2016 ProStart Competition Teams Announced!
The 2016 ProStart Competition teams have been selected. Schools were notified via email of the competitions they were chosen for on Monday, October 26, 2015. The email also contained required entry forms. If you did not receive your award email, please contact Amy Parker at aparker@frla.org. Go to our Competition Page for a list of 2016 competing teams.
Scholarship Application Now Available
The FRLAEF will award $40,000 in scholarships during the 2015-2016 school year. These scholarships will be presented during the Salute to Excellence Awards in the Spring.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, January 8, 2016
CLICK HERE to apply!
Completed applications include the online application and an OFFICIAL transcript from the school. If your school has the capability to email OFFICIAL transcripts, that is acceptable. Otherwise, all transcripts must be mailed to the FRLAEF:
FRLAEF
PO BOX 1779
Tallahassee, FL 32302
Awards Dinner, Hospitality Excellence & Pineapple Awards
The Salute to Excellence Awards will take place on Saturday, February 6, 2016 at 6:00 PM at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. The awards dinner will recognize all Pineapple Award, Scholarship, and Hospitality Excellence Awards recipients as well as ProStart Competition winners. All ProStart instructors, ProStart competition team members, and award recipients receive a complimentary ticket to the dinner.
CLICK HERE to register for the Salute to Excellence Awards dinner and/or to submit a student’s name for the Hospitality Excellence Award. This is a two-fold entry form. The first section is an RSVP to the dinner itself. In the second section, you can name your top ProStart student for the Hospitality Excellence Award. You may select your Hospitality Excellence Award recipient using your own criteria, however the selected student should be pursuing a culinary or hospitality career. This student will be recognized with a certificate during the awards dinner. Only one student per school may receive the Hospitality Excellence Award. The deadline to register to attend the awards dinner and to recognize a student is Friday, January 8, 2016.
Anyone may nominate ProStart teachers they feel deserve this recognition using the following criteria:
-
ProStart Teacher must have taught the ProStart curriculum at least one year
NOMINATION DEADLINE: Friday, January 8, 2016
NEED EXTRA SALUTE TICKETS?
Additional tickets may be purchased in advance for $60. No tickets will be sold on site this year. To purchase additional tickets with a credit card CLICK HERE.
Tickets may also be purchased by checks made payable to FRLAEF and mailed to:
FRLAEF
PO Box 1779
Tallahassee, FL 32302
All ticket payments must be received by the FRLAEF no later than January 29, 2016 to guarantee a seat at the Salute Awards dinner.
Mini Grants Awarded
The FRLAEF awarded over $87,000 to 119 schools ProStart and HTMP schools. Everyone who applied and met the criteria were awarded Mini Grant dollars. Award emails were sent from Laura Rumer (laura@frla.org) in early October. If you applied for a Mini Grant and did not receive your award email, please let Laura know.
Mini Grant funds must be spent by Friday, December 11, 2015. The FRLAEF can purchase your Mini Grant items if you send us a link. You may also have a company bill us directly or we can reimburse you or the school. Please let us know if you need help with your Mini Grant order.
Hospitality Industry Internships Awarded
Congratulations to the following ProStart teachers who were awarded a Hospitality Industry Internship. These instructors have until the end of March to work 40 hours in the foodservice industry. Once their work experience is complete, the FRLAEF will provide the instructors a stipend of $600.
Debra Hladky, Leto High School
Dennis Aubry, Hardee High School
James Bradwell, East Gadsden High School
Ken Pitts, East Ridge High School
Krister Bjorn, Palatka High School
Lana Tillman, Stranahan High
Lisa Rivard-Bowman, Key West High School
Lorie Savoca, Flagler Palm Coast High School
Melissa Mosby, Dunnellon High School
Robert L. Pearce Jr., Lancaster Correctional Institution
Scott Goodman, J.P. Taravella High School
Suzanne Sheffield, Lecanto High School
ProStart Students Around the State and In the News!
The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) held their annual awards gala last month in Orlando. Thank you to South Lake High School ProStart students for creating 1500 themed desserts for the event!
Tarpon Springs High School ProStart students team up with Sonny’s BBQ in a special competition. Story here.
Chipotle’s Culinary Classroom Series
Chipotle is partnering with high school culinary programs to share some of the techniques they use at Chipotle everyday through a series of curated culinary videos.
The video series is part of their commitment to changing the way people think about and eat fast food—an effort that requires fresh ingredients, classical cooking techniques and exceptionally trained people, like the ones whose skills you’re sharpening every day.
For an interactive pdf that contains direct links to the videos, CLICK HERE. There are four culinary videos including Knife Skills, Mise en Place, Managing a Kitchen, and Tasting and Understanding Flavors.
NRAEF Data Collection (Fall Survey)
The ProStart Data Collection has begun! Emails were sent to all schools from ProStartProgramInfo@westat.com. If you did not receive your email, check your junk/spam folder. None of the emails bounced back.
If you have not completed the Survey, please consider doing so. It takes about 3-5 minutes and helps us and the NRAEF know how to meet needs for the ProStart programs in Florida.
Your Students Can Apply For a Burger King Scholarship
The requirements to become a BURGER KING℠ Scholar are simple. You must apply within the application period, and fit the prerequisites below:
- Have a strong academic record with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0,
- Be passionate about serving the community, and
- Be a high school senior, BURGER KING® employee, spouse/domestic partner or child of an employee.
CLICK HERE for all information and online application. Application deadline is December 15, 2015.
High school students should be graduating seniors with plans to attend a four-year accredited university in the U.S. BK® employees can further their education by using the scholarship for non-degree courses such as accounting, computer or language courses.
If you want to go a step further, the McLamore Family Foundation created the James W. McLamore WHOPPER® Scholarship Award, granting a $50,000 scholarship to three students each year since 2011. The four-year scholarship is intended to help the top students that apply achieve their educational and professional goals, along with serving as a tribute to Jim himself. Details at link.
Chef’s Warehouse November Special
PLACEMATS (CLICK HERE)
Contact Luanna Skeens for options and pricing:
lskeens@chefs-warehouse.com • 7200 W Colonial Drive • Orlando • FL • 32818 P: 407.294.0300 • F: 407.294.8565
TWO THINGS FROM NRAEF
BACK-TO-SCHOOL BEST PRACTICE: Have your students register at the ProStart website early in the school year to begin keeping track of the hours they put in on the job, at school-based enterprises or in relevant volunteer/service positions. Students can “count” hours earned up to one year prior to their initial ProStart exam when applying for a ProStart National Certificate of Achievement (COA).
CURRICULUM CORRECTIONS: NRAEF has found two errors in Appendix A of the Foundations textbooks (Level 1-page 807 and Level 2-page 761). The appendix, “Staying in Touch with the National Restaurant Association throughout your Career” references a “special program scholarship for ProStart students who earn the National Certificate of Achievement.” While additional points are awarded on scholarship applications to students who have or will earn their COA, there is no special “COA scholarship.” Check the Scholarships page on the NRAEF website regularly to learn what scholarships are available and the deadline for applications, which change each year. The appendix also references a student membership in the National Restaurant Association. While many states have student memberships, the National Restaurant Association does not.
ServSafe Materials
Each Premier and Full ProStart program are 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 $43,000 worth of free ProStart Exam Scantrons to Premier and Full ProStart schools during the 2015-2016 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.
The 20th Annual ProStart Teacher Training Institute will take place June 19-24, 2016. 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 2016-2017 school year. Attendees will be responsible for their travel and some meals.
REGISTRATION
Online registration will begin in the Spring.