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CONTACTS:
Bob
Dunton, Superintendent
Phone: 503-695-3621
Randy Trani,
Principal
Phone: 503-695-3612
Corbett schools cook up win/win
Corbett students in a new culinary arts program are earning certification and fulfilling service-learning requirements as they prepare lunch for many of their 600 fellow students and staff.
A tight budget led Corbett to say goodbye to home economics six years ago. Facing the loss of $500,000 in Multnomah County taxes, the Corbett School Board began planning to spend the $65,000 they paid for foodservice on a student-run lunch program that would directly educate students in culinary arts as it fulfilled students’ service-learning requirements. The board modeled its program on a successful 12-year-old Auburn, Wash., student-run lunch program, and with community support, they retained their food service manager to oversee student compliance with state and federal requirements and hired a culinary arts teacher.
This fall, about 30 students armed with food-handlers cards began culinary arts classes that will lead to national food-service-preparation certification that could be a direct path to entry-level employment. The culinary arts teacher supervises students through four hour-long classes during which food is prepped and cooked to be served by yet another class. Topics for the 10th, 11th and 12th graders include nutrition, menu-planning, ordering and receiving as well as cooking.
“We immediately had more students request the class than we had room for,” said Superintendent Bob Dunton. “The students, the board, the community and the staff are all excited about this program.
In a single kitchen that serves a couple of shifts of meals out two sides to Corbett’s elementary, middle and high school students and staff, it all has to run like a well-oiled machine.
And Corbett students are up to the task. A small district with about 200 advanced placement seats in its high school, Corbett has 180 AP students and often receives transfers from nearby Multnomah County high schools because of its outstanding academic program.
“This was a change,” said Dunton, “but we’re used to change. In the past seven years, we’ve had to lay off 30 percent of our staff. The culinary arts program was seen by staff, students and the community as a good change.”
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