2022 MAFCS Teacher of the Year selected!

Congratulations to Gretchen Lee, the 2022 Minnesota Association of Family and Consumer Sciences teacher of the year!

Gretchen teaches FCS in Badger, ISD #676. She received her secondary education degree with a BA from Central Michigan University. Upon moving to Minnesota, she earned her BS degree for Family and Consumer Sciences from North Dakota State University. Gretchen says being a teacher is her dream job! She believes in respect, rigor, and rapport with her students. Along with teaching FCS, she has an active FCCLA chapter, is the Student Council Adviser, she co-teaches the night -time Early Childhood Family Education program and belongs to the Pine to Prairie Career and Technical Consortium. She’s a member of the school’s Student Assistance Team and Wellness Committee. In 2016, Gretchen received the Kramer Brown Teacher Recognition Award as an exemplary teacher educator. Her superintendent/principal shared that Gretchen’s diverse work and life experiences has enhanced the students learning at their school. Gretchen has strong connections with students, colleagues, and community member!

To read more about her award, please visit our website.

Legislative Session Update - 4/12/21

This week both the House and Senate advanced their respective education omnibus appropriations bills – HF1065 and SF960. HF1065 was heard in the House Tax Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee and will be voted on by the full House on Monday, April 19. SF960 advanced out of Senate Tax committee but is awaiting review by the Senate Finance committee before being voted on by the full Senate sometime next week. Then the conference committee process begins.

Bill summaries

Below are summaries of the House and Senate education omnibus bills as well as education related provisions in other bills.

Senate advances bill directing use of federal funds

On Friday, the Senate Finance Committee discussed a bill outlining their priorities for the use of federal funding Minnesota is expected to receive under the portion of the American Rescue Plan. Minnesota will receive $2.57 billion allocation as part of the State Fiscal Relief Fund and has discretion on the use of these funds.

The proposal directs funding for a number of areas included K12 education -- $100 million is appropriated to address the special education cross subsidy.

MN Management and Budget (MMB) cautioned on moving too quickly and indicated some of the uses outlined in the bill may not be allowed. MMB is still waiting for guidance from the federal government on the use of these funds and asked for a slowing down in advancing this legislation. The House is unlikely to advance a similar proposal but expect overall negotiations on the state budget to include discussion on the use of these federal funds.

The committee did not act on the bill but likely will in the coming weeks.

Next steps

We will be sending a call to action about final negotiations on the education finance bill. We are letting the work of the legislature progress right now and will let you know the right time to engage on funding priorities and which members we need you to reach out to. In the meantime, please do the following:

  • Thank Rep. Jim Davnie (rep.jim.davnie@house.mn) for the strong support and funding in the House bill.

  • Communicate with your local legislators to let them know how the funding proposals in each bill would impact your school district.

MAFCS, TCHC, and FCSP Joint Meeting - April 8th

The MAFCS, TCHC, and FCSP Joint Meeting will be held on Thursday, April 8th via Zoom. Plan to attend this stimulating and educational professional development opportunity. We are excited to have Dr. Julie Jones and Dr. Sujaya Rao as our guest speakers for the evening. PDU and CEU credits will be offered. 

As a 2020-21 FACS member, attending is a membership benefit and complimentary. Invite colleagues or friends that would find the presentations interesting and the Joint Food Insecurity Project inspirational. Guest attendance is complimentary. 

A zoom link for the meeting will be sent out to all members on Tuesday, April 6th.

Schedule

4:35 - 4:45 pm Sign into Zoom

4:45 - 4:55 pm Summary of FCS Action Minnesota Food Insecurity Project

4:55 - 5:00 pm 2021 MAFCS Outstanding Service Award Presentation

5:00 - 6:00 pm Julie Jones, Just the Facts, Ma’am - Food Fictions, Frauds, Factoids, Fallacies, and Fake News

6:00 - 6:10 pm Stretch break and time to grab a beverage or snack

6:10 - 6:15 pm Introduction of organizations

6:15 - 7:15 pm Sujaya Rao, Edible Insects: Food Security, Environmental Stewardship, Business Opportunities

7:15 pm Acknowledgements and Announcements

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FCS in Action: Making an Impact Around the State

The members of MAFCS, TCHC and FCSP are working together to make a great impact across our state from the Twin Cities area to International Falls. Becky Bergmann, a member of all three organizations, shares this update:

It started with an idea and a bucket and grew to over 50 pounds of food and supplies for a family. Three organizations came together for a common cause – food insecurity. And, thanks to everyone in these professional groups, it has, so far, been a resounding success.

Spearheaded by three presidents, MAFCS, TCHC, AND FCSP developed a project, FCS Action, to help families in three areas of the state. Though the goal has been to get food into the hands of those that most desperately need it, as professionals in human ecology, they wanted to give more. Food shelf sources said education was needed as well as recipes for guidance. It was impossible to do in-person demonstrations due to COVID, so resources were collected, recipes developed and printed in a book, as well as handouts with pictures, and a booklet called “Power Up Supper Recipes and Nutrition.” A video was also produced that featured two FACS teachers demonstrating the recipes. A link was sent to each family for viewing.

On January 30th, members for all three organizations, arrived in Monticello and organized and boxed up foods and supplies for 25 families. The Help Center of Monticello hosted us and gave quite a few additional items for our project.  In FCS fashion everyone got right to work getting organized and systematically putting the items together. I think some moved at the speed of light. By the time we were finished we had a CUB box and grocery bag brimming with foods, the bucket (also filled), and a gallon of milk for each recipient. All of us were masked up and did practice social distancing.

For the Monticello portion of this project, a survey was taken, sponsored by the American Heart Association. They provided grant money to help in this project also. All recipients stayed in their cars and our members came to them. Thankfully it was a really pleasant morning outside. Karen Smith and Kathy Norquist problem solved along the way, especially when a few families didn’t show up. All the food was given out by the end of the morning.

On February 20th, the families had a second opportunity to receive food and supplies. The Heart Association wanted portions of the survey repeated as a follow-up. We also provided an incentive for each family. They got a CUB gift card to go with new recipes and over 60 pounds of food.

The stories and hardships of these families are invisible until you get to be there 1:1. It helped me get a better understanding of the many faces of food insecurity. And then to think that this is one small community in one state in one country. It feels overwhelming. But I was so happy that I was able to participate in this project and that our members were reaching out in any way that they could. 

Thank you so much to Karen Smith, Kathy Norquist and Lois Lewis for their leadership and hard work in this collaboration. A special thank you goes to Lars Carlson of the Monticello Help Center, Maree Smith for acting as interpreter for the Spanish speaking families, as well as Karen’s and Kathy’s husbands for their help in packing, loading, and delivering the items.