At Goodrich Academy, many of our students are focused on getting their high school diploma and then starting their lives. Goodrich is an alternative high school within the Fitchburg Public Schools, so many of our students dropped our of high school at least once before or were about to drop out when they came to us. Job one is helping these students get their footing, get their credits in order, and graduate high school. The students here do a remarkable job of getting to the finish line, with the help of an extremely dedicated and versatile staff.
The question for many students after graduation is, "what is next?" There may be little to no money available for college. There may be little interest in going straight into post-secondary education. So, aside from a minimum wage job, what is out there?
We are working closely with Mount Wachusett Community College and the area Chamber of Commerce to build some school to work pathways for our students and perhaps create a model for other schools to follow. We are discussing what types of courses students here need to take in order to be sure that they can take college courses, or get into training programs, or secure jobs in manufacturing or medicine. We are discussing what types of program MWCC can offer our students that can show them pathways to careers and possibly further education down the line. We are working with the Chamber of Commerce to see if there are possible internships, jobs, etc that area employers can offer which can give students real skills and possible long term positions. Then we need to put all that together into a program that can offer students all of this training and course credits toward their diplomas. It is exciting, but it is also time consuming. We hope that we can offer something to students this year in manufacturing and then add medical and early childhood the following year.
Who has programs (or has seen programs) that can help us look at other models that work? What do these look like? What does it take to set them up? How well received are they by students and the community?
The question for many students after graduation is, "what is next?" There may be little to no money available for college. There may be little interest in going straight into post-secondary education. So, aside from a minimum wage job, what is out there?
We are working closely with Mount Wachusett Community College and the area Chamber of Commerce to build some school to work pathways for our students and perhaps create a model for other schools to follow. We are discussing what types of courses students here need to take in order to be sure that they can take college courses, or get into training programs, or secure jobs in manufacturing or medicine. We are discussing what types of program MWCC can offer our students that can show them pathways to careers and possibly further education down the line. We are working with the Chamber of Commerce to see if there are possible internships, jobs, etc that area employers can offer which can give students real skills and possible long term positions. Then we need to put all that together into a program that can offer students all of this training and course credits toward their diplomas. It is exciting, but it is also time consuming. We hope that we can offer something to students this year in manufacturing and then add medical and early childhood the following year.
Who has programs (or has seen programs) that can help us look at other models that work? What do these look like? What does it take to set them up? How well received are they by students and the community?
No comments:
Post a Comment