2020-2021 ProStart Opportunities
The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation (FRLAEF) offers events, activities, monetary support as well as teacher and student support for your ProStart program. The FRLAEF believes participation in these activities can lead to a richer learning environment for you and your students. Events and opportunities are listed throughout the August NewsBites below.
ProStart School Classification
At the beginning of each school year the FRLAEF asks schools to commit to their level of participation in the ProStart program. There are three levels of participation: PREMIER, FULL and CURRICULUM ONLY.
PREMIER LEVEL
The FRLAEF will determine which schools qualify as 2020-2021 Premier schools based on the benchmarks the school met during the 2019-2020 school year. In order to be classified as a Premier school for the 2020-2021 school year, the program must have done the required work during the 2019-2020 school year.
FULL OR CURRICULUM ONLY
Schools that have not earned the Premier level for the upcoming school year may choose between the Full and Curriculum Only classification.
PARTICIPATION COMMITMENT 
The FRLAEF will send an email to all ProStart schools containing classification details including which level of classification a school may achieve based on their 2019-2020 participation data.
Please read through the details of the classification carefully to determine if you will be able to meet the requirements before committing. In order to be classified at any level, you must have and be using both the Level One and Level Two Foundations textbooks.
If the FRLAEF does not receive your commitment form by September 18, 2020, the FRLAEF will assume your school is a Curriculum Only program. This is an ANNUAL contract.
Mini Grants
The FRLAEF is offering $80,000 in Mini Grant funding to Premiere and Full Florida ProStart schools this year. There is no
fixed amount for individual grant awards, but to assist your planning, the average award last year was $700.
There are two prerequisites for grant funding: 1) you must currently teach the ProStart curriculum, and 2) you must be a Premier or Full ProStart school.
The FRLAEF Board of Directors prefers to fund items that will make your classroom self-sustaining. If a piece of equipment is requested, it should be something that will be used frequently throughout the year.
The application deadline is October 2, 2020
CLICK HERE for the online Mini Grant application.
FRLAEF to Offer Best Practice Zoom Meetings
Beginning Wednesday, June 12, the FRLAEF will hold several Best Practice Zoom meetings. These meetings will provide a forum for ProStart teachers to discuss how they plan to teach this school year. The meetings will be grouped by either a combination of in-person and online learning, online only culinary classes and in-person only classes.
Sign up now for:
- Best Practice: In-person and Online teaching combination
- Best Practice: Online only teaching
- Best Practice: In-person only but with social distancing
We are offering several sessions to enable everyone to share ideas, roadblocks and concerns in a small group-like setting.
CLICK HERE to sign up. Please do not complete the sign-up if you do not intend to participate.
Regional Workshops
Due to current school travel restrictions, the FRLAEF will not offer in-person ProStart Regional Workshops this fall. However, we are working with Johnson & Wales University, Keiser University and the University of Central Florida to provide virtual Regional Workshops. As soon as the virtual Regional Workshops are available, we will share them with you.
ProStart Culinary Team Competition
The 2021 ProStart Competition is scheduled to take place February 15-16, 2021 at the Rosen Plaza in Orlando. With all of the uncertainty, rules are being created for an in-person event as well as a virtual event. As soon as we decide what the 2021 ProStart Competition looks like, we will let you know as well as release the application.
ProStart Position Available
There is a Culinary Arts position available at Marianna High School in Marianna, Florida. For more details CLICK HERE.
NRAEF Data Collection (Fall Survey)
The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) will continue its ProStart Data Collection this year. Like last year, this survey will be managed by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. You must be registered at the chooserestaurants.org to access the survey.
Once you complete the survey, the FRLAEF will send you an email to request $350 worth of free foodsafety materials while supplies last.
The survey typically goes out in September but we will notify you when it is available.
Salute to Excellence Awards Dinner
The Salute to Excellence Awards will possibly take place on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. The awards dinner will recognize all ProStart Competition, Pineapple Award, Scholarship recipients and Hospitality Excellence Awardees. If the event goes forward, registration will begin in January 2021.
Complimentary Foodsafety Materials
Each Premier and Full ProStart program is eligible for free ServSafe or SafeStaff materials. To ensure you get the materials you need, you must notify us of your needs. Once we receive your ProStart Classification paperwork, you can order up to $350 of ServSafe/SafeStaff materials. Click here for the price list. Email Amy Parker to place your order–you do not need to fill out the form. Requests are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Complimentary ProStart Scantrons
The FRLAEF will distribute over $25,000 worth of free ProStart Exam Scantrons to Premier and Full ProStart schools during the 2020-2021 school year. Once a school has turned in their ProStart Classification paperwork, email Amy Parker to let her know how many ProStart Exam Scantrons you need. Requests are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Scholarships
The FRLAEF will award $44,000 in scholarships during the 2020-2021 school year. These scholarships will be awarded during the Spring. The scholarship application will be available in late Fall/early Spring.
The ProStart Teacher Training Institute was created to provide Florida ProStart instructors with the knowledge necessary to teach the ProStart curriculum. Each day’s learning is built around topics covered in the ProStart curriculum.
LOCATION 
As you know, Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is closing the North Miami Campus. Therefore, the ProStart Teacher Training Institute will no longer be held at JWU. During 2021, two – three day long trainings will be held. As long as space allows, attendees will chose which location they want to attend. One will take place at Keiser University’s Sarasota Campus while the other will be held at the University of Central Florida. As soon as everything is finalized, we will share the details. At this point, there is the potential for COVID19 to cause the training to be canceled.
PROGRAM COST
The FRLAEF will cover the cost of all Florida ProStart instructors who will be teaching the ProStart curriculum during the 2021-2022 school year. Attendees will be responsible for their travel and some meals.
REGISTRATION
Online registration will begin Spring 2021.
Due to CDC guidelines, the FRLAEF had to cancel the ProStart Teacher Training Institute (TTI). However, Johnson & Wales University (JWU) provided four virtual TTI classes geared towards topics covered in the ProStart curriculum. The classes are available at our Online Resource page HERE.
ProStart on CAPE List for 2020-2021
On April 30, CareerSource Florida’s executive committee approved 18 additional certification that were not on the original February 20th list. The ProStart Certificate of Achievement (ProStart COA) was one of the 18 certifications added back to the list! These certifications are only approved for one additional year which means they will be removed from the list on June 30, 2021. However, it does mean you are able to get CAPE funding for the ProStart COA throughout all of the 2020-2021 school year.
Online Resources Page–UPDATED MATERIALS!
The FRLAEF online resource page is being updated continuously with new information.
CLICK HERE to go to the page where you will find information about ProStart e-books, chapter animations and videos, foodsafety resources and more.
ACF To Offer Free Classes
With everything happening in our world, the American Culinary Federation (ACF) would like to offer you free CEH courses, as well as access to their COVID-19 response webinars, including the webinar specifically geared for educators. Please go to the ACF Online Learning Center at: www.acfchefs.org/olc. You will need to create a free web profile if you are not an ACF member. Then look for the ACF United bundle and webinars under the featured tab or in the catalog. For any questions or issues, please don’t hesitate to contact ACF at: [email protected].
Path to Power Series
The Path to Power series profiles executives in the hospitality industry and the career path they took to get there. These articles were compiled for Florida’s ProStart and HTMP students.
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