think that Johnson & Wales University stays on the forefront of all things culinary—and you’d be right. One such trend is in casual dining— the food truck. At JWU’s North Miami Campus, Tuesday is food truck day, also known as Biscayne Triangle Truck Round-Up (BTTR). The longest running re-occurring food truck event in Miami, food trucks and hungry customers line up every Tuesday on Biscayne Boulevard right across from campus. Everything from taco carnitas, short ribs, and chicken wings to crepes, cupcakes and ice cream is served from trucks with names like Ms. Cheezious, Nacho Mama’s Mexican Grill, and The Rolling Stove.
Did You Know? Food trucks have been around for years, but many believe the current gourmet food craze began with trucks such as Kogi BBQ in LA in 2008. And now? You can find them in every major city and even some not-somajor cities. According to the National Restaurant Association, food trucks brought in an estimated $650 million in 2012. With numbers like those, this trend is certain to keep rolling along.
Taking his cue from BTTR, JWU student David Gutierrez decided to create a food truck as part of Professor Brian Connors’ Food Service Management Operations class. Working out of a borrowed truck dubbed Fiesta Taco Truck, David and his team, Daniel Felker, Chantal Hogg and Karina Alfaro, created a colorful menu of farm-fresh tacos like “The Fin,” a California-style fish taco with jalapenos and queso fresco, and “La Falda,” a skirt steak taco with chimichurri and grilled mango.
“You Have to Be Fast and Organized” Running a food truck—even for a day—brings a unique set of challenges, explains JWU alum and Nosh Truck owner Scott Sopher ‘99. “You’re in an extremely cramped space, so you have to limit your ingredients to what you can sell in a typical night. You have to be fast, and you have to be extremely organized.”
How would the Fiesta crew pull it off? For starters, they kept overhead low and their food inventory light by limiting the menu to seven items. And they tightened up the coordination between the truck and the front-of-house servers, who took orders, wrote checks, prepared guacamole tableside—and kept service humming. If things had gone badly, Professor Connors wouldn’t have interfered. “I’m the coach and I’m here to help them achieve their vision. But ultimately they’re in charge of what happens.” “This class is a test of their creativity as much as their managerial skills,” Connors says. “It also teaches them to move with or ahead of trends.”
Interested in owning your own food truck business? It’s not as easy as just buying product and obtaining the truck—you need to have a business plan as well. The Entrepreneurship STAR Event can help you develop a plan for your small business using Family and Consumer Sciences skills and sound business practices. In this event, you’ll create a business portfolio that will give you a head start of achieving your dreams of owning your own business!
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America®
the adviser | spring/summer 2013
8
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America®