ILAFCS Updates

This month’s member spotlight is Nicki Mullenix. She is currently teaching middle school FACS at Madison Junior High and Jefferson Junior High in Naperville. This is her 14th year of teaching and 4th year in District #203. She teaches 6th, 7th, and 8th grade FACS which is mostly made up of Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship, and Culinary and Nutrition. This year the curriculum is new in each grade level. 8th grade is entirely Entrepreneurship and focuses on problem solving, pitch presentations, product development, and sales. The curriculum is the middle school version of the high school Incubator program. Nicki is planning to put an FACS spin on the curriculum. Nicki has served on the board for just one year as the board member-at-large. She enjoys being a part of ILAFCS as it gives her a wonderful opportunity to network with other FACS teachers in the community.

Outside of work, Nicki enjoys sewing and golfing. She also enjoys traveling when she can, sometimes to far off places but more often to Disney World. You can always find her listening to a good true crime podcast or an audiobook. She is dedicated and passionate about teaching the next generation Family and Consumer Sciences.

Our very own President, Dawn Oler, was selected as a grant recipient for the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research Program. She will be going to Finland to study and research what the U.S. can learn about how teaching is promoted as a profession. Dawn's passion for education has been evident since she started teaching 19 years ago. Her educational journey has previously lead her to Africa and now she will get to share that passion in another country overseas. From January 2024 to June 2024, Dawn will be pursuing her research at the University of Eastern Finland's Joensuu Campus.

The Fulbright Teacher Exchanges mission is to work with educators from around the world to "develop their educational practice and bring global knowledge, skills and perspectives to their schools". Only 10% of the proposals for the 2023-2024 Fulbright DA program were awarded. This prestigious program will allow Dawn to collaborate with educators from all over the world while she pursues her research. Once her time in Finland is up, she will then be able to bring her findings and new connections home to share with her colleagues, our community and students.

Congratulations to our President!

There are several FCS positions still open in Illinois and surrounding states. Collectively, we need to brainstorm ways to recruit future teachers to our field. How are you promoting our field to your students? Consider leading a conversation with your colleagues on this topic and then share out with your students! Let's recruit the best to work in this important field.

• An online subscription to our official publication, the Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences. Visit this page to set up your online account.
  
• Access to our archived library of more than 80+ learning webinars. Learn more here.
  
• You're also a member of our state affiliate. Participating in affiliate events will help you maximize your membership value! Check out our website or Facebook page to see what’s going on.
  
• You'll also want to bookmark the AAFCS Calendar of Events, which has info on national and affiliate events related to AAFCS and the FCS field, including the AAFCS Annual Conference & Expo, a can't miss event for future FCS professionals!
  
• An immediate benefit available to you is access to insurance savings on student educator, auto, and even pet insurance through AAFCS' partnership in the Trust for Insuring Educators. And, discounts from national companies like Hertz. You can explore these savings and more by signing into MyAAFCS, our online member portal.
  
• If you're seeking a new job in FCS or a related field, be sure to check out the FCS Career Connection, our national job board. We also list openings as we become aware of them, in the state of Illinois, on our ILAFCS Facebook page.

Critical Science Academy

• The Critical Science Academy is an essential experience for all who are dedicated to the current and future work of Family & Consumer Sciences. This self-directed online program has 8 modules. Each module uses the FCS Critical Science perspective to promote reasoning for action needed to address critical social issues. With this unified understanding, we will have a greater impact for supporting the individuals, families, and communities we serve.
  
• Additionally, five ZOOM workshops will be held to facilitate further discussion and action. The ZOOM workshops will be recorded for on-demand viewing at a later date.
  
• It’s not too late! You still have time to REGISTER! Click here to learn more!

AAFCS hired a new Executive Director, Karin Athanas in August. Watch this video to 'meet' our new director. Karin said, “I am honored to be joining this prestigious organization and am looking forward to engaging with members of this community and advancing the work of Family and Consumer Sciences.”

Have you received a grant for something FCS related? Please share a link, describe the process and how you obtained the grant. There are so many out there and we'd like to showcase them on our website in one place. Click here to share.