Sonia Rincon, working as a server at student-run Cafe d’Eisenhower, gives a slice of cheesecake to Eisenhower High School Assistant Principal Joe Dumond. Although Cafe d’Eisenhower is a tiny restaurant in Eisenhower High’s culinary arts classroom, students create and serve meals the caliber of which can be found in a reservations-required commercial restaurant.
(RIALTO, Calif.) Most days, the teachers, administrators, counselors and support staff at Eisenhower High School in Rialto are so busy, they forget all about lunch. But not on Thursdays.
On Thursdays, a small group of students tempts their taste buds with dishes like Chicken Parmesan, Cesar salad and a macaroon desert. These students, members of the advanced culinary arts class double as the staff of Café d’Eisenhower, an on-campus restaurant catering almost exclusively to the school’s employees.
“I try to eat here every Thursday,” said Yvonne Jenkins, the school’s receptionist. “I’m mostly doing it to support them, but everything they prepare is very good.”
Jenkins has worked at the school for five years, but previously was an Eisenhower mom. Her four children all graduated from the school, and she knew about Café d’Eisenhower in those days too.
Some of her co-workers have been eating at Café d’Eisenhower since before the current student workers were born. No one who works at Eisenhower these days is sure when the restaurant first opened, but some have been enjoying the gourmet meals there since the mid-1980s.
“It’s so good, sometimes the retired staff comes back for lunch,” said Mary Saxon Hobbs, a retired school counselor who had, in fact, come back to her former workplace just to take in a Café’ d’Eisenhower meal.
“It’s the highlight of my week,” said Assistant Principal Joe Dumond, who adds that on the other four days, he’s so busy he doesn’t normally have time to even think about lunch.
Café’d’Eisenhower serves the quality of food where reservations are strongly encouraged. The other reason for reservations is because it only seats 30, and because most of the diners must take their lunch at a specific time (A Lunch or B Lunch), it fills up rapidly. That’s especially true during the first seating, a.k.a. A Lunch, where 28 of the 30 seats were filled during one recent meal.
The students are well prepared for their guests.
It’s all planned way in advance, and most of it is prepared beforehand. Preparations include not just cooking the meals, but also sending out invitations to Eisenhower and selected other Rialto Unified employees and making special accommodations for anyone who RSVP’s but has special dietary needs, or a preference for a vegetarian diet.
Wednesdays, students stay after school to and into the evening to make sure everything is as ready as it can be.
When class starts on Thursday, the tables, which are used as desks by instructor Carol Bertottto’s other students throughout the day, are transformed into six elegant seating areas with green tablecloths, white paper napkins and an array of silverware. Salads are assembled and lightly dressed, entrees are heated up and finishing touches like whipped cream flowerets are added to deserts.
And occasionally, entire meals are prepared. Since reservations aren’t mandatory, there might be far more visitors than the class had planned for. Once, early in the year no less, the students had prepared food for 30 guests, only to have about 60 show up.
“That was hard,” said Georgiana Witrago, a 12th-grader with aspirations to own her own bakery some day. “Everyone was in the kitchen helping out, and it all worked out.”
Normally, about half the students are in the kitchen working with food during Café’ d’Eisenhower’s open hours. The other half are working as a host or hostess and servers.
The first person to greet a visitor to Café d’Eisenhower is usually the day’s host or hostess. He or she checks the reservation list, collects the $7 charged per meal and invites the visitor to take any available seat at the five tables seating six people each.
Almost immediately, a student server appears, bearing a salad on a china plate and asking what you’d like to drink. Water, tea and lemonade are available, all served in glasses with lots of ice. Coffee is available too.
As soon as you finish the salad, your server returns with the main dish. Likewise, as soon as you’re done with this entrée, the server returns with desert.
Discreetly, the server is also taking away dirty dishes as they are used. This sever isn’t going very far with them, as this tiny restaurant’s kitchen is merely a divider away from the “dining room.”
Behind the divider, Bertotto and the students on kitchen duty are hard at work. Some are chefs, others clean things.
A number of students, these actually in the intermediate culinary class, are packaging food into “to go boxes” and carrying them out of the restaurant for hand-delivery to teachers and administrators who couldn’t break away from their desks.
Other than the intermediate students on the to-go crew, the job students do varies each week, so that everyone will have equal experience hosting, serving, cooking and cleaning.
“They have their hand in everything here,” said Counselor Wendy Better. “They plan the meals, they cook, they serve. They do it all very well.”
The quick but discreet service offered at Café d’Eisenhower and many other fine restaurants requires some learning, according to several students. It’s especially difficult at a school restaurant, where the diners usually only have 35 minutes for lunch. If any A Lunch guests tarry, the students will be bussing tables when B Lunch visitors come expecting the usual quick service. If any B Lunch visitors run late, the students may end up tardy to their fifth period class.
“It helps us to learn time management,” Witrago said. “We can’t be slow, but we can’t rush them either.”
Why do these students work after school two days a week and give up their entire lunch on Thursdays?
“I’m in this class because I love to cook,” said Sonia Rincon, a sentiment her classmates agreed with. “And it will look good on my transcript.”
If they’re not going to work in a restaurant or bakery, most of the students in Advanced Culinary Arts have plans that entail college. Rincon, for instance, hopes to become a lawyer.
The most important thing students learn in Advanced Culinary Arts is not how to sautee, flambé or grill. It’s teamwork.
“We’re like a body,” Rincon said. “If one person doesn’t come, we are missing a piece. And without teamwork, you can’t run a restaurant.”
The program now known as HECT has undergone a transformation over the last 30 years. Prior to the 1960s, the program focused on training women in skills they would need as wives and mothers. But, as more women began working outside the home, California changed its home economics curriculum to reflect this, and added the Home Economics Related Occupations component.
As all professions, including those in home economics related industries became more dependent on technology, so did the courses offered in secondary schools. To reflect this change, Calif
ornia renamed its home economics program Home Economics Careers and Technology in the 1990s.
2008 Chino High School graduate Manual Alvarez, 11th-grader Tiffanie Williams and 12th-grader Michael Navkirk prepare snickerdoodle batter for a Chino High event FHA-HERO was catering at the end of the 2007-08 school year.
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) “We have to teach leadership,” said Chino High School teacher Elizabeth Williams. “It’s in the state standards.”
Learning how to work in groups, make decisions as a team, get along with diverse coworkers and resolve conflicts peacefully is woven into the curriculum of every high school subject in California. But since Williams is a Home Economics Careers and Technology teacher, she has found the most effective way to do this is through her department’s co-curricular student organization, FHA-HERO.
FHA once was an acronym for Future Homemakers of America, and later became FHA-HERO to reflect its additional focus on Home Economics Related Occupations.
Now, it is so highly revered for its ability to develop leadership abilities, some students join FHA-HERO just for that reason alone. FHA-HERO helps 300,000 students at 750 schools throughout California, whether they plan on going into a home economics-related career field or not.
“I joined FHA-HERO because of all it has to offer,” said Francisco Gutierrez, a recent graduate of Golden West High School in Visalia. “No other organization at Golden West had anything that could have prepared me to succeed the way FHA-HERO did.”
Gutierrez learned a little about being a CEO, because he served as the Chapter President of his FHA-HERO organization at Golden West during the 2007-08 school year. He also learned about healthy living, time management and effective communication.
Alicia Freude, the 2008-09 FHA-HERO Chapter President at Chino High School in Chino, does want to open a bakery after she graduates from high school. So, while she values the education she receives in culinary courses offered through the Chino High Home Economics Careers and Technology program, the leadership experience she’s gaining is just as valuable to her.
“I love organizing things, so organizing activities for people will be fun,” she said. “I want to make a difference and motivate more people to join.”
Prior to last school year, Alicia was more interested in soccer than home economics. But she took one course, and when she was asked to help a classmate prepare a salad for a FHA-HERO competition, she found herself hooked on how fun the organization could be.
In his Consumer and Family Studies course, which focused on healthy living, Gutierrez took on a project examining the various medications that can be used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, commonly known as ADHD. That turned out to be a highlight of his time in FHA-HERO, he said.
He so thoroughly researched this project, it earned him second place in a statewide competition of FHA-HERO students who had done various studies in Consumer Education. When the state competition’s winner announced she wouldn’t be able to make the trip, Gutierrez’s efforts paid off with a trip to a national competition over the summer.
Alicia’s classmate and Francisco were among hundreds of FHA-HERO members last year who took part in an important aspect of FHA-HERO, which is its Competitive Recognition Events program. Students compete in 21 different events, as diverse as salad preparation and consumer education, commercial food preparation and interior design, creating artful food displays and having the best documentation of what the chapter did in a year. State-level winners in this competition took home cash awards, scholarships and other prizes along with trophies and certificates.
Many FHA-HERO chapters provide diverse, meaningful activities for their students. For instance, at Chino High School, where FHA-HERO has been recognized as one of the state’s Superior chapters for its many activities, active members put on assemblies for other students enrolled in Home Economics Careers and Technology courses, cater school events and participate in community outreach events, such as clothing drives for the area’s less fortunate. Golden West High School also has been recognized for its chapter’s diverse activities, along with many others in the state.
Monica Vargas, who served as Chino High School’s FHA-HERO chapter president during the 2007-08 school year, said participating in FHA-HERO activities together is one of her most cherished high school memories. It’s also an experience she knows will greatly benefit her now that she’s moved on to college, she hopes followed by a career in fashion design.
“We worked together as a team, and by doing so we were able to reach out to people,” she said. “We got more students to be involved in FHA-HERO, and we got the community involved in making Chino a better place to live. As the president, this gave me lots of leadership skills and communication skills. It also taught me to work my hardest for the team.”
For more information, call FHA-HERO State Adviser Janice DeBenedetti at (916) 323-5025.
Monica Vargas, a 2008 graduate of Chino High School and Sarah Ruelas, who was in 11th grade at the end of the 2007-08 school year, prepare cookies for an end-of-year activity at Chino High School. Their advanced culinary course at Chino High gave them hands-on experience in catering. By taking a series of courses in Chino High’s Home Economics Careers and Technology program, students can earn a special vocational certification with their high school diplomas, as Monica has done.
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – “Home Economics Careers and Technology, prepares students for high-skill, high-wage careers in related industries,” said David Long, California State Secretary of Education. “Many of the students who take these courses will go on to careers in the same industry. But even if they do not, they learn skills that will help them to succeed in any career or business venture, such as how to be a good employee, how to communicate well, and how to lead others in a project.”
Today’s Home Economics Careers and Technology has created a two-fold program designed to prepare young people for success in home economics-related occupations, and for success in their personal lives.
“Home Economics Related Occupations, the career-oriented part of our program, provides instruction through “pathways,” which are courses of study focusing on a specific career area,” said Janice DeBenedetti, state consultant for Home Economics Careers and Technology. “While high school students primarily focus on graduation requirements, and often college entrance requirements, pathways offer students elective choices that will help them prepare for specific college majors or careers.
Schools offering pathways award certificates of completion to students who successfully complete them, or word the students’ high school diplomas to recognize this accomplishment. The written proof of this highly specialized training may prove as valuable as the diploma itself when the young high school graduate searches for his or her first full-time job.
Within the Home Economics Careers and Technology program, these pathways are:
* Food service and hospitality, which prepares students for careers such as chefs or restaurant managers. It also prepares them for work in entry-level jobs such as food servers, as 90 percent of people who work for a salary in restaurants started out with an entry-level job in the food service industry.
* Food science, dietetics and nutrition, which also prepares students for work in the food industry, but primarily in venues outside of restaurants. This includes developing new food products, creating menus for schools, hospitals and other institutions, and educating people about healthy eating.
* Hospitality, tourism and recreation, which prepares students for jobs in the tourism industry that aren’t necessarily related to food. These careers include theme park directors, event planners, hotel managers, and travel agents.
* Fashion design, manufacturing and merchandising, which prepares students for careers in the garment and accessories industry. Tailors, fashion designers, store buyers and apparel marketers are a few of the jobs within this industry.
* Interior design, furnishings and maintenance, which prepares students for careers in the growing field of interior design. These include interior designers, building maintenance managers, and furniture manufacturers.
* Child development and education, which prepares students for careers with children. This ranges from infant day care to teaching high school. The child development pathway primarily focuses on work with young children, while the education pathway primarily focuses on preparing students for careers in teaching and school administration.
* Consumer services, which prepares students for work in a variety of professional fields, such as communications, customer service, financial planning, and product and development research.
* Family and human services, which prepares students for a broad variety of jobs, such as social worker, marriage and family therapist, or substance abuse counselor. It also provides training in caring for senior citizens, which is one of the state’s fastest growing industries.
“The other part of our program, Consumer and Family Studies, prepares students with personal and life management skills,” DeBenedetti said. “Many have said the skills we teach in these courses should be high school graduation requirements. While they aren’t required, we who teach this program believe our students are much better equipped to handle balance home and work responsibilities.”
Consumer and Family Studies focuses on eight skills considered essential in family life: child development and guidance; consumer education; family living and parenting education; fashion, textiles and apparel; food and nutrition; housing and furnishings; individual and family health; and leadership development.
Food and apparel are important parts of these courses, as they were in traditional home economics courses. But while cooking courses of old likely focused on recipes and technique, today’s introductory Home Economics Careers and Technology courses also address developing healthy eating habits, and how to plan nutritious meals on a budget.
And while traditional clothing courses focused on sewing, today’s courses help people to buy clothes that are both affordable and appropriate. While they will learn the basics of garment construction, they also learn how to establish a clothing budget, and how to properly care for various types of clothes.
An introduction to home furnishings has also long been part of a traditional home economics education. In an introductory course today, student learn not just how to make home accessories and furnishings, but about housing costs and energy conservation.
In addition, students learn how to take care of children from prenatal to adolescence, how to resolve conflict and crisis, how to balance work and family responsibilities and how to stay healthy throughout life.
The program is primarily geared to preparing teenagers for a time when they will both work outside the home and have children under 18 in their home. However, it also takes into account that recent U.S. Census figures show 5.5 million women have opted for careers as “stay-at-home-moms” and 189,000 men are “stay-at-home-dads.”
In the general population, the 2000 U.S. Census showed 48 percent of women with children younger than 2 years old, and 25 percent of those with children ages 3 to 6, were staying home. That census also revealed that in dual-parent households with working wives, 12 percent of fathers of children younger than 6 years old stayed home. However, several more recent studies by independent authors, primarily focusing on high-income families, showed about 60 percent of women were staying home with young children.
In addition to instruction, students taking Home Economics Careers and Technology courses participate in FHA-HERO, which is a co-curricular student organization. Students develop their leadership and communication skills through this organization by taking on projects that apply what they have learned in the classroom.
Chapter projects have included such things as organizing food and clothing drives for homeless people, community beautification, restaurants and other related venu
es for fund raisers, and putting on assemblies and banquets for other high school students. Chapters and individual members of FHA-HERO also compete each year in 21 career-related events, earning recognition, cash and other prizes, and college scholarships for outstanding performances.
“Home Economics Careers and Technology courses, along with FHA-HERO are building blocks to help our students be more productive in their adult lives,” DeBenedetti said. “The experiences they take from our program remain relevant to them long after high school graduation.”
The program now known as HECT has undergone a transformation over the last 30 years. Prior to the 1960s, the program focused on training women in skills they would need as wives and mothers. But, as more women began working outside the home, California changed its home economics curriculum to reflect this, and added the Home Economics Related Occupations component.
As all professions, including those in home economics related industries became more dependent on technology, so did the courses offered in secondary schools. To reflect this change, California renamed its home economics program Home Economics Careers and Technology in the 1990s.
There are now more than 750 schools offering Home Economics Careers and Technology courses. More than 300,000 students are enrolled in these classes throughout the state.
For more information, call Janice DeBenedetti at (916) 323-5025.
(FRESNO, Calif.) Forty student delegates attended the Region Officer Training Conference of FHA-HERO at California State University Fresno July 28-31.
FHA-HERO is a career technical student organization for young men and women who are currently or have been enrolled in a Home Economics Careers and Technology program in middle school or high school. In California nearly three thousand students annually participate in region and state-level leadership and career development activities.
“The purpose of the conference is to assist FHA-HERO Region Officers from throughout the state develop leadership skills and gain knowledge about their organization,” said State President Emily Mastrolia, a student at Deer Valley High School in Antioch. “We participated in workshops that focus on topics such as speech writing, public relations, leadership development, parliamentary procedure and communication skills. In addition, the officers participated in team-building activities.”
The 40 student officers will provide leadership for the FHA-HERO members in their geographic area. Each of the students represents one of 10 areas in the state.
In addition to completing a variety of elected duties, the region officer team is also responsible for planning and conducting region-level activities for the coming school year. This includes competitions, planning community service projects and projects to increase membership at the chapter level.
The Home Economics Careers and Technology Education staff of the California Department of Education sponsors this training.
For more information, call Janice DeBenedetti at (916) 323-5025.
Participating students were from the following cities:
California State Secretary of Education Dave Long receives a plaque of appreciation from Janice DeBenedetti, state consultant to the Home Economics Careers and Technology program.
(RIVERSIDE, Calif.) Home Economics Careers & Technology teachers serve important needs in our schools, according to California State Secretary of Education David Long.
“I graduated from a small high school in Iowa, where every single person had to take Home Economics. We had no choice,” Long says. “Home economics courses are important now, more than ever.”
The home economics course Long took in his own high school focused on cooking, and what he learned still comes in handy, he says. Since becoming the California State Secretary of Education in 2007, Long has lived alone four nights a week in Sacramento, while his wife stays at their home in Riverside County, working in her job as an elementary school principal.
“My home economics teacher told me, for guys this course is called survival skills,” he said. “These days, I agree.”
Had Long taken his one home economics course more recently, and in California, it would have done even more to prepare him for a successful future. Besides learning to cook for themselves, young men and women in introductory Home Economics Careers & Technology courses learn important life skills such as managing budgets, parenting and much more.
These introductory classes also give students a glimpse into careers they could have in the industry. That’s why they’re known by the name of Home Economics Careers and Technology, rather than simply home economics.
Home Economics Careers and Technology courses prepare students to work in three industry sectors: Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation (including Culinary Arts); Fashion & Interior Design; and Education, Child Development & Family Services. The courses, which focus on both leadership and career development, are offered in high schools, Regional Occupations Programs and some middle schools.
In the 1970s, California began expanding its home economics courses, taking the focus beyond traditional homemaking. The program now has a dual focus. One program, Consumer and Family Studies, prepares students with personal and life management skills. The other, Home Economics Related Occupations, prepares students for high-skill, high-wage careers in the related industries.
“That’s why what these teachers do is so important,” Long says. “I know that some people think that every child must go to college, but many students may choose to be trained to work in a great career, and Home Economics Careers and Technology is accomplishing that goal.”
Long made these remarks to a group of teachers who were in Riverside for training in how to teach students to work in the growing hospitality, tourism and recreation industry. These teachers came from such diverse places as Bieber, a small town near the Oregon border, to South Central Los Angeles, and each of them hopes for their students to have jobs close to home in this industry.
Janice DeBenedetti, state consultant for the Home Economics Careers and Technology program, said there are almost 900,000 jobs throughout the state in hospitality, tourism and recreation, and that it should grow nearly 5 percent each year through 2014.
There are more than 750 schools offering Home Economics Careers and Technology courses. More than 300,000 students are enrolled in these classes throughout the state.
For more information, call Janice DeBenedetti at (916) 323-5025.
Carol Bertotto, (right) culinary arts and restaurant management teacher at Eisenhower High School in Rialto, learns the finer points of greeting newly-arrived guests at the Riverside Marriott Hotel from front desk supervisor Christina Herrera. Bertotto took part in a seminar on Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation put on by Home Economics, Careers and Technology, which supports the program at Eisenhower and other schools throughout California.
(RIVERSIDE, California) From small towns on the Oregon border to South Central Los Angeles, California secondary teachers see the hospitality and tourism industry as something that could give their students a great future.
To better prepare them for that future, nine Home Economics Careers and Technology teachers spent the week of June 23 through June 27 at the Riverside Marriott Hotel gaining an inside view of the industry through workshops and mini-internships. In these internships, they helped Marriott employees do the work that goes on each day in a hotel.
“There are jobs here that could give my students a great income as they work their way through college,” said Carol Bertotto, “And if a person has a passion to work in this industry, and learns their job well, there is room for advancement into well-paid careers.”
Bertotto already teaches culinary arts and restaurant management at Eisenhower High School in Rialto. This year, her school is changing its curriculum to create “pathways” students can follow to careers in specific industry sectors, and will add a tourism/hospitality course to its Home Economics Careers and Technology program.
Each participating teacher spent part of her week in five separate internships, each in one of nine areas of the hotel: Accounting, Outlets (restaurants), Catering, Concierge, Front Desk, Housekeeping, Kitchen, Reservations and Security. During the two-hour internships, a department supervisor explained his or her job, then allowed the teacher to have some “on-the-job” experience.
The employees also shared some insider tips. For instance, the teachers who did the Outlets internships in the afternoon hours learned how to pour beer bottles into mugs without causing them to foam excessively, while those doing this internship in the morning learned the secrets of mixing Marriott’s specialty coffee drinks.
And those who did the Concierge internship learned the lengths the hotel will go to for earning and keeping their customers’ repeat business. For any guest, that includes an eagerness to meet their customers’ needs, going so far as to run to the nearby drugstore for things like special brands of toothpaste or a bathing suit.
“CVS is my best friend,” said Corliss Brown, the evening concierge. “And before they opened (in February 2008), I sometimes ran all over Riverside looking for things.”
Some of the hotel’s guests have stayed at the Riverside Marriott frequently, or for a great length of time, and have qualified for a “frequent-stayer” rewards program. This includes floors reserved just for them with gift baskets on arrival and a luxury hospitality suite that comes with a near fully-stocked bar. “We know some of them almost like family,” Brown said. “So, I want them to feel like they are at home.”
“In this business, we have learned the most important thing is the customer,” said Sharon Yonohera, who teaches tourism and hospitality to students at Big Valley High School in Bieber, California. “They have to be people pleasers. They have to be flexible. They have to work hard. We have to teach our students to do that.”
In addition to their mini-internships, the teachers heard presentations from Riverside Marriott General Manager Tom Donahue, Glendale Community College Tourism/Hospitality instructor Michael Lao, and the state’s Home Economics Careers and Technology staff. They also went on tours of the Riverside Convention Center, the Marriott Courtyard Inn in Riverside and the Mission Inn, to learn how these businesses provide hospitality to their guests.
Home Economics Careers and Technology courses prepare students to work in three industry sectors: Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation (including Culinary Arts); Fashion & Interior Design; and Education, Child Development & Family Services. The courses, which focus on both leadership and career development, are offered in high schools, Regional Occupations Programs and some middle schools.
In the 1970s, California began expanding the focus beyond traditional homemaking. The program now has a dual focus. One program Consumer and Family Studies, prepares students with personal and life management skills. The other, Home Economics Related Occupations, prepares students for high-skill, high-wage careers in the related industries.
While culinary, fashion and child development courses remain staples of most schools’ home economics curriculum; programs now address broad topics like tourism and hospitality, consumer affairs and energy conservation.
For more information, call Janice DeBenedetti at (916) 323-5025.
The Riverside Marriott has some extra help the week of June 23-27, as teachers job-shadow the hotel staff as part of a workshop on teaching hospitality and tourism to students enrolled in Home Economics Careers and Technology courses at high schools and Regional Occupation programs.
(RIVERSIDE, California) – Home Economics Careers and Technology teachers from throughout California will convene at the Riverside Marriott Hotel for a week June 23-27, but this is no vacation for them – they’ll all be put to work.
These teachers will spend part of their week working as reservation clerks, receptionists, food and beverage servers, and as part of the housekeeping, catering, room service, concierge, and security and maintenance staff. Then they will return to their own high schools and Regional Occupation Programs, better equipped to prepare their students for careers in tourism and hospitality.
“California’s reputation for breathtaking landscapes and friendly people have put the state on the map as the number one travel destination in the United States,” said Janice DeBenedetti, consultant for the California Department of Education’s Home Economics Careers & Technology program. “This means there is hardly a better place for young people to begin a career in the hospitality, tourism and recreation industry, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon.”
The hospitality/tourism industry employs about 900,000 people as of 2008, and is expected to grow 4.5 percent each year through 2014, DeBenedetti said. Some of the best-paid jobs within this sector are theme park directors, hotel managers, caterers and event planners
“The growing demand for hospitality and tourism has convinced many high schools and ROP programs to add specialized courses in hospitality and tourism,” DeBenedetti said. “This workshop is for the instructors who will teach those courses.
Before they take on the roles of hospitality providers for the Riverside Marriott, the teachers will “job shadow” people who actually hold these jobs. They will also tour other hotels in the area, to learn about how they provide hospitality.
On-the-job experience is only part of the course for teachers taking part in this professional development workshop offered by Home Economics Careers & Technology. As with any part of the California educational system, there are State Board of Education-approved standards for Hospitality/Tourism programs, which the Department of Education expects all schools to follow. Members of the Home Economics Careers and Technology staff, along with guest instructor Michael Lao of Glendale Community College, will train teachers in how to develop a program that follows those standards.
The standards for all Home Economics Careers and Technology courses were developed with the input of industry leaders and educators.
Teachers will also learn strategies to help students learn the material, how to develop tests and other assignments to measure the students’ grasp of what they have learned, and about resources to help them financially or enhance the training they will provide. As Home Economics Careers and Technology instructors, they will also learn how to use the FHA-HERO leadership and career development program, as a co-curricular organization for students enrolled in Home Economics Careers & Technology courses.
“We are pleased to partner with the California Department of Education and its Home Economics Careers and Technology program in support of the hospitality industry,” said Tom Donahue, general manager of the Riverside Marriott Hotel. “Marriott as a corporation, and the Riverside Marriott, are in full support of partnerships to assist teachers and school districts in the development of this type of specialized training in our schools.”
Home Economics Careers and Technology courses prepare students to work in three industry sectors: Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation (including Culinary Arts); Fashion & Interior Design; and Education, Child Development & Family Services. The courses, which focus on both leadership and career development, are offered in high schools, Regional Occupations Programs and some middle schools.
In the 1970s, California began expanding its home economics courses, taking the focus off traditional homemaking. The program now has a dual focus. One program Consumer and Family Studies, prepares students with personal and life management skills. The other, Home Economics Related Occupations, prepares students for high-skill, high-wage careers in the related industries.
While culinary, fashion and child development courses remain staples of most schools’ home economics curriculum; programs now address broad topics like tourism and hospitality, consumer affairs and energy conservation.
For more information, call Janice DeBenedetti at (916) 323-5025.
Second place winner, Francisco Gutierrez of Golden West High School in Visalia; in the FHA-HERO Consumer Education competition, First place, Samantha Yang of Edison High School in Fresno, Third place, Kiranpreet Dhaliwal of Pitman High School in Turlock.
(RIVERSIDE, California) California FHA-HERO, an organization for students enrolled in Home Economics Careers and Technology courses, held its State Leadership Meeting in Riverside.
Nearly 500 students participated in state level competitions based on 21 career development areas that are a part of the curriculum they have studied in school. There were an additional 300 students, adults and community leaders involved in the meeting as well.
Most events were held at the Riverside Convention Center, and the students participated in state finals competitions there, at the Riverside Marriott Hotel, Riverside’s Mission Inn and at The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire in San Bernardino.
Marilyn Gallardo, a senior at Pacifica High School in Oxnard, received special recognition in this competition as the Best of Show entry in the senior division, for her display of cakes and tortes. In all, 95 students received the top awards.
“The students were really thrilled to be recognized for the skills they have learned in the Home Economics Careers and Technology program,” said Janice DeBenedetti, statewide coordinator for the program, which is a part of the California Department of Education. “They were thankful for our sponsors, not just for the scholarships they donated, but also for the cash awards and other prizes.”
FHA-HERO is an organization for students enrolled in courses preparing them for careers in three industry sectors: Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation (including Culinary Arts); Fashion & Interior Design; and Education, Child Development & Family Services. The courses, which focus on both leadership and career development, are offered in high schools, Regional Occupations Programs and some middle schools.
During the conference, students also elected a slate of state officers, and participated in leadership training. One of the primary goals of FHA-HERO is to develop future community leaders, and many students especially enjoy this aspect of the organization.
“I thought it was a great experience,” said Francisco Gutierrez, a senior at Golden West High School in Visalia. “This was my first year in FHA-HERO, and it was a lot of fun going to Riverside for four days and staying at the Mission Inn.”
Francisco was further elated with the experience when he learned he took second place in the Consumer Education competition, in which he gave a presentation on medications used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). He had only placed second in the regional competition, so doing so again at the state level was unexpected.
“I was very surprised,” he said. “There were people from all over the state at that level, so I really didn’t expect to do as well.”
Even more surprise came for Francisco when he learned the first place winner would not be able to attend the national competition, thereby giving him the opportunity to do so.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I’m just trying to raise the money.”
Edison High School in Fresno took home five of the trophies. Even for those who didn’t win, it was a great experience said competitor Suzanna Vang,
“Even though I didn’t win, my best friend, Pabai Vang, placed, so it feels good knowing she won.” Suzanna said. “It took a lot of my free time, and I had to find a balance between school and work, so just to know that I did it gives me a sense of accomplishment.”
First, second and third place winners received trophies and plaques to recognize their achievements. First place winners also received additional prizes as provided by the competition’s sponsors, and occasionally, so did second and third place winners. In addition, first place winners, or in some cases the runners-up, can advance to a national competition.
The competitions, winners and their awards were:
SENIOR DIVISION
Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation: First place, Ryan Johnson of California High School in Whittier $1,000 scholarship, Second place, Araceli Montoya of Mt. Diablo High School in Concord, $750 scholarship; Third place, Ibon Zapien of Mt. Diablo High School in Concord, $500 scholarship.
Commercial Food Preparation: First place, Casey Shepardson of Mt. Diablo High School in Concord, $100, knife set, chef coat; Second place, Nataline Jindoian of Mt. Diablo High School in Concord; Third place, Kaylee Johnson of Chino High School in Chino.
Culinary Arts Display A – Appetizers: First place, Roman Chavez of California High School in Whittier, $100, chef coat; Second place, Jazmin Quinonez of Bell Gardens High School in Bell Gardens; Third place, Eduardo Trevino of Bell Gardens High School in Bell Gardens
Culinary Arts Display B – Breads: First place, Zachary Chenoweth of Pacifica High School in Oxnard, Scholarship, chef coat; Second place, Angelica Mungia of Chino High School in Chino; Third place, Mark Gonzales of California High School in Whittier
Culinary Arts Display C – Decorated Wedding Cakes: First place, Krisina Kovill of San Juan High School in Sacramento, $1,000 scholarship, chef coat; Second place, Nick Christian of San Juan High School in Sacramento, $750 scholarship; Third place, Ashley Gonzalez of Bell Gardens High School in Bell Gardens, $500 scholarship.
Culinary Arts Display D – Advanced Presentation Cakes and Tortes: First place, Marilyn Gallardo of Pacifica High School, $1,000 scholarship, Best of Show award; Second place, Christian Dentzler of Mt. Diablo High School in Concord, $750 scholarship; Third place, Cindy Andrade of Banning High School in Banning, $500 scholarship
Culinary Arts Display E – Patisserie: First place, Michelle Martin of Wilcox High School in Santa Clara, chef coat; Second place, Katelyn Krause of San Juan High School in Sacramento; Third place, Claudia Castaneda of Mt. Diablo High School in Concord
Culinary Arts Display F – Art Display: First place, Nicholas Decocq of San Juan High School in Sacramento, $100, $1,00 scholarship, chef coat; Second place, Daniel Rieux of San Juan High School in Sacramento, $750 scholarship; Third place, Darryl Johnson of Mt. Diablo High School in Concord, $500 scholarship
Apparel Construction: First place, Britany Gomez of Ayala High School in Chino Hills, sewing machine, $100; Second place, Pabai Vang of Edison High School in Fresno $50; Third place, Malee Xiong of Las Plumas High School in Oroville
Fashion Design: First place, Philip Vo of Fountain Valley High School in Fountain Valley, $22,000 scholarship to Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising; Second place, Natalie Haro of Livermore High School in Livermore; Third place, Chantal Cheung of Westmoor High School in Daly City
Interior Design: First place, Jennifer Isago of Rowland High School in Rowland Heights, $22,000 scholarship to Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising; Second place, Maria Castrillo of Ayala High School in Chino Hills, $100; Third place, Jenna Ririe of Ayala High School in Chino Hills
Applied Technology: First place, Monica Vargas and Sarah Rosendahl of Chino High Schoo
l of Chino, $50 each; Second place, Madelene Geledzhyan and Josh Cruz of Rowland High School in Rowland Heights.
Prepared Speech: First place, Mindi Miller of Folsom High School in Folsom, $100; Second place, Stella Sakhon of Ayala High School in Chino Hills; Third place, Jasmin Rangel of Edison High School in Fresno.
Child Development: First place, Karina Aguilar of Pitman High School in Turlock, $100; Second place, Tashena Polk of Eisenhower High School in Rialto; Third place, Vanessa Romero of Sanger High School in Sanger.
Energy & Resource Conservation: First place, Bianca Mayoral and Audrienne Salandan of Ayala High School in Chino Hills, $50 each; Second place, Milena Garrido and Briana McCloud of John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills
Nutrition Education: First place, Samantha Herrera and Cynthia Medina of Golden West High School in Visalia, $50 each; Second place, Amanda Chan and Lauren Kawawaki of Mills High School in San Mateo; Third place, Eduardo Navarro and Sara Magana of California High School in Whittier
Job Application & Interview: First place, Katherine Kim of Rowland High School in Rowland Heights, $1,000 scholarship; Second place, Mai May Vang of Oroville High School in Oroville, $750 scholarship; Third place, Noosha Saleminik of Ayala High School in Chino Hills, $500 scholarship
Teaching Careers: First place, Trista Cowlishaw of Apple Valley High School in Apple Valley, $100; Second place, Jacqueline Suaste of John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills,; Third place, Alex Flood of Morro Bay High School in Morro Bay.
Consumer Education: First place, Samantha Yang of Edison High School in Fresno, $100; Second place, Francisco Gutierrez of Golden West High School in Visalia; Third place, Kiranpreet Dhaliwal of Pitman High School in Turlock.
Salad Preparation: First place, Nancy Ballard of Silverado High School in Victorville, $100 and a chef coat; Second place, Cynthia Melchor of Eisenhower High School in Rialto, Third place, Lisa Walston of Eisenhower High School in Rialto.
Menu Planning & Table Display: First place, Lindsey Lowe of Edison High School in Fresno, $100; Second place, Vincent Zhao of Westmoor High School in Daly City; Third place, Celeste Cervantes of La Puente Valley Regional Occupations Program in La Puente.
Chapter Activities Manual: First place, Westmoor High School of Daly City, $100; Second place, Golden West High School of Visalia; Third place, Kern Valley High School of Lake Isabella.
Chapter Exhibit: First place, Big Valley High School of Bieber, $100: Second place, Las Plumas High School of Oroville, Third Place, Paramount High School of Downey.
Community Involvement: First place, Cesar E. Chavez High School of Delano, $100; Second place, Kern Valley High School of Lake Isabella
ADULT DIVISON
Culinary Arts Display F – Art Display: First place, Andy Bezgodov of San Juan High School in Sacramento; $100
JUNIOR DIVISON
Community Involvement: First place, Hoover Middle School in Lakewood, $100
Chapter Exhibit: First place, Alvarado Intermediate School in Rowland Heights, $100; Second place, Lompoc Valley Middle School in Lompoc
Chapter Activities Manual: First place, Ruth O. Harris Middle School in Colton, $100
Apparel Construction: First place, Joanna Guo of Alvarado Intermediate School in Rowland Heights, sewing machine, $100; Second place, Yamel Grado of Cesar E. Chavez High School in Delano
Menu Planning & Table Display: First place, Nou Vang of Edison High School in Fresno, $100; Second place, Sachie Kawachi of Rowland High School in Rowland Heights; Third place, Vicky Hung of Alvarado Intermediate School in Rowland Heights
Salad Preparation: First place, Matthew Johnson of Las Plumas High School in Oroville, $100; Second place, Avery Emlaw of San Juan High School in Sacramento; Third place, Amy Shinoki of Mills High School in San Mateo
Consumer Education: First place, Arturo Rodriguez of Ruth O. Harris Middle School in Colton, $100
Child Development: First place, Jean Philippe Cruz of Rowland High School in Rowland Heights, $100; Second place, Vivienne Barrientos of Alvarado Intermediate School in Rowland Heights
Prepared Speech: First place, Pamela Xu of Rowland High School in Rowland Heights, $100; Second place, Micah Van Setten of Ruth O. Harris Middle School in Colton
Job Application & Interview: First place, Paulina Lim of Rowland High School in Rowland Heights, $100; Second place, Hallie Zhang of Rowland High School in Rowland Heights; Third place, Kathryna Ang of Rowland High School in Rowland Heights
Nutrition Education: First place, Edith Castaneda and Elisa Cabronero of Ruth O. Harris Middle School in Colton, $50 each; Second place, Lily Lam and Mandy Cheung of Rowland High School in Rowland Heights
Interior Design: First place, En Lin of Rowland High School in Rowland Heights, $100; Second place, Lacey Wilde of Kern Valley High School in Lake Isabella; Third place, Amanda Kirshenmen of Kern Valley High School in Lake Isabella
Creed Recitation: First place, Amanda Jones of Los Molinos High School in Los Molinos, $100; Second place, Fernanda Lemus of Fresno High School in Fresno; Third place, Joanie Hampton of Redwood High School in Visalia
FHA-HERO is part of a national organization formed more than 50 years ago, which was formerly known as Future Homemakers of America, but is now called Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.
The “HERO” portion of the state organization’s name reflects a change in focus to career development and leadership, as it stands for Home Economics Related Occupations. Although most if not all FHA-HERO members will pursue careers outside their home, California organization leaders opted to keep FHA part of the name because of widespread familiarity with the organization.
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – California FHA-HERO named State Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) an honorary member of the organization in a ceremony held recently at the State Capitol.
“We’re grateful for her efforts supporting legislation that would provide more staff and more resources for Home Economics Careers and Technology Education,” said Janice DeBenedetti, state FHA-HERO adviser. “Our students and teachers have benefited greatly from her leadership.”
The awards presentation was conducted by the six state officers for California FHA-HERO: President Emily Mastrolia of Antioch; Vice President Cody Nore of Oroville; Secretary Darryl Johnson of Concord; Treasurer Bethany Stanton of Lake Isabella; Historian Bridget Deaton of Angels Camp and Reporter Sarah Rosendahl of Chino.
DeBenedetti also noted that Negrete McLeod has arranged visits to the State Senate chambers for state and regional FHA-HERO officers, and has issued two proclamations highlighting the contributions FHA-HERO has made to society. Both of the proclamations are displayed in the FHA-HERO headquarters office in Sacramento, DeBenedetti said.
FHA-HERO is a student leadership organization for students enrolled in home economics courses in California high schools , Regional Occupations Programs and some middle schools. These courses prepare students for careers in three employment sectors, which are Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation (which includes Culinary Arts); Fashion & Interior Design; and Education, Child Development & Family Services.
Home Economics Careers and Technology Education, part of the California Department of Education, oversees the FHA-HERO program.
FHA-HERO is part of a national organization formed more than 50 years ago, which was formerly known as Future Homemakers of America, but is now called Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.
The “HERO” portion of the state organization’s name reflects a change in focus, as it stands for Home Economics Related Occupations. Although most if not all FHA-HERO members will pursue careers outside their home, California organization leaders opted to keep FHA part of the name because of widespread familiarity with the organization.
Sonia Rincon, working as a server at student-run Cafe d’Eisenhower, gives a slice of cheesecake to Eisenhower High School Assistant Principal Joe Dumond. Although Cafe d’Eisenhower is a tiny restaurant in Eisenhower High’s culinary arts classroom, students create and serve meals the caliber of which can be found in a reservations-required commercial restaurant.
