Muskego High School Electives Will Update 'Home Ec'

Considered by many to be the class historically taken by girls to learn homemaking skills, foods class will be getting an update at Muskego High School.

A recommendation to rename the class to 'culinary arts' came at Monday night's school board meeting, and includes a component where local restaurants may work with students to provide literal on-the-job training and serve as resources for students. Students can earn 'serve safe' certifications when partnering with restaurants, and team members at MHS said that local establishments likeand the had already expressed interest in participating in the program.

The new course will be part of the 'ProStart Program, which is a two-year industry based program that prepares students for careers in the restaurant and food service industry. Students in the program are hired for internships by qualified food service operators.

"This is a program that 75 other school districts in the state, and about 2,000 students are already a part of," explained Tammy Gibbons, director of school performance said.

In addition, modifications to the current 'independent living' course was approved, and will be renamed 'financial independence.'

"Our department has been teaching the consumer about financial literacy for years and with the recent economic downfall we feel there is an urgency to let our community know that as a school of choice we have a financial literacy course available to our students," the memo from staff explained.

The course modifications will take place in the 2012-2013 school year.