St. Francis Indian School Receives Grant from Rachel Ray

St. Francis Indian School at St. Francis, SD, is one of 48 high schools across the country to receive a $5,000 Rachael Ray Foundation ProStart Grow Grant for its ProStart culinary career and technical education (CTE) program.

The school will use the funds to equip their ProStart classroom with necessary cooking and prep equipment.

“ProStart is a great career-readiness and life skill opportunity for our students,” said HoneyBeth Miralpes, CTE Instructor at St. Francis Indian School. “These dollars will absolutely help provide the tools needed to properly train our students for a future in the food service industry.”

ProStart’s emphasis on hands-on learning and mentorship, means ProStart students emerge from the high school program ready to work in a professional kitchen or advance to higher education.

ProStart is administered by the National Restaurant Association; there are more than 2,000 schools across the nation that offer the program. In South Dakota, there are 25 high school programs.

Seanna Regynski, Education Coordinator for the South Dakota Retailers Association, organizes the ProStart program in state.
“It’s such a fun part of my job,” said Regynski. “The kids who go through the two-year program are so impressive and a legitimate benefit to the restaurant industry when they enter the workforce.”

The South Dakota Retailers Association is a highly-respected trade organization that represents the interests of 4,000 retail, trade, and hospitality businesses throughout the state.

The National Restaurant Association is the largest foodservice trade association in the world representing and advocating on behalf of the restaurant industry.