10th-12th Grade Family Consumer Science/Food Safety Nutrition Teacher in Springdale, AR – Springdale High School
2023-24 Fellow: Courtney Cummings is a 10-12th grade Family and Consumer Science Teacher at Springdale High School in Arkansas. This is Courtney’s third year teaching and first year at Springdale High School. She became interested when she learned about how Pilot Light gives learning opportunities to students. She looks forward to implementing more about nutrition, where food comes from, and how food impacts our overall health. Courtney has a bachelors in Hospitality Administration from Arkansas Tech University and a Masters in Teaching Learning and Leadership also from Arkansas Tech University. She has taught Family Consumer Science for 2 years previously and continuously taught about food and nutrition. She chose to teach Family and Consumer Science because she loves how applicable it is to real life and she enjoys sharing her passion for food with her students and collogues.
Favorite Food Education Standard: FES #1: Food Connects Us to Each Other.
FES #1 resonates the most with me since I am at a diverse school and many students eat a wide variety of foods. Often times, we feel so different from others, but once we start cooking and eating, we realize we have more similarities than differences.
A Favorite Food Memory or Recipe:
My favorite memory from a culinary lab I have taught so far is the first time I taught students how to make homemade pasta noodles and sauce. This was meaningful to me since many students eat this processed versions of pasta and think it is healthy. We made much healthier alternatives from scratch and students enjoyed the taste and experience much more.
Why I Became a Fellow:
I am most excited to bring new experiences to Springdale High School for my students to diversify their food knowledge.
