Welcome Parents & Students!

          Hello, my name is Cheryl Brown.  I teach Family and Consumer Science at Port Allegany High School.  I graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics Education.  I began my teaching career in Emporium, PA, at Cameron County High School in August, 1968.  At the end of the year, a teaching position opened in Port Allegany High School.  I was hired for the fall term in 1969.  I taught Home Economics until 1971 when I resigned to accompany my husband who was stationed with the Navy in Charleston, SC.  We were there for five years; at which time, we returned to Port Allegany.  I was a substitute teacher from 1976 to 1983.  We were then stationed in Scotland at the Holy Loch Naval Submarine Base in Sandbank, Scotland.  We were there for two years.  When we returned to the United States, we were stationed in New London, CT.  We stayed there until 1994.  I returned to Port Allegany in the summer and began substituting again at the high school until I was hired full-time in 2000.

                Family and Consumer Science encompasses a number of disciplines; Financial and Resource Management, Balancing Family, Work, and Community Responsibility, Food Science and Nutrition, and Child Development.  I offer many classes that include those disciplines.  Vocational FCS students get at least nine weeks of each of these disciplines.  Ninth grade learns how to cope with new things and how to get along in the world, how to sew a simple pattern, how to understand children and their development, how to manage money, and how to cook desserts.  Tenth grade learns how to deal with relationships and families, how to sew something a little more difficult, how to take care of children in the preschool to elementary ages, how to budget and do taxes, and how to cook soups, casseroles and breads.  Eleventh grade learns how to live and get along in families, how to sew something a little more difficult (zipper), how to manage credit, and how to cook foods from the regions of the United States and Canada.  Twelfth grade learns how to take care of families and elderly family members, how to sew something a little more difficult (buttonholes), how to invest money and insurance, and how to cook food from around the world.  Seventh grade learns nutrition and how to prepare breakfast, lunch, and snacks; and how to sew a fleece hat.  I also offer elective courses in Money $mart, Child Development, Family Foods, Food and Nutrition (desserts), Interior Design Housing, Advanced Sewing, and International Cuisine.