Holyoke schools join state career pilot program
HOLYOKE — The Holyoke School District is one of 14 chosen to join the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's My Career and Academic Plan pilot program.
The district received about $24,976 from the $281,000 in Work-Based Learning grants awarded to schools across the state last week.
Gov. Maura Healey said in an announcement that work-based learning experiences are crucial for preparing students for the future.
'These grants will help support strong partnerships between schools and employers, opening doors for students in critical STEM fields like health care, manufacturing, and technology,' Healey said.
The pilot program is part of the administration's Reimagining High School initiative.
DESE will assist districts in integrating the program. It seeks to help middle and high school students focus on academic, personal, and career goals.
In March, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced $914,385 in funding to 135 schools in 49 districts to help them adopt the career and academic plan. Over 200 schools in more than 150 districts have engaged in the program.
Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler said the goal is to connect academic learning 'with meaningful work experiences.'
Grant recipients will team up with MassHire Workforce Boards and Commonwealth Corporation to create plans and resources to better link education with job training.
Read the original article on MassLive.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
10 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Kendalle Burlin O'Connell wants biotech industry to look to Massachusetts for solutions
O'Connell, MassBio's chief executive, would argue that industry researchers and executives need each other more than ever in these tumultuous times. And she'll make the case at the BIO International Convention next week that the industry needs Massachusetts and its dense cluster of biotech innovators more than ever as well. Among other activities at BIO, O'Connell will share the stage next Tuesday with Governor Maura Healey and Thermo Fisher Scientific chief executive Marc Casper to discuss why Massachusetts remains the global epicenter for life sciences. Here's the message she'll try to convey: 'When there's uncertainty, when you don't know where to go, you go back to what has a proven track record of success. This is the place for innovation. This is the place for hope for patients.' Advertisement Other local speakers will include Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll , top Takeda executive Julie Kim , and Wendy Chung of Boston Children's Hospital . O'Connell was working as a lawyer in 2008 when then-chief executive Bob Coughlin persuaded her to oversee MassBio's purchasing consortium, rather than take a job at the Massachusetts Highway Department. She gradually worked her way up MassBio's ranks. Former state senator Joe Boncore replaced Coughlin after his departure; she took over a year later, and Boncore now has an active lobbying practice. Advertisement Lately, with all the threats facing the industry, MassBio is doing more federal lobbying than ever, she said, while reaching out to members of Congress from other states for the first time to make the industry's case. (Former state rep Ed Coppinger heads up MassBio's lobbying efforts.) Through it all, O'Connell remains relentlessly optimistic. 'We've navigated choppy waters before here in Massachusetts,' O'Connell said. 'The world needs what Massachusetts is doing as it relates to innovation.' Jump-starting a new kind of battery Can the 'American Battery Revival' get a jump-start in Massachusetts? AM Batteries chief executive Lie Shi and the Billerica manufacturer he leads are betting on it. The company held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week to celebrate its new 'Customer Success Center,' essentially a dry room and an electrode manufacturing production line that allows clients to do test runs, or hire AMB to make the electrodes for them. Shi was joined by US Representative Lori Trahan , state interim economic development secretary Ashley Stolba , and Lily Fitzgerald , of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative , among others. Roughly half the $5 million center's cost was funded through a state grant provided through MassTech. The company has doubled its workforce in the past year, adding 25 new jobs, with plans to add 15 more in 2025. Investors include TDK Ventures , Toyota Ventures , and Anzu Partners . Most batteries rely on a liquid mixture applied to the electrodes that helps them store and release energy. But AMB's technology, developed by Worcester Polytechnic Institute professor Yan Wang and Heng Pan (now at Texas A&M University ), uses a coating of dry powder instead, and as a result is more efficient and environmentally friendly. Advertisement Manufacturing batteries, Shi said, involves a careful balance of cost, performance, and sustainability. Usually, battery makers have to compromise on one aspect, but Shi said AMB's process excels in all three areas. 'All the battery makers realize this should be the future of manufacturing,' Shi said. Banking competition heats up The white gloves are coming off in Greater Boston's private banking battles. JPMorgan Chase & Co. recently held ribbon-cutting ceremonies at 14 branches for its new affluent banking arm, mostly at renovated former First Republic locations JPMorgan typically wields the Chase brand for its retail operations, but not this time. Instead, the signs out front say 'J.P. Morgan.' 'We're testing a new model, leveraging . . . the JPMorgan brand,' said Stevie Baron , head of affluent banking at New York-based JPMorgan. 'This is an opportunity to take the JPMorgan brand to focus more up market [though] we've got inspiration from First Republic.' The personalized banking services are available to customers with at least $750,000 of deposits and investable assets. (JPMorgan also has a private banking arm for much wealthier individuals, one without standalone branches.) First Republic's chocolate chip cookies have been replaced by squares of Dylan's chocolate. JPMorgan's rollout comes as Citizens Financial Group steps up its efforts to cater to wealthy customers through its own private bank. Citizens was among the bidders for the failed First Republic in 2023, but lost to JPMorgan. However, at least 150 bankers from First Republic left later that year to help Citizens launch the private bank. Advertisement Last year, Citizens reopened a former First Republic branch in the Back Bay to serve as its first private banking office in Boston, and it currently has four others across the United States with more on the way. (The chocolate chip cookies stayed on the menu.) The venture has turned a profit more quickly than chief executive Bruce Van Saun expected. 'I think there's a void in the market where First Republic played and Silicon Valley [Bank] played,' he said. 'A lot of the customers of those banks recognize that the personal level of service that the bankers offer was second to none, and Citizens is going to occupy that space.' Honoring Jack Connors' legacy When Eversource chief executive Joe Nolan wanted the right place to put a statue honoring his longtime friend, ad mogul-turned-philanthropist Jack Connors , he first considered a public park such as the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Nolan soon learned that city rules require at least a five-year waiting period for public art. So Nolan found a privately owned spot instead, and it turned out to be the most appropriate location in the city: at the base of 200 Clarendon, a.k.a. the John Hancock Tower. That's where Connors held court for four decades — first as chief executive of ad agency Hill Holliday , and then from his 'Joe's not waiting five years, that's clear,' said Sharon McNally , chief executive of Camp Harbor View , the charity Connors started and championed. 'It's a great solution.' On Saturday, at the annual Beach Ball for Camp Harbor View, Mayor Michelle Wu announced her support for the memorial. (Also that night, event planner Bryan Rafanelli , former mayor Marty Walsh , and Rev. John Unni of Saint Cecilia 'squeezed every penny out of the room' to raise $1 million in donations for the camp, McNally said.) Advertisement 'Boston thrives because of people like Jack, who build careers and lives dedicated to solving problems and doing good,' Wu said in a statement. 'I am delighted to partner with the Connors family and Joe Nolan to dedicate a permanent memorial to Jack in his beloved Back Bay, a lasting tribute to his life and legacy of service.' Nolan got to work soon after Connors died last July from pancreatic cancer. He consulted with members of Connors' family. Eventually, they agreed on a concept. The bronze statue would sit on a bench, with one arm outstretched, as if in a friendly conversation. 'No matter who you were, when he was talking to you, you were the most important person in the world to him,' Nolan said. Sculptor Pablo Eduardo has been tapped to make the statue, and Nolan hopes it will be installed sometime this fall. While tower landlord BXP will donate the space, Nolan plans to raise $2 million to cover the costs. Surplus funds will go to the camp. 'It won't be hard to raise,' Nolan said. 'Everyone wants to do something for Jack.' Jon Chesto can be reached at
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Holyoke schools join state career pilot program
HOLYOKE — The Holyoke School District is one of 14 chosen to join the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's My Career and Academic Plan pilot program. The district received about $24,976 from the $281,000 in Work-Based Learning grants awarded to schools across the state last week. Gov. Maura Healey said in an announcement that work-based learning experiences are crucial for preparing students for the future. 'These grants will help support strong partnerships between schools and employers, opening doors for students in critical STEM fields like health care, manufacturing, and technology,' Healey said. The pilot program is part of the administration's Reimagining High School initiative. DESE will assist districts in integrating the program. It seeks to help middle and high school students focus on academic, personal, and career goals. In March, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced $914,385 in funding to 135 schools in 49 districts to help them adopt the career and academic plan. Over 200 schools in more than 150 districts have engaged in the program. Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler said the goal is to connect academic learning 'with meaningful work experiences.' Grant recipients will team up with MassHire Workforce Boards and Commonwealth Corporation to create plans and resources to better link education with job training. Read the original article on MassLive.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Boston Globe
Healey touts state tuition savings, criticizes federal cuts to Pell Grants
Overall, MASSGrant Plus Expansion program saved more than 34,000 Massachusetts students an estimated $110 million in the 2023-2024 academic year, the statement said. More than 7,730 middle income students saved an average of $3,856 each, according to data from the state Department of Higher Education, the statement said. Advertisement In the same statement, Healey urged the US Senate to reject Pell Grant cuts included in the federal budget reconciliation bill recently passed by Republicans in the U.S. House and supported by President Trump. The proposed cuts and eligibility restrictions would results in 42,000 Massachusetts students at public institutions losing $57 million in funding each year, according to Healey's statement said. 'Massachusetts is home to the best schools in the country, but we need to make sure that they are affordable for all of our students,' Healey's statement said. 'That's why I took action to increase financial aid at our public colleges and universities, which has already lowered costs for tens of thousands of students.' The drastic cuts proposed to the Pell Grant program would 'roll back the progress we have made and increase costs,' Healey said. Advertisement 'This is bad for our students and bad for our economy, as it would hold back our next generation of workers from being able to afford to go to school,' she said. Healey announced $62 million in new state funding to expand the MASSGrant program during a ceremony at Salem State University in November 2023. The new funding covered the full costs of tuition and mandatory instructional fees for Pell Grant-eligible students, and as much as half for middle-income students. Middle-income students are those whose families earn between $73,000 and $100,000 annually in adjusted gross income. The program was retroactive to the start of the fall 2023 semester for Massachusetts students at the states public institutions, including its 15 community colleges, nine state universities, and four University of Massachusetts undergraduate campuses. Funding for the expansion of the program also drew on $84 million Healey and the legislature had set earmarked for financial aid expansion in the FY24 budget, Healey's office said at the time. 'The dramatic enrollment increases our community colleges have seen over the last two years make it clear that free community college and expanded financial aid is a game changer for students in Massachusetts,' Luis Pedraja, chair of the Community College Council of Presidents, and president of Quinsigamond Community College said in the statement. 'The proposed Pell eligibility changes would be devastating to our students' ability to afford higher education and the community college presidents in Massachusetts urge the Senate to reject this ill-advised change,' Pedraja said. Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler said he feared the impacts proposed cuts could have on students who struggle to afford college. Advertisement 'Low-income students deserve to go to college just as much as their higher income peers, and these changes are going to take us backwards – increasing dropout rates and leaving students saddled with more debt and no degree," Tutwiler said in the statement. Tonya Alanez can be reached at
