Sheffield — The Mt. Everett Regional School will be expanding its vocational and technical opportunities for students through its Innovation Career Pathways programs.
The programs have been established due to grant funding through the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The school will be using the grant funds to start its Innovation Career Pathways programs in advanced manufacturing and information technology programs.
According to program coordinator Lindy Marcel, the school will receive up to $75,000 to operate the programs. “We chose those two programs to focus on with the grant because there has already been a real foundation built with those two realms in the district,” Marcel told The Berkshire Edge. “Over time, our district Technology Director Chris Thompson has put programs in place with 3D design, robotics, and cyber security. We’ve had these programs for a while, and I wanted to build on top of something I know that the district could do well.”
Marcel said that the programs are about connecting students to high-demand careers where there is a societal need. “These programs are two industry sectors out of the total six programs that are available,” Marcel said. “We will expand in future years.”
“Our whole goal has been to focus on what students are interested in,” Superintendent Beth Regulbuto said. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of student interest in both of those areas. It’s also about what the job labor market is indicating are the high-need careers in our area. Combining both of those things with student interest is a smart way to create pathways when you are a smaller school district.”
Marcel said that, as part of the programs, students will be required to take a minimum of two technical courses, along with a series of advanced courses. “The students will all work with industry professionals as part of the program,” Marcel said. “We’ve partnered with the Berkshire Workforce Board to help us with finding partners. At the end of the program, the students will complete a 100-hour internship.”
Marcel said that the first business partner the school has lined up is Plaskolite LLC, which is right down the road from the school in Sheffield. “Our goal is to have about six students per grade level per year,” Marcel said. “We are also an early college school district, which means that all of our students are going to be taking college classes before they leave high school. Students will be able to choose between early college and Innovation Pathways. But a lot of students are going to be able to experience the benefits of both of these programs.”
Marcel added that she believes vocational programs are more important than ever to education. “The world and the region are facing some pretty big challenges, whether that be climate, energy, or health crises,” she said. ‘We’re going to need students with the ability to apply hands-on skills that they’ve learned from these programs to solve these challenges. This is important for our local and regional economies to have students who are skilled and understand how to apply those skills to help out their communities and to find a meaningful place in the world.”
For more information about Innovation Career Pathways, go to the state’s Department of Education website.
