Courses Offerings for 2023–2024

This introductory level course provides a brief look at an integrated approach to the understanding of the principles of agriculture, including crop management, turf maintenance, environmental sustainability, and resource conservation; along with essential skills required for managing various types of facilities – including equipment and physical infrastructure at both residential and commercial sites. Students will develop a greater understanding of a variety of plants and shrubs and will discuss basic landscaping practices such as planting, pest control, watering, and fertilization as they apply to both farms and facilities. Farming practices will also be discussed, and students will be briefly exposed to the many vocational opportunities associated within the agriculture and facilities sectors including working on a farm, landscaping, property and physical maintenance, shipping, receiving and inventory management. Students will leave this course a very preliminary understanding of OSHA rules and regulations as they pertain to the vocation as well.

This course provides a brief overview to students with regard to the vocation of classroom aide in an early childhood setting. The curriculum covers growth and development from birth to age five and focuses on the fundamentals of physical, social, and emotional development of this age group.

This course provides students with an introductory knowledge and skills necessary to be successful healthcare employees, with an emphasis in elder care. Lessons cover the fundamentals of human development, common healthcare issues and nutritional needs of the elderly and basic sanitation and best practices required in a healthcare setting.

This course covers the beginning principles of the fundamentals of personal and professional cooking, including introduction to equipment, methods of preparation, nutrition and cost control; followed by practice in the kitchen.  Principles of kitchen safety and sanitation, product identification, recipe comprehension, weights and measures, and hands on knife skills are developed.  Customer service and basic hospitality themes are explored to include “front of the house” services.

This course fosters and improves interpersonal, group, and public communication skills. Students practice skills necessary to communicate effectively through exercises and presentations that reflect real-world situations. Students will begin to develop confidence in how to operate and manage the use of the college’s computer facilities and programs as well as being exposed to the principal concepts in creating radio shows and podcasts.

The primary purpose of this course is to expose students to the fundamentals of customer service necessary for a retail environment.  Students will gain an understanding of the operations of retailing; obtain an awareness of the many activities, problems and decisions involved in successfully operating a retail business, learn customer service skills, develop fundamental math and money math skills, gain an understanding of the “backend” of retail such as inventory, merchandising, and marketing.

This course will increase students’ success in College by assisting them in obtaining skills and the knowledge of resources necessary to reach their educational and social goals.  Students will be introduced to key concepts that will help them succeed as independent college students, including strategies for transition to college and success, time management, financial management, and an introduction to on campus resources.  Students will also develop an awareness of the range of community/recreational activities and consumer services available in their local community. Emphasis will be on acquiring knowledge and skills that can be easily transferred to future life changes such as entering the workforce and the importance of accessing appropriate community services relevant to doing so.  Travel safety and procedures will be discussed.  The goal of this course is to support the academic performance, social development, persistence, and academic/vocational completion of the Project Forward program at 4Cs.

This concentration provides an integrated approach to the understanding of the principles of agriculture, including plant and turf management, environmental sustainability, and resource conservation; along with essential skills required for maintaining various types of facilities – including equipment and physical infrastructure at both residential and commercial sites.

Students will learn the skills necessary for light maintenance of farming properties, residential, commercial (and/or institutional) facilities and landscapes in addition to learning basic agricultural skills including understanding equipment, manual labor, planting/growing, turf management and basic landscape care. They will also be exposed to physical maintenance, shipping & receiving and inventory management. Combining classroom work with extensive field experiences such as working on an organic farm, at a garden center, local transit facility as well as learning various facilities maintenance skills around the college’s campus, students receive a multi-faceted approach to understanding this vocation. Students will leave this course an understanding of OSHA rules and regulations as they pertain to the vocation as well.

This course expands on all technology skills learned during the exploratory year, in addition to learning the many facets of media/broadcasting, including newspaper, film, books, radio, television, and internet. The goal of the course is to enable the student to better understand communication in a technology and media-oriented environment and to explore careers in this area.  The overall goal of the course is to improve the student’s skills in communication by providing relevant knowledge and opportunities to apply that knowledge in a variety of workplace settings. Students will practice articulation skills through recording and working on projects such as radio shows and podcasts for the college’s radio station, WKKL. Exposure to basics television production and story development will also be discussed. Classroom studies will promote written, oral, and critical-thinking skills.

Outside of class time, students are assigned and required to participate in an internship that aligns to this vocational concentration.

The primary purpose of this course is to further develop skills necessary for successful employment in the retail sector.  An emphasis will be placed on acquiring effective customer service skills and understanding the tools of the trade: cash register, credit card machine, computer, telephone. Time and attention will be paid to acquiring money competency skills, such as calculating a bill and making proper change. The basics of inventory management, returns, hierarchy of management and merchandise display techniques will be discussed. Students will also gain insight into the importance of marketing and advertising. Curriculum will also cover the importance of appropriate dress and social interaction when dealing with the public, time management and development of a working retail vocabulary.

Outside of class time, students are assigned and required to participate in an internship that aligns to this vocational concentration.

This course provides the fundamentals of personal and professional cooking, including instruction on the basic principles of cookery, methods of preparation, nutrition and cost control; followed by practice in the demo-kitchen.  Principles of kitchen safety and sanitation, product identification, and learning to work efficiently as a team are key themes throughout the course.  Students become familiar with an industrial kitchen as they learn various hands-on skills - such as basic knife skills, making basic pastry dough, baking, preparing and sautéing soups and sauces; the use and care of tools; the use of the oven, sauté pan, surface burners and grill surface.   

In addition to cooking skills, the students will discuss the divisions of the hospitality industry and role play with many of the positions. During the year, students will be exposed to working in a hotel setting and gain an understanding of various hospitality roles such as Front Desk, Laundry and Housekeeping, Events, Maintenance and Grounds, etc. The students will also practice the basics of table service and customer service in the hospitality industry.  

*It is strongly suggested that students take our ServSafe certification elective while in this concentration. 

This course will cover the vast and growing industries in elder care. Curriculum will include the many facets of aging, including common myths and misperceptions, what contributes to successful aging vs. unsuccessful aging, and the impact of a “graying” America on all facets of society. Coursework will cover dimension of health and wellness for this demographic, dementia care, person centered care, basics of hygiene, safety, and sanitation. Students receive in-class CPR training and certification. Vocational tracks of dietary aide, activity assistant and sterile processor will be explored. A RealCare Geriatric Sensitivity Simulation Program is used, including a Walker, Geriatrics Suit and a Geriatrics Glasses Kit.

Outside of class time, students are assigned and required to participate in an internship that aligns to this vocational concentration.

This course prepares students to work as classroom aides in an early childhood setting. The curriculum explores in depth the fundamentals of early childhood development to focus on the physical, social, emotional development of preschool age children. Classwork will also cover: licensing regulations, state and national standards as well as safety, sanitation, meal preparation and basic first aid. Students will understand how to create and support curriculum, prepare basic developmental assessments, and address discipline in an appropriate manner. As well, students are encouraged to complete their CPR certification in conjuncture with this coursework.

Outside of class time, students are assigned and required to participate in an internship that aligns to this vocational concentration.

This course prepares second year students to transition successfully from school to rewarding work.  Time is spent creating a resume, practicing interviewing skills and identifying job opportunities. The class promotes development of soft skills necessary to be competitive, such as time management, teamwork, conflict resolution, communication skills and self-advocacy as they pertain to a professional environment.  The basics of compensation, budgeting and performance reviews are also discussed. Students leave class with all the “tools” necessary to begin a job search and establish pathways to sustainable employment.   

In this class, students will explore entrepreneurial opportunities in the arts and art-related fields.  Discussion will include various business strategies behind a successful career in the arts.  Students will learn about: product development, selling opportunities; including Etsy, craft fairs and wholesale, social media outreach and "advertising"/ online publishing, image design, and marketing. They will also explore the inner workings of the arts industry, using creative problem-solving exercises, discussion, and collaborative projects. Many Project Forward students have gone on to sell their products at craft fairs and small boutiques; including cards, soaps, candles and paintings, etc.   

This course is a study of the fundamentals of baking. Recipes covered will include quick breads, pies, cakes, cookies, basic dough and other items commonly found in bakeries. Students will learn how to follow a recipe, use baking terminology and basic baking equipment and tools. They will also learn basic decorating techniques and liquid and dry measuring skills.

This cooking class will cover basic food preparation suited for everyday meals. Emphasis will be placed on preparing inexpensive but healthy meals. Instructor will underscore the importance of expanding one’s palette (trying new foods!) and overall kitchen safety. Lessons will include food trends, easy ways to modify store-bought ingredients to make them your own, meal planning, budgeting, and best practices in the kitchen to include freezer life, sanitation, and safe equipment operation. Students leave this class with a folder of recipes.

Students will discuss the fundamentals of basic nutrition and learn various physical activities to optimize their physical and mental well-being and encourage a healthy lifestyle overall.  Students will learn how to use fitness equipment in addition to discussing dietary choices, energy expenditure, and their relationship to our health.  In addition to using fitness equipment and learning simple exercises, students will also talk about other fun physical activities designed to get moving and encourage healthy lifestyle behaviors (ie: dancing, yoga, stretching).

Most states and local authorities require ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certifications to work in any food handling capacity. Project Forward students who enter Concentrations in Hospitality & Culinary Arts, Retail Operations Management and Healthcare are all strongly encouraged to take this class. The cost of exam is covered, and all study materials are supplied. If a student does not pass the ServSafe exam during the first semester, they make take the class again in the second semester and retake the exam.