Why FPS?
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:
- The need for independence
- Lack of confidence
- Anxiety
- Miscommunication
- Lack of vision.
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:
- Learning through success & failure
- Working within diverse teams
- Independent learning
- Accepting challenges & taking risks
- Innovative thinking
- Process & investigation
- Persistence, grit & entrepreneurial spirit
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 Flagler Palm Coast High School 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 is retiring this year, and we want to thank her for her vision and commitment to excellence that established
and maintained the FPS program for so many years!
2019 has been another great year for FPS and CmPS students in Flagler County schools! The following summary of results from the 2019 Florida FPS Affiliate Competition shows just how seriously Flagler
Schools takes FPS competition!
A total of 332 students attended the Florida FPS Affiliate competition from six different schools (Flagler Palm Coast High School, Indian Trails Middle School, Buddy Taylor Middle School, Rymfire
Elementary School, Bunnell Elementary School & Old Kings Elementary School)
These Flagler Schools students brought home a total of 236 awards, including one "Best Writer" and four CmPS "Grand Champion" projects.
A total of 72 students from three schools received invitations to compete at the 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.
Andy Dance - Flagler County School Board / Parent / FPS Booster
(1) Entreprenuer.com - https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/305852
(2) TrevorMuir.com - http://www.trevormuir.com/new-blog-avenue/soft-skills
2019 FPS State Affiliate Competition Results!
2019 has been another great year for FPS and CmPS students in Flagler County schools!
- A total of 332 students attended the Florida FPS Affiliate competition from six different schools (Flagler Palm Coast High School, Indian Trails Middle School, Buddy Taylor Middle School, Rymfire Elementary School, Bunnell Elementary School & Old Kings Elementary School)
- These Flagler Schools students brought home a total of 236 awards, including one “Best Writer” and four CmPS “Grand Champion” projects.
- A total of 72 students from three schools received invitations to compete at the FPSPI International Competition in June at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.
Adobe Acrobat document [71.5 KB]
2019 FPS State Affiliate Competition - March 17-20, 2019
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.
A breakdown of the six schools and 332 students attending the 2019 Florida FPS Affiliate Competition from the Flagler County School District
Flagler Schools FPS students invited to [...]
Adobe Acrobat document [282.7 KB]
FPS "Flocking season" is year-round!
Click on the link to go to the "Flocking" page and order your flocking today!
future problem solving teaches these important, real-life skills!
2018 international competition summary
Flagler Schools FPS students win big at 2018 State Competition
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.
FINAL 2017 FL fps State Competition results now posted!
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.
2017 FL State Competition winners by sch[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [215.1 KB]
2017 Flagler FPS District winners heading to state competition!
The following is a summary of Flagler County School District students (categorized by school) that excelled at the recent Future Problem Solving (FPS) District competition and have been invited to participate in the Florida FPS Program State Competition to be held March 26-29th at the DoubleTree Resort in Orlando.
Flagler Schools FPS students invited to [...]
Adobe Acrobat document [422.9 KB]
Welcome to our website.
Thank you for visiting FlaglerFPS.com. Along with our Facebook page, this is the central communication portal for our FPS students, parents and coaches throughout the Flagler School District.
Our first goal for 2015 is getting as many of our eligible students to the International Competition in Ames, Iowa this summer as possible. District policy does not allow for student and coach expenses for international competitions to come out of the District’s general fund, so fundraising is a critical issue for the FPS students, families and coaches.
The more dollars this group can raise, the less it will cost each student out of their family’s pocket. FPSP of Flagler County was created with this annual expense in mind. We understand that one county-wide fundraising entity will be more successful in fundraising than 10 separate entities all competing against each other for the same limited funding sources.
Thank you again for visiting, and please take a look around our site. Please consider a donation or sponsorship. Our school district leaders and 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 around the world this summer!
PLATINUM SPONSOR:
GOLD SPONSORS:
American Legion - Post 115 Palm Coast, FL
State FPS Organization:
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