WE2BA held its regular meeting Thursday morning in the Stanley Park Pavilion.
WESTFIELD – The Westfield Education to Business Alliance (WE2BA) held its monthly meeting at the Stanley Park Pavilion on Thursday morning to discuss several ways the school district and area businesses can work together to prepare the future workforce, and promote opportunities in the business community.
Margaret Toomey, Westfield High School Family Consumer Science teacher, introduced a brand new project. Toomey said WHS and Westfield Tech are planning to collaborate on a student-made video that would go into various businesses and interview them about what skill sets they look for in their employees.
Toomey introduced Eric Grigoryan, a senior in the Multimedia II class, who would be involved in the project, which will be led by Computer Science teacher Karen Whitaker.
WHS senior Eric Grigoryan spoke about a student-led video project interviewing businesses.
Grigoryan said he’s been working with video since age 14, when he started filming weddings with his father, a wedding photographer. WHS recently entered a video by Grigoryan about the benefits of walking and bicycling and risks of driving into the Hampden District Attorney’s PSA challenge.
Grigoryan said that businesses interviewed for the video project will be asked who they are, what they do, and the skill sets needed to work there. “I believe my peers will benefit from the knowledge you have and what it takes to be successful,” Grigoryan said.
Businesses who are interested in getting involved in the project may contact Kate Phelon at the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce, or Margaret Toomey [email protected].
Deb Falcetti, Business Tech instructor at Westfield Tech, spoke about the Signal Success curriculum being used at the school to help ninth and tenth graders with essential skills needed for future employment. WE2BA has specifically identified developing social skills in the workplace as a need among young employees.
Allan Fowler of the Commonwealth Corporation spoke about the goals of Signal Success, which aims to build awareness through interactive exercises of communication and problem solving. It also helps students to identify their own learning styles, and what they may bring to the table.
Allan Fowler of Commonwealth Corporation presented the Signal Success employment readiness curriculum being used in Westfield Technical Academy.
Fowler said students learn skills such as keeping your sense of control and keeping your tone even when a customer is upset. He said the 180 hour curriculum is used in all the shops, especially where the teacher sees the benefit in terms of customer service, such as culinary arts students who may work in Tiger’s Pride.
During a mentoring update, Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) coordinator Tina Macy said that most mentors that volunteered last year are returning. Macy said she has trained one new mentor, and will train another this upcoming Monday. She said many of the mentors are continuing in their matches with the same students, and there are also some new assignments.
“It’s really exciting to see some of the partnerships getting together again,” Macy said, adding, “We really are looking to grow the mentoring partnership.”
Chris Tolpa then spoke about the upcoming middle school career fair for teachers, which will take place October 17 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the North Middle School gymnasium. Called Partnerships for Positive Learning, the goal of the fair is to build relationships between Westfield Public Schools and community businesses.
Tolpa said it’s about businesses helping teachers and educators to understand what skills they are looking for in employees. “As teachers, we get isolated in our classrooms. Sometimes, we don’t couch it in the business world, we couch it in the academic,” Tolpa said.
WPS director of curriculum Susan Dargie said the middle school career fair for teachers is a stepping stone between the elementary schools learning about careers, to the high school students job shadowing and internships.
“If I teach science and you work with polymers,” Dargie gave as an example of a connection that might be made. For further information or to reserve a table for your business, RSVP by October 13, 2017 to Pam Bussell at The Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce: 413.568.1618 or [email protected].
