CTE and FCS Advisory Boards

A lot of CTE Consortiums will require this for Perkins funding, and believe me I was repulsed at the idea when I first heard I had to do this. Now as I look back I think I was a fool! Advisory boards are wonderful! What better way to get our profession more known than by having people working in the field supporting us and what we teach!?


Ideas:


Think local - Who do you have come into guest speak?
Have you asked them to be on your advisory board?
*This is also a great opportunity for classroom involvement when selecting members for your advisory board!


Think FCS - What business in your school district/neighborhood are related to our field?
Examples - restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, meat market, clothing stores, banks,
child care centers, paint stores, food factories, hotels, designers, caterers, etc!


Ask Others - FCS teachers have a whole network of support!
Ask your fellow FCS teachers in the state who they have on their advisory board and if they
have any contacts or ideas for you!
*Post in the comments suggestions!
Don’t be afraid to ask your fellow CTE Teachers in the district for ideas as well!


Other benefits:


Advisory boards may help in monetary ways such as sponsoring a
fundraiser, or even trips you take your students on!

For example say you want do a pancake breakfast fundraiser with you FCCLA;
if you already have the local grocery store owner on your advisory board,
you could approach them for sponsoring the event, or at least some of the ingredients!


Business and Industry involvement in your program should be more than a “check the box”
advisory committee so that you get Perkins funding, etc.
It should be a network of people you can learn from and develop your program with!


Not only keep you program alive - thrive!
The more people you reach out to the more support you will have in your community for your
program and Family and Consumer Sciences as a whole!


Amazing Example from my Friend Lois Lewis - 2015 AAFCS National Teacher of the Year:

In her class titled “World of Work” she used the "BestPrep" e-mentoring program.  This program matches students with volunteers from a business with whom they e-mail once a week for six weeks.  The instructor chooses what the topics of these emails will be, such as time management, organizational skills, etc., and the volunteers respond to the student e-mails with their perspectives on how they manage time and organization in their jobs.  At the end of the six weeks, students tour the business and have lunch with their volunteer mentors. This has been a very positive experience for our students and it is amazing how they connect with the mentors at the meet-and-greet. They also learn about  how to e-mail properly and dressing for the job. So far, we have been in the e-mentoring program for two years and the businesses were a bank and a window manufacturing plant.

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