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