Be An Advisor

Teachers who serve as FPS advisors are often the ones that students remember long after graduation. They have access to a range of resources to motivate students, enhance the classroom experience, and bring lessons to life. Our NYFPS community of education professionals also enables advisors to exchange ideas among colleagues, share resources, and network as well as participate in professional development.

THE REASONS

YOUR PHILOSOPHY

RESPONSIBILITIES

Reasons

Schools should integrate FPS into their curriculum to cultivate a generation of forward-thinking individuals equipped to tackle the multifaceted challenges of the future.

By participating in FPS, students not only develop essential 21st-century skills but also gain a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of global issues. This experiential learning approach complements classroom instruction by providing students with hands-on opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios. Additionally, FPS encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, bridging the gap between various subjects and fostering a holistic approach to problem-solving. Through FPS, students learn to navigate ambiguity, think critically, and communicate effectively, skills that are indispensable for success in both academic and professional areas.

- Jennifer Ferrarelli

5th Grade Teacher

Reasons To Become A FPS Advisor

Becoming a FPS advisor has benefits which directly impact the teachers, their students, their classrooms, their schools, and their local communities.

Access To Resources To Bring Your Classroom To Life

Bring lessons to life in your classroom with FPS.
FPS provides advisors with a problem solving framework, educational content, and virtual resources including The Problem Solving Experience: Classroom Curriculum, annual topics, future scenes, On-Site Training, and the Curriculum Supplement component.
Offer the educational benefits of the FPS program to your students. Learn more about the educational value proposition here.
Extend learning beyond the classroom by applying concepts to real world scenarios and implementing the framework in the local community.

Connect FPS To Your Curriculum

Support your students' learning by enriching your teaching with FPS.
FPS helps align your program with Common Core State Standards Initiative, STEM, and the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Gifted Education Programming Standards in addressing the major educational competencies of the 21st Century.
FPS provides support for students to practice their collaboration and leadership skills by incorporating project management / team work into the curriculum.
FPS also promotes the development presentation skills.
Integrate FPS activities that teach or reinforce specific career and academic standards as well as important 21st Century Skills.

Create A Small Motivated Community

Motivate your students while preparing them for college as well as their careers.
Generate opportunities through visibility and recognition to your school.
Empower your students to practice effective leadership through being on the leadership team of a club through an executive board structure.
Communicate curriculum standards and the value of involvement in NYFPS to counselors and administrators to build support for your classes and program.
Incorporate the spark of competition through participation in NYFPS competitive components which will drive your students to excel and improve their performance.

Advance Your Professional Development

Access the opportunities for professional development and career advancement through participation in NYFPS.
NYFPS offers trainings, resources, and networking and information sharing opportunities to help advisors maximize their effectiveness in the classroom.
Bring recognition to your educational contributions at your school and within your local community.
Demonstrate and reinforce your initiative as well as entrepreneurship through implementation of a successful NYFPS team or club.
Learn and hone management skills through the effective management of a team or club as an advisor.

Build Your Professional Network

Engage in our professional education community.
Instantly become part of a network of thousands of FPS education colleagues across the globe who incorporate the FPS framework in their teaching.
Enjoy a more local network local to your region within New York, expand your reach across the state, or exchange ideas with peers abroad.
NYFPS offers a comprehensive program designed to support new advisors.

Become The Teacher Who Makes A Lifelong Impact

Offer life changing experiences to your students.
Unlock opportunities for your students through unforgettable learning experiences, travel, and scholarships; all the while preparing for college and their future careers.
FPS students are ambitious, creative, and high-achieving leaders equipped to reach for their aspirations.
Recognizing the benefit of service and responsibility to the community, FPS students continually make an impact and improve their communities.
FPS students are empowered through experience to provide effective leadership through effective communication, consensus building, and project management.

Read > Educators' Guide

Educators require an effective model to teach critical and creative thinking, problem solving, and decision-making. Learn more about the education value proposition and how students can benefit from FPS.

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Develop Your Philosophy

One of the first considersations in serving as a FPS advisor is thinking about how you will integrate FPS into your teaching and classroom. It is important to develop a philosophy that integrates your role as an educator, the role as a coach, the purpose of FPS, and the responsibilities of your students. Utilize this philosophy as a guide to how you approach advising your team or club and integration of FPS in your classroom.

You may want to consider some of these questions as you are developing your philosophy:

How will you integrate FPS into the classroom and apply learning for students?
How will you incorporate aspects in your program to help students become academically prepared, community oriented, effective communicators, and experienced leaders?
How will your application of FPS align with your school, state, and national educational initiatives?
How will you brand and promote your FPS team or club?
What are your goals and what you hope to achieve with FPS?
How are you preparing your students for the next grades, college, and careers?

Philosophy

An Advisor's Role And Responsibilities

Many of the responsibilities of serving as a NYFPS advisor support the work you are already doing as a teacher in the classroom. As an advisor, you will use FPS' program to help you as a teacher both in and outside of the classroom to:

Align your curriculum with the National Curriculum Standards, Common Core State Standards Initiative, and the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Gifted Education Programming Standards.
Facilitate teaching of 21st Century Skills to your students.
Integrate activities that help students learn or reinforce specific career and academic standards.
Engage your students in a small group learning environment.
Provide your students with opportunities for development of leadership skills.
Communicate curriculum standards and the value-add of participation in NYFPS to school administrators and counselors to build support for your classes and FPS program.

Additionally, there are roles and responsibilities you may take on as a NYFPS advisor as you develop as well as maintain a FPS team or club. These are opportunities for you to hone existing skills, learn new skills, and demonstrate your ability in a range of competencies. Here are some of the roles you may serve in as an advisor:

Leader

Develop and implement FPS program at the school with meaningful outcomes and executes administrative tasks.
Manage the long term development of the FPS program at the school.
Identify specific roles and responsibilities for student leaders.
Serve as role model for students to learn essential leadership skills.
Understand students' strengths and fit for participation in components.
Create an annual strategic plan.
Implement a systematic communication strategy to ensure all parties such as students, administrators, and parents are involved.
Maintain team or club records including student participation roster, fundraising, emergency contacts, and etc.

Fundraiser

Plan and execute fundraising activities for your school's FPS program.
Identify the level of support your school administration may provide for a FPS program and learn the process for application for funds.
Budget for required and potential expenses of running your FPS program annually.
Monitor expenses and establish processes manage the payment of expenses.
Plan and execute sales projects integrated with selling standards.
Develop strategies to fundraise around specific events such as the NYFPS State Conference.
Coordinate the use of fundraising efforts to apply learning.
Mobilize community of supporters to assist in efforts such as parents.

Coordinator

Provide a reliable bridge for all stakeholders involved in your school FPS program.
Interact with the NYFPS organization and communicate relevant information to appropriate parties.
Develop learning opportunities relating to FPS' annual topics by involving guest speakers or experts on subject areas for students' research.
Identify opportunities for students to become engaged within the community to solve problems utilizing the FPS method.
Involve other educators or administrators in various advisory roles.
Become the nexus for students, administrators, community leaders, and parents regarding all FPS activities at your school.

Travel Organizer

Remain aware of potential travel required for participation in NYFPS State Conference, International Conference, as well as other events your FPS team or club may attend.
Develop an understanding of school travel policies and procedures.
Proactively plan through all aspects of student travel as well as prepare for potential surprises.
Demonstrate to students, administrators, and parents how the conference or event aligns with your curriculum.
Utilize travel opportunities as learning activities.
Obtain necessary permission for travel ahead of event.
Organize all logistics around travel and the participating students.
Communicate itinerary clearly to all parties ahead of travel.

Competitor

Integrates NYFPS' competitive components into the classroom and use them as measures of students' mastery of concepts.
Identify key strengths within students and areas for improvement to provide targeted training.
Assign roles to students based on their passion and ability related to each competitive component as well as understand team compatibility.
Ensure student team cohesion and promote team spirit through team building exercises.
Set achievable goals and measurable target milestones.
Review standards and relevant performance indicators from evaluations.
Integrate preparation and training with classroom instruction.

Marketer

Positions the NYFPS program in a thoughtful way to students, administrators, parents, and the community.
Formulate a coherent message and marketing strategy to demonstrate the value of FPS.
Identify specific target audiences and opportunities for visibility.
Develop and execute a marketing plan to generate FPS enrollment and enthusiasm within your school.
Communicate the impact NYFPS has on the local community and students.
Establish a systematic public relations and press approach.
Highlight your FPS team or club as a community partner through students' participation in community service projects and other events.