October--the Month of Food, Fun, and Careers
The month of October is filled with fun holidays that relate to the four endorsements that are available in Forney ISD for high school students in planning for their future readiness. The four endorsement areas are STEM, Business and Industry, Public Service, and Arts and Humanities. The days celebrate different elements of the culinary arts – pasta, coffee, dessert, vegetarian; areas of art and humanities – poetry, writing, books; different finance careers in business and industry – fair trade month and retirement security week; and in public service, different types of medical professionals – pharmacy tech, medical assistant, physician’s assistant; and different careers in education – teachers, coaches, and mathematics. How does the Forney Education Foundation fit into all of these different career pathways? By funding grant requests from teachers in all of these various educational areas, FEF gives the students in Forney ISD the extras that their teachers have researched to add to the classroom experience. From classroom novel sets in middle school English classes to mannequin blood pressure arms for medical assistant classes, the Foundation has funded these requests and have seen the students use these to learn skills that are directly applicable to being certified in their respective fields. Career and Technical Education certifications give students not only an opportunity for immediate employment, but they are also a way for students to begin earning and potentially paying for higher level education to further their career choices.