Ms. Cynthia Reynold’s Culinary Arts Program Models How Teachers and Staff are Working Together to Prepare Students for Successful Careers

Ms. Cynthia Reynolds helping students understand what quick breads and cake batters are how they are prepared, as well as why icings are used and what the various types of icings are. Want to see more? Look at School Spotlights oon the WGHS home page to see some great smiling faces!!!

Students in Ms. Cynthia Reynolds' Culinary Arts 2, 3, and 4 classes recently explored techniques related to applying principles of food science in cooking and baking techniques, and as the term progresses they will be doing a lot more than this. Of course these students are gaining needed knowledge of a variety of foods, key skills in recipe reading, food preparation, and sanitation, as well as how to handle knives and operate specialized equipment. But perhaps even more importantly they are learning firsthand how to relate their creative brains to getting a job done—associating long valued personal qualities like stamina, organization, and the ability to work under pressure and function as a team member--with being a successful employee.

The WGHS Culinary Arts program provides enrolled students with the skills and knowledge necessary to attain industry certification in both ServSafe and ProStart curricula, certifications that can lead to getting a job right out of high school with a salary of $30,000 or higher. In addition, students are exposed to the virtual wealth of jobs available for culinary arts specialists. Students who graduate from this intensive program of studies learn that they can work anywhere food is served, including restaurants, resorts, hotels, cruise ships, and airlines--or alternately they can become a valued employee in a field like health care, business, and industry. But there is even more opportunity for the taking at WGHS than this. Currently, WGHS students can choose from coursework designed to support Public Safety, Engineering, Agritechnology, Horticulture Science and Services, Finance, Early Childhood Education, and Multimedia Design. All of these valuable career programs are currently available at West Gadsden High School, and all are central to the vision of West Gadsden High School's effort to ensure that all students who graduate are career, college, and civic ready.