Friday, February 5, 2010

The Minnesota FCS Coalition- What is this all about?

A grassroots effort has begun to develop a Minnesota FCS Coalition to unit Family and Consumer Sciences stakeholders in Minnesota.
The FCS Coalition will be presenting two sessions at the MAFCS Conference- February 12-13, 2010 at the Marriott Hotel in Bloomington.
Join us to learn more about the coalition and to help identify the Top TEN FACS List for Minnesota.
Session 1: Teaming to Build Our Profession: Who, What & Why?-
Friday February 12 from 2:24-3:35
Topics will include Why form a FACS Coalition, the National FCS Coalition model, issues we will be working on, research based information to be collected, communicating what is available both nationally and state wide, how to get involved.

Session 2: FCS Coalition: Identifying the Minnesota FACS TOP TEN
Saturday, February 13- 11:00-11:50 AM
The purpose of the meeting is to allow attendees to voice their concerns and help find a focus for the coalition. We will attempt to identify the TOP TEN LIST for Minnesota FACS.
For more information contact: Rachel Pederson: rachelpederson@charter.net
See you at the conference!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

WHY FACS EDUCATION IS IS URGENTLY NEEDED!!

Family and Consumer Sciences Education fills urgent needs

 More than 50% of adults and 15% of children and teens are overweight. (1)

 Personal bankruptcy filings have increased by more than 200% in the last 10 years. (2)

 Children are not entering school ready to learn. (3)

 Nearly one child in five lives in poverty (4)

 Dropouts earn half the annual income as that of a high school graduate. (5)
As we all know life and work today are more complex than ever before. It’s getting harder to separate our work roles from our family life roles. Without question, success in life today involves balancing our various roles in the workplace, family and community.

FACS classes contribute to successful lives by helping students:
• Connect academic skills to real life issues
• See how their choices today affect their future
• Recognize how personal relationships and 0family life affect their productivity at work
• Explore career options in growth industries


In addition, FACS students can expand their leadership potential and develop skills for life through a national organization called Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).FCCLA opportunities include:
• Student Body—a nutrition and fitness program in which FCCLA members educate their peers about the importance of eating
right, exercising, and making healthy lifestyle choices.
• Financial Fitness—a financial literacy program which helps young people learn how to make, save, and spend money wisely.
• Families First—a program to strengthen families in our society by helping students understand how families work and
teaching them skills to become strong family members.
• Power of One—a program that helps students find and use their personal power to set goals, work to achieve them, and enjoy
the results.

1. National Center for Health Statistics [NCH]. (2004) Health, United States, 2004, with Chartbook on Trends in Health of Americans. Retrieved November 23, 2005 from http://www.CDC.gov/nchs/data/hus/ hus04.pdf
2. Keown, Arthur (2004). Personal Finance. NJ: Prentice Hall.
3. Rhode Island KidsCount (2005). The National School Readiness Indicators Initiative: Making Progress for Young Children. Retrieved April 10, 2005 from http://www.GettingReady.org
4. KIDS COUNT Indicator Brief, Reducing the Child Poverty Rate. The Annie E. Casey Foundation, July 2005. Retrieved November 23, 2005 from http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/sld/ auxiliary/briefs/childpovertyupdated.pdf
5. Castellano, M; Stringfield, S.: and Stone, J.R., III. Career and Technical Education Reforms and Comprehensive School Reforms in High Schools and Community Colleges: Their Impact on Educational Outcomes for At-Risk Youth. Minnesota National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, University of Minnesota, 2001. (ED 461720) Retrieved November 23, 2005 from http:// www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2/ content_storage_01/0000000b/80/0d/be/a4.pdf