Washington, DC, June 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Starting last week, over 250 teachers from high schools and career and technical centers across the nation will have the opportunity to hone their culinary and restaurant management instruction skills at the Summer Institutes, a series of weeklong professional development workshops organized by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF).
Hosted by accredited culinary schools across the country, the NRAEF’s Summer Institutes offer educators the opportunity to learn from nationally recognized faculty, network with peers and tour restaurant and foodservice facilities. With five days of instruction, educators learn how to apply their course’s takeaways to their own classrooms to connect thousands of students to the restaurant industry.
"The Foundation’s Summer Institutes offer educators with professional development opportunities specifically to continue to improve as restaurant and foodservice instructors," said Rob Gifford, executive vice president of the NRAEF. "The goal of the training opportunity is to not only prepare our educators for long-term careers, but also prepare the future of the workforce – especially at a time where the number of high school students concentrating in career and technical education has risen 14% over the past decade."
Each year, the Foundation also awards grants to foodservice educators who demonstrate a high level of passion for educating their students and possess a dedication to professional development. The NRAEF awarded $107,000 in grant funding to 63 such educators in 2019 – who in total have a combined 188 years of culinary and foodservice teaching experience in classrooms across the U.S and overseas DoDEA schools.
“My goal is to continue learning a variety of techniques I can use to ensure the success of my students,” said Belinda Prindilus, an educator from Lincoln High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, who received a grant to attend a 2019 Summer Institutes session. “Your generosity is truly appreciated. I plan on applying the teaching pedagogy I learn from the program, in my class… and hope to make long lasting connections with industry professionals.”
Four different workshop Levels – (1) basic, (2) advanced, (3) mastery and the spotlight series, a specialized and challenging course designed to integrate the skillsets learned in Levels 1-3, cover a range of knowledge and skills, from an overview of the restaurant industry and culinary and management essentials to skill mastery, global cuisine and marketing and menu development. This year’s spotlight series will focus on farm-to-plate menus at the New England Culinary Institute.
Educators who complete Levels 1 through 3, and complete additional requirements, are eligible for the NRAEF’s Certified Secondary FoodService Educator (CSFE) Certification.
The workshops will be hosted at top culinary schools and institutions, including Madison College, Mississippi University for Women and New England Culinary Institute. The program is open to everyone, including educators from ProStart, the Foundation’s national career and technical education program teaching nearly 150,000 high school students culinary arts and restaurant management skills and fundamentals.
To learn more about the NRAEF’s Summer Institutes and how you can get help build the next generation of restaurant and foodservice leaders, visit ChooseRestaurants.org.
About the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation
As the philanthropic foundation of the National Restaurant Association, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the industry’s training and education, career development and community engagement efforts. The NRAEF and its programs work to Attract, Empower and Advance today’s and tomorrow’s restaurant and foodservice workforce. NRAEF programs include: ProStart® – a high-school career and technical education program; Restaurant Ready – partnering with community based organizations to provide “opportunity youth” with skills training and job opportunities; Military – helping military servicemen and women transition their skills to restaurant and foodservice careers; Scholarships – financial assistance for students pursuing restaurant, foodservice and hospitality degrees; and, the Hospitality Sector Registered Apprenticeship Project – a partnership with the American Hotel & Lodging Association providing a hospitality apprenticeship program for the industry. For more information on the NRAEF, visit ChooseRestaurants.org.
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