2016-2017 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.
Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show
The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show will take place Tuesday, September 27 — Thursday, September 29, 2016 at the Orange
County Convention Center in Orlando. ProStart instructors are welcome to attend free of charge all three days of the Show. Below are the guidelines for student attendees.
TEACHER & STUDENT REGISTRATION FOR SHOW
ProStart students may attend the 2016 Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show as long as the guidelines below are followed. Failure to follow these guidelines could result in expulsion from the Show floor. There is alcohol on the show floor. Please keep this in mind when selecting your students.
•Attending students must be at least 16 years of age. Students must provide proof of age when they pick up their name badges. •There must be one chaperone for every 5 students. The chaperones must be within eye-sight of the students. Chaperones must be at least 21 years old. •No more than a total of 10 students may attend from one school. •No more than 5 students and 1 chaperone may walk the show floor together. If all 10 students and 2 chaperones walk the show floor together, show management may ask them to leave the show floor. •Students must be dressed in business attire or chef attire.REGISTER
ProStart students and chaperones may attend the show one of the three days (Tuesday–Thursday). There is no fee to attend. To register, complete THIS SPREADSHEET and return to [email protected]. The spreadsheets will be processed as they are received. Only a limited number of student spreadsheets will be processed. Once that number is reached no more spreadsheets will be processed. Any spreadsheets returned after September 2, 2016 will not be processed.
TEACHER REGISTRATION FOR SHOW (use this registration if you would like to attend without students)
Go to Attendee Registration
Non-Member Registration
On the second screen, after you’ve entered mailing information, on the “Attendee Type” screen (select buyer/not buyer) there is a box that says “If you have a Discount Code please enter it here”.
Enter the code FRLA.
At the bottom of the very last screen, under “Transaction Detail” you will see the payment amount automatically calculates to $0.
ServSafe During the FRLA Show
The FRLAEF is offering the ServSafe review class and exam on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 during the FRLA Show. The exam review class begins at 9:00 am at the Orange County Convention Center. The exam begins at 2:00 pm following a break. Examinees will be taking the paper/pencil version of the exam. FRLAEF will cover the cost of the review class and exam for ProStart instructors. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. You must use this link to get free registration. The deadline to register is Friday, September 16, 2016.
ProStart School Classification
At the beginning of each school year the FRLAEF asks schools to commit to their level of participation i
n the ProStart program. There are three levels of participation: PREMIER, FULL and CURRICULUM ONLY.
PREMIER LEVEL
The FRLAEF will determine which schools qualify as 2016-2017 Premier schools based on the benchmarks the school met during the 2015-2016 school year. In order to be classified as a Premier school for the 2016-2017 school year, the program must have done the required work during the 2015-2016 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. For schools that become Full ProStart schools, they have the opportunity to work towards becoming a Premier school for the 2017-2018 school year by meeting the 2016-2017 benchmarks.
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 2015-2016 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 from by September 16, 2016, 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. T
here is no fixed amount for individual grant awards, but to assist your planning, the average award last year was $772.
There are two prerequisites for grant funding: 1) you must currently teach the ProStart curriculum, and 2) you must be a Premiere 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 Friday, September 16, 2016.
CLICK HERE for the online Mini Grant application.
GRANT AWARD NOTIFICATION: October 7, 2016. If awarded, funds must be spent no later than November 18, 2016.
NRAEF Data Collection (Fall Survey)
The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) will continue its ProStart Data Collection this year. The survey is managed by Westat. Be on the lookout for an email from Westat in mid-August. The email will contain a password unique to your program.
Once you complete the survey, the FRLAEF will send you free SafeStaff Foodhandler Guides. These are on a first-come, first served basis, so complete your NRAEF survey as soon as possible.
FRLAEF Regional Workshops
The FRLAEF is offering eight Regional Workshops this fall. ProStart teachers may bring up to five students to each event. There is no fee to attend a Regional Workshop. Lunch will be provided for all attendees at each event. Chef coats will be given to all participating ProStart students at each event. Travel to and from events is on your own.
If Regional Workshops reach maximum capacity prior to the deadline, all subsequent schools will be placed on the waiting list. Most events begin at 8:30 am and conclude no later than 2:00 pm.
CLICK HERE to go to our Regional Workshop page.
Hospitality Industry Internships
The Hospitality Industry Internship (HII) provides the opportunity for Florida ProStart instructors to work in a foodservice establishment for at least 40 hours. At the completion of 40 work hours, the HII participant will receive a check for $600 from the FRLAEF.
To qualify for an internship, the instructor must teach the ProStart curriculum during the 2016-2017 school year. The goal of the HII is to provide the instructor an opportunity to learn fresh skills in a new setting. If you are currently employed at a restaurant, you MAY NOT use that site for your internship. The restaurant must also be a new work experience for you, not somewhere you have worked before or used as a past HII internship location. Work experience may begin once the applicant receives an award letter from the FRLAEF.
If you are awarded an internship and do not complete the required work component, you will be ineligible to receive an internship for the 2017-2018 school year. The applicant must secure a position at a foodservice facility where a minimum of 40 hours of hands-on experience is guaranteed. The host location may pay the recipient but is not required to do so.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 14, 2016
AWARD NOTIFICATION: October 21, 2016
INTERNSHIP COMPLETED BY: March 24, 2017
CLICK HERE to fill out the online application.
ProStart Culinary Team Competitions
The 17th Annual ProStart Culinary Team Competitions will take place Friday, March 3 — Saturday, March 4, 2017 at the Rosen
Plaza Hotel in Orlando.
On Friday, March 3, half of the Culinary Teams and Management Teams will compete along with all Edible Centerpiece teams. On Saturday, March 4, the remaining Culinary and Management teams will compete along with all of the Waiter Relay Teams. The competition will be followed by an awards dinner at the Rosen Plaza Hotel.
AID FOR COMPETING SCHOOLS The FRLAEF will provide stipends to offset the cost of participating in the event. The stipend amount will be announced when the number of competing teams is finalized.
RULES The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) is amending the rules to the Culinary and Management Competitions. There will be rule changes to the Management and Culinary Competitions. Since Florida’s Culinary and Management Competitions mirror the national rules, we can not release the Florida competition rules until NRAEF has released the national rules. The Waiters Relay and the Edible Centerpiece competitions are unique events to Florida.
HOTEL The Rosen Plaza Hotel will be the host site for the 2017 ProStart Culinary Team Competitions. The room rate at the Rosen Plaza is $129 per night.
Based on other groups in the hotel and our past room night totals, the Rosen Plaza does expect to be full during our event. In the event they can not accommodate all of our guest, they are offering hotels at the Rosen Inn Pointe Orlando. The rates at the Rosen Inn Pointe Orlando are $109 per night.
To reserve hotel rooms at either property, please contact the Rosen Plaza/Rosen Inn Pointe Orlando at 800-627-8258 and reference the FRLAEF ProStart Competition Salute to Excellence. The deadline to make hotel reservations is February 3, 2017.
PARTICIPATION CLICK HERE for the competition application. The application deadline is Friday, October 14, 2016. Applicants will be notified their status by Friday, October 21, 2016.
Salute to Excellence Awards Dinner
The Salute to Excellence Awards will take place on Saturday, March 4, 2017 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. The awards dinner will recognize all ProStart Competition, Pineapple Award, Scholarship recipients and Hospitality Excellence Awardees. Registration will begin in December 2016.
ServSafe Materials
Each Premier and Full ProStart program is eligible for free ServSafe 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 materials. Click here for the ServSafe 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.
ProStart Scantrons
The FRLAEF will distribute over $25,000 worth of free ProStart Exam Scantrons to Premier and Full ProStart schools during the 2016-2017 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 2016-2017 school year. These scholarships will be awarded during the Salute to Excellence Awards in the Spring. The scholarship application will be available in late Fall.
The 20th Annual ProStart Teacher Training Institute will take place in June 18-23, 2017. The week-long training provides
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
All classes will be held at Johnson & Wales University (JWU) North Miami campus, 1701 NE 127th Street, North Miami, Florida, 33181.
PROGRAM COST
The FRLAEF will cover the cost of all Florida ProStart instructors who will be teaching the ProStart curriculum during the 2017-2018 school year. Attendees will be responsible for their travel and some meals.
REGISTRATION
Online registration will begin Spring 2017.