PITTSBORO – Chatham County Schools announced the completion of School Nutrition Association (SNA) training by two child nutrition employees, who are now School Nutrition Specialists (SNS).
Less than 1,600 school nutrition staffers across the country have achieved this certification, and now CCS Director of Nutrition Services Jennifer Ozkurt and School Nutrition Operations Coordinator Renee Langley have joined the ranks of recognized specialists.
"We spent six months studying for this certification. The exam was 220 questions long, and we only had four hours to complete it. It was rigorous," Langley said.
This achievement requires professional knowledge in nutrition operations, administration, and marketing of USDA Professional Standards.
"Getting this certification was very important to me because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. It helped me learn so much more about my job, and it will allow me to better help our program districtwide." Langley added.
"I encouraged my staff to take advantage of this opportunity so that we could all be well-versed and help co-coordinate different aspects of our county's child nutrition program, said Ozkurt in a statement to the Chatham News & Record, “This certification will definitely help improve our operations as a whole."
The certification earned by Ozkurt and Langley is valid for three years, and they must complete 45 hours of continuing education over the three-year span to maintain their certification.
"We are very proud of this accomplishment,” Ozkurt said, “and now we are one of the nation's top-tier child nutrition programs. I am just so proud of my staff for taking the initiative to go for this certification because they are all so talented. Now they have the accolades to prove it."