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Date: 5/2/2023
AMHERST — Innovation Pathways, an educational program designation already offered to dozens of schools in Massachusetts is now planned for the fall at Amherst-Pelham Regional High School.
Designed to further connect education with industry, the program provides advanced coursework in a variety of disciplines in schools around the state while at APRHS the designation is focused on advanced manufacturing said Assistant Principal Samantha Camera.
“The idea with this designation is it creates a pathway that allows us to build a sequence for students that they can enroll in and that sequence sort of leads them into better post grad, both career and higher ed opportunities like internship and training,” Camera said.
Making note of the high school’s robust technology and engineering department which offers a substantial amount of coursework already, Camera acknowledged potential limitations, noting that students would take a full complement of coursework in years past covering a particular discipline like engineering or technology without necessarily attaining a certificate.
“It would just show up on their transcripts,“ Camera said.
With Innovation Pathways, a different kind of opportunity emerges for the student. A certificate is conferred in many cases and Camera pointed out that it can be direct entry for students into desired careers as well as the prospect for internships while they’re still in school.
“In this case, what it means is that it’s more of a focus and it is indeed a pathway as opposed to the sort of piecemeal, oh look at you, you clearly liked engineering,” Camera said.
In implementing the additional program, the school promotes the creation of bridges to businesses directly through direct training and immersion in the field of manufacturing and its components while providing a path either directly to college or a career launch.
“That’s what we’re building here and we’re working with MassHire to help facilitate connections with industry and internships,” Camera said.
The high school also has a transition specialist committed to work-based learning programs as well a career and college counselor. The goal is for the student to develop in demand workforce skills as well as career knowledge.
“That what we’re hoping to do, to build internships into this pathway itself, so they will have an actual skill set when they’re going to college or into the workforce,” Camera added.
Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools Superintendent Michael Morris said the designation opens opportunities for students to attain experience in real workplaces in areas where there are jobs. He also pointed out that a lot of the language in the district improvement plan has shifted from college readiness in prior years to the more current college or career readiness.
“We know that college may or may not be a choice that some students and families choose to take, and they may choose to take it at different points of life. The traditional model of after high school every student goes or we aspire for every student to college when they turn 18, when they graduate high school was really limiting and it had real negative implications, I think, for many of our students who want to take a different pathway,” he noted.
Morris said there is as well the prospect for students to pursue positions and career fields in the Amherst area as opposed to moving far away.
“For students who want to stay in the area, they would have opportunities within a half hour or 45-minute radius of Amherst”, he said.
For the students taking advantage of the pathways, Camera said the enhancements will be apparent. Current course loads will be expanded, offering advanced levels in areas like electrical engineering, mechanical engineering studies will be able to add robotics and mechatronics to the classroom.
“It [the designation] will also help us modernize labs and classrooms,” she said.
The school is also applying for a grant to facilitate the hiring of a Community Outreach Coordinator to help arrange student internship with local businesses.
All the current and forthcoming coursework is open to students in grades nine through 12 but there are offerings for juniors and seniors in Advanced Placement classes in computer science and physics, part of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math areas.
Morris said the response from the community as well as the School Committee has been positive, and he offered his praise and appreciation for Camera as well as the team at the high school who were behind the application process and presentation before a state board of review.
“It’s not like they [the state] accept every single one, there’s really high standards to it but the amount of work that the high school faculty as well as leadership put into this is nothing short of remarkable and that’s been the critical lynchpin to us moving forward with the project,” he said.
With the expected forthcoming funds from a state implementation grant, the program is scheduled to launch in the fall of this year.