With a strong school-to-work orientation, teacher Spankie Lou Bassett's competency-based Culinary Arts program at Bernalillo High School in Bernalillo provides students with professional experience for future employment. Through the Campus Café and Bakery, Mrs. Bassett's students learn how to manage a successful business as they serve weekly meals and cater school and community functions. Students working in the Campus Bakery receive professional training through concurrent enrollment at the Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute. Since 1995, when she began the program, enrollment has increased five-fold. Mrs. Bassett's school-to-work approach to teaching Family and Consumer Science has made her a frequent speaker and workshop presenter at the local, state, regional and national levels.
