Entrepeneur.com printed an article describing the top 11 reasons Millenials get fired (1). Blogger Trevor Muir (www.TrevorMuir.com) summarized the top five from the article as:
Essentially, he said, the main reason Millennials get fired is that they can't collaborate, they lack confidence in themselves and their decisions, which can lead to anxiety, they struggle to present and communicate and are not critically thinking to see overall goals and vision (2).
How does the Flagler County School District combat these deficiencies in our students? How do we better prepare students to excel in the workforce?
One solution is teaching students problem-solving skills at an early age and reinforcing them through high school graduation. Recent research (cps.adobeeducate.com) shows that educators and
policymakers agree that tomorrow's jobs will demand creative problem-solving skills. This research identified the following skills as critical to successful creative problem solving:
In Flagler County schools, we teach creative problem-solving and decision-making skills like the ones listed above (and more) through the Future Problem Solving Program (FPS). FPS is an academic program that prepares students for competitive problem-solving. Students apply critical thinking and problem-solving processes to address hypothetical future situations. In Community Problem Solving (CmPS), students take local community issues and apply the same critical thinking and problem-solving methods to develop solutions that benefit the community.
Every March, the Florida Future Problem Solving Program (FLFPSP.org) brings together the affiliate programs from all over the state for two days of competition. Flagler Schools has a strong history
of excellence at the state competition, thanks to former Flagler Palm Coast High School (FPCHS) educator and FPS coach Diane Tomko. Ms. Tomko introduced FPS to the Flagler School District 26 years
ago, as a middle school teacher under the tutelage of Belle Terre Middle School Principal Buddy Taylor. She later brought the program with her to FPCHS, and it has flourished ever since. The program
spread throughout the District and now includes five elementary schools and both middle schools. Ms. Tomko recently retired from the Flagler School district, and we want to thank her for her vision
and commitment to excellence that established and maintained the FPS program for so many years!
The pandemic has been rough on the FPS program. Our students thrive on collaboration and team-building, and the pandemic placed limitations on the program. As we emerge from the pandemic, 2022 has
been great year for FPS and CmPS students in Flagler County schools! Flagler FPS students once again excelled at the Florida FPS Affiliate Competition after a two year absence from face to face
competition due to the pandemic.
Many students received invitations to compete at the 2022 FPSPI International Competition in June at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.
In Flagler Schools, Future Problem Solving isn't just a club. It is not just a tool used by come teachers. In Flagler Schools, FPS is ingrained into the culture of schools. It is part of who we are and how we prepare students to excel in life after high school.
The article above was contributed by Andy Dance, a former Flagler County School Board member and parent of three students that participated in FPS. All three of his children have since graduated high school, but the lessons they learned through FPS helped them navigate college and their currents jobs successfully.
(1) Entreprenuer.com - https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/305852
(2) TrevorMuir.com - http://www.trevormuir.com/new-blog-avenue/soft-skills
2019 has been another great year for FPS and CmPS students in Flagler County schools!
Flagler schools has 332 students attending the 2019 Florida FPS Affiliate Competition in Orlando. Click below for a summary of attendees from each of the six Flagler schools.
April 4, 2018
After months of preparation, over 300 Flagler Schools students traveled to Orlando on March 25-28 to compete at the Future Problem Solvers state competition. The following groups walked away with ribbons, medals and trophies to show their success.
Some of FPS/Community Problem Solvers teams and participants have also been invited to the FPS International Conference on June 6-10, 2018 at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. Those invited are noted below.
Flagler School Board member Andy Dance attended the state competition with students to support and help them. “I’ve been going for a few years, but each year is different,” Dance said. “It’s new teams and new projects. It’s really just very heartwarming to see the students working to improve their community in the CmPS projects and then on the writing skills, just to progress in their skills in FPS.”
Read more from the Palm Coast Observer by clicking the link.
April 4, 2017
The following is a summary of Flagler County School District students (categorized by school) that excelled at the recent Future Problem Solving (FPS) State competition, March 26-29 at the Double Tree Resort in Orlando, Florida. The students highlighted in yellow have been invited to attend the prestigious Future Problem Solving Program International competition in June at the campus of the University of Wisconsin/Lacrosse.
Thank you for visiting FlaglerFPS.com. Future Problem Solving of Flagler County is the central communication portal for our FPS students, parents and coaches throughout the Flagler School District.
The goal for Flagler FPS is to spread awareness of the Future Problem Solving Program in Flagler Schools.
Thank you again for visiting, and please take a look around our site. Our school district leaders and the Flagler community are very proud of our students and coaches and their accomplishments. We want to give them an opportunity to compete against the very best competition from Florida and around the world!