Education Professions students attended the Indiana FCCLA State Conference February 29th - March 2nd. This year's conference was held at the Horizon Convention Center in Muncie, Indiana. FCCLA stands for Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America. There are four career pathways within FCCLA: Human Services, Hospitality and Tourism, Education and Training, and Visual Arts and Design. The Education Professions program serves the local two chapters within the Education and Training pathway. Early in the year, each chapter holds elections. This years officers were as follows:
Junior Chapter
President - Rylee Miller (NC)
VP - Makenzie (Kenzie) Clark (NC)
Secretary - Elaina Catron (NC)
Treasurer - Annie Hay (NC)
Senior Chapter
President - Mireya Guerrero (NC)
VPs - Sophia Thurnam (NC) and Alllison Dickerson (KHS)
Secretary - Kendra Brown (NC)
Treasurer - Ashlyn Bell
Throughout the year, students work on various projects and competitive events in preparation for the annual state conference. State Projects included Focus on the Basics, Beyond the Basics, Lesson Planning, Childhood Healthy Snack, and Lesson Planning. The two chapters also had 7 students participate in STAR events. STAR stands for Students Taking Action with Recognition. STAR events have several guidelines and culminate in delivering a presentation in front of conference judges. The top STAR event presentation within each category qualifies for nationals (held this year in Seattle, Washington). The following students represented our chapters well in their STAR event delivery:
Senior, Ashlyn Bell - earned silver for Focus on Children
Senior, Kendra Brown - earned silver for Teach or Train
Junior, Rylee Miller - earned gold for Teaching Strategies (National Alternate)
Juniors Carson Erwin, Lauren Parrish, and Carly Smith - earned gold for Nutrition and Wellness (National Qualifiers)
Junior, Kenzie Clark - earned silver for Teaching Strategies
Junior, Bailey Stearns - earned silver for Early Childhood
The highest recognition is called the Ultimate Leadership Degree. In order to receive this distinction, students must complete the following: Step 1, Power of One, a state project, STAR event, chapter officer or lead a chapter committee, promote FCCLA, write a 200 word essay, and have an advisor recommendation. This year we had four recipients:
Senior, Ashlyn Bell
Senior, Kendra Brown
Junior, Rylee Miller
Junior, Kenzie Clark
In all, we are extremely proud of all the hard work and professionalism the students demonstrated this year. Special thanks MUST be given to Mrs. Leesa Myers who laid the groundwork for this student organization. She helped get our new chapter off the ground and took time out of retirement to come help the students prepare.
-Melynda Huckeby, Education Careers Teacher, New Castle Career Center
