FHS Culinary Arts Programs Boiling With Excitement About New Facility

DSC_0544Most of us remember the required course of home economics from our days in high school. You’d learn the various abbreviations in a recipe, how to properly measure for baking and typically create holiday cookies or various breads for your final project. Students at Frenship High School will not leave with the same skill set that most of us acquired in high school due to the overwhelming success and growth of the Culinary Arts Program available at FHS.

The Culinary Arts Program is lead by Barbara McCrummen and Emily Funk; dedicated individuals who seek to provide their students with a vast knowledge of culinary skills to serve them well beyond graduation. McCrummen, a 35 year educator at FISD, teaches Culinary Arts 1 and 2 where her students learn to follow a recipe in order to prepare meals that are delicious and appealing to the eyes. The students also learn the importance of food safety and sanitation guidelines to properly create the best food.DSC_0542

“Even if they do not pursue culinary further after my class, they have been exposed to skills that they will use as they graduate and leave home – prepare meals for themselves and their families,” said McCrummen.

Weekly the students prepare cookies for the counselor’s Families in Need program and they also enjoy donating cookies to the men and women who sell papers on Sunday throughout Lubbock.

Funk, a second year teacher with FISD teaches Culinary Arts 1, she is the SkillsUSA advisor for the Frenship Family and Consumer Sciences Programs, and she is the Competition Chair for SkillsUSA FCS Department of District 3.

DSC_0459As the Culinary Arts Program continues to grow, so must their space. With the passing of the 2014 Bond Election the Culinary Arts Program is receiving a major upgrade. The department will have commercial cooking equipment that will allow students to learn to prepare meals in a real-world environment.

“Our programs will not only be preparing students for college and teaching them basic recipes anymore,” said Funk. “But we can go deeper into the culinary arts skills and techniques. My goal is to give my students practical, life skills they can take with them when they graduate. If I can inspire a student to cook at home versus driving-through for every meal, I have succeeded.”

The month of February is designated as Career and Technology Education Month®. The goal of this public awareness initiative is to highlight the achievements and successes that CTE Programs across the country are gaining in classrooms each day.