Culinary Arts Academy students at Booker T. Washington High School have stepped up to fill several open positions working in their school’s cafeteria this fall.
At a time when Food Services is having difficulty filling a number of vacancies across the district, Elizabeth Gilmore and her Culinary Arts Academy students are able to assist in preparing meals for BTWHS students each day.
This collaboration between the BTWHS Culinary Arts Academy and the BTWHS Cafeteria was born several years ago, as Jaleena Davis, School Food Services Director, and Kay Johnson, Coordinator School Food Services Operations shared their need for more food service workers. ECSD Workforce Education Specialist Aisha Adkison partnered with Food Services staff to develop the workforce pipeline for this opportunity.
Today, there are nine BTWHS Culinary Arts Academy students who are participating in paid on-the-job training positions in the cafeteria at Washington.
“My students were thrilled with the opportunity to work in the cafeteria. They are able to earn both school credit and a paycheck at the same time, which they find amazing,” remarked BTWHS Culinary Arts Academy teacher Elizabeth Gilmore. “ I had one student share with me this morning the sense of pride she felt making her first purchase with the money she earned from her first job. I truly believe this is an opportunity that will help them be more successful in their future careers.”
The participating students are fourth year Culinary Arts Academy students, and seven of them are ServSafe certified, which is a management level food certification.
