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
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Healey energy bill gets bump from municipal officials
BOSTON (SHNS) – Local government officials got an earful from residents as energy bills soared this winter, and many of those municipalities echoed and amplified those concerns to state leaders. So when the governor's new energy affordability legislation came up at the Local Government Advisory Commission on Tuesday, local officials said they felt like they had been heard. 'It's really nice to see this on a front burner,' Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove said. She said her city and others this winter 'asked for [the state's] help and attention, and we are so grateful to see this energy affordability agenda and the legislation filed last month to help tackle these challenges.' In a push to save ratepayers $10 billion over a decade, Gov. Maura Healey filed legislation (H 4144) last month to eliminate or reduce energy bill charges, make nuts-and-bolts changes to electricity procurement and supply practices, impose reforms to the competitive electric supply industry, and allow Massachusetts to explore new nuclear energy technologies. The governor's focus on energy costs comes after a winter that saw energy bills rise sharply, exacerbating chronic cost-of-living pressures for Massachusetts residents and businesses that already pay some of the highest energy prices in the country. 'Municipalities deal with cost challenges just like our residents and businesses do,' Gove said. 'And we know we are at a moment where energy costs in particular are causing stress and concern for customers and ratepayers across the commonwealth.' Healey's office broadly detailed where it expects to find the at least $10 billion in savings over a 10-year period, identifying 'Getting Costs Off Bills' (about $6.9 billion in savings), 'Creating Accountability' ($2.5 billion), and 'Supporting the Customer' ($900 million) as main buckets of savings. The bill is now before the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, which has not yet announced a hearing for it. The bill would require the Department of Public Utilities to review and reform all charges on energy bills, and establish a cap on month-to-month bill increases. It would allow Massachusetts to procure energy directly, which would eliminate fees the state pays utilities for entering into those contracts, and also seeks to reduce the value of net metering credits for new and large solar hookups or other facilities that transfer energy back to the grid in exchange for a bill credit. The governor's legislation seeks to phase out the Alternative Portfolio Standard program, which incentivizes technologies like natural-gas-fired combined heat and power facilities, fuel cells, biofuels, and heat pumps, by 2028. It also would grant utilities the ability to finance the Mass Save efficiency program, Electric Sector Modernization Plans, storm response, and other programs by issuing rate reduction bonds to securitize costs. After Executive Director of Energy Transformation Melissa Lavinson and Undersecretary of Energy Mike Judge walked through the bill, Acton Town Manager John Mangiaratti said he thinks process of linking new energy projects to the grid is an area in need of greater attention to help residents, businesses and municipalities. 'Here in Acton, we have a pretty cool energy coaching program where we have volunteers work with residents and businesses and help them navigate different ways to make clean energy choices in their buildings. We also have had a lot of success with clean energy projects, solar, for example. But the timelines that we're experiencing continues to be an obstacle that we'd like to try to find a way to overcome,' he said. 'When a project that we have planned out takes sometimes a year longer than we thought because of the interconnection delays, it really changes the finances and causes some savings that people, that the city or the town was counting on to not be there, and it disincentivizes communities from wanting to do these types of projects.' During her rundown of bill details, Lavinson talked about a part of the governor's legislation that would require utilities to provide 'flexible interconnection solutions,' which she said 'should help reduce customer costs and timelines to interconnect, and won't cost any other customers to do that.' Gove said she and other mayors support the state's desire to transition towards cleaner energy and emphasized Tuesday that cities and towns 'are simultaneously working towards our own individual climate and clean energy goals.' She mentioned her city's efforts to support electric vehicles, in keeping with its history as home to S.R. Bailey & Company, which built some of the first electric vehicles there from 1905 to 1916. 'We're grateful for your continued work to review existing policies and charges to lower lower costs for residents on the whole,' she said. 'Cities and towns are doing this work of addressing affordability every day, and know that the residents across the common a Commonwealth will appreciate the results of this larger statewide effort.' WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
These western Massachusetts cities awarded funding to boost protection against cyberattacks
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Several western Mass. cities and towns received grants from the Healey-Driscoll Administration to aid construction of municipal fiber networks and support cybersecurity. Mass. officials support local farms during National Dairy Month The administration announced on Tuesday that $7.7 million in grants will be distributed to 40 communities throughout the Commonwealth through the Community Compact Cabinet's Municipal Fiber Grant Program. The program aims to connect municipality-owned facilities and help protect communities against cybersecurity threats. 'Through these grants, we're helping to ensure that cities and towns have the robust and secure technology they need to serve Massachusetts residents,' Governor Healey said. 'We're proud to make these investments to improve the connectivity and efficiency of local governments across the state.' Since the program's inception in 2022, over $33 million in municipal fiber grant funding has been awarded to communities in Massachusetts. The individual grant funds range from up to $250,000 to $500,000. The following western Mass. communities received funding through the program this year: Amherst: $160,837 – Completing the installation of a fiber ring, creating a redundant path Northampton: $250,000 – Expansion of the city's existing fiber optic infrastructure Springfield: $250,000 – Expansion of the city's existing fiber optic infrastructure West Stockbridge: $55,699 – Expansion of the town's existing fiber optic infrastructure WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Amherst-Pelham Regional School District receives electric school bus grant funding
AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) – Amherst-Pelham Regional School District is among eight districts in the state receiving funding to replace diesel-powered school buses with electric ones. The Healey-Driscoll administration is awarding over $9 million to electrify public school buses through an initiative led by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and funded by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). These western Massachusetts cities awarded funding to boost protection against cyberattacks This is the third round of awards distributed through this program, going to several school districts and private transportation providers across the Commonwealth. This includes Highland Electric, which supports the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District. 'Transitioning to electric school buses is a meaningful investment in the well-being of our students and the future of our communities,' said Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler. 'This program showcases what's possible when we prioritize sustainability and equity in our investments, and I'm grateful to our partners at MassCEC and MassDEP for leading this important work.' As part of the School Bus Deployment Program, MassCEC and MassDEP say this will help improve public health across the state. Highland Electric received $500,000 in funding through the program, with other districts receiving up to nearly $2 million. MassCEC is now accepting applicants for the fourth round of the program. For those looking to submit proposals or to find more information, visit WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
