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 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