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Date: 11/17/2023
PALMER — The Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical School Committee met on Nov. 15 to discuss its upcoming career fair and grants the school has received for fiscal year 2024.
Career night will be hosted on Wednesday, Dec. 6 from 6-8 p.m. at the school at 240 Sykes St.
Superintendent Eric Duda said, “Sort of the highlight for the launch of our admissions season is career night. It’s a night where we invite all families, committee members are allowed to attend as well, all families from our nine member town to come check us out.”
Everyone who comes to the event will be provided with a free meal prepared by the culinary department.
“We have miniature displays all around of the 16 programs and the school is wide open to explore,” Duda added, “It brings more and more each year. Last year we had a pretty significant turnout and this year we are expecting 600 this year or more which is what we saw last year.”
The different vocational course that Pathfinder Tech offers are advanced manufacturing, automotive technology, business technology, CAD, carpentry, collision repair, cosmetology, culinary arts, electrical, electronic technology, health assisting, horticulture, hospitality management, heating ventilation air conditioning and refrigeration, programming and web development, plumbing and cooperative education program.
New subcommittee
The Pathfinder School Committee approved the creation of a Building, Regional Agreement, and master planning subcommittee.
Duda explained, “This is kind of blanketed subcommittee; it’s a building subcommittee is basically what it is, but we are also tying in a piece of regional agreement and master planning because those two are connected with the discussions that are going to happen. The thought was we would take the group and branch off a little bit in to different categories as we need.”
School Committee members David Droz, Lorraine Alves, Richard Fly, Marty Goulet, Robert Lavoie and John Nason volunteered to take part in the committee as well as Pathfinder School Committee Chairperson Julie Quink.
Duda and Interim Principal Brenda Turner have begun working on a recently adopted school improvement plan, updating the student handbook and school mission to help with action steps they need to take to reach their goals.
Duda thinks this sub-committee will help improve areas of the school as well.
“As superintendent I will work with our business manager and we will put together a bigger group of stakeholders and start assessing our property, our building, our future needs, athletic needs, space needs whatever it may be, and this is sort of the very beginning stages of the next steps to what the future is going to bring here in the coming years,” Duda added.
Grants
Co-op Coordinator and grants writer Caitlin Phelps was at the meeting to inform the School Committee that they received six different grants totaling approximately $730,000.
The intended use for each grant includes salaries for needed positions, stipends for student support initiatives, student transportation, the support of different programs, expansion and equipment for of a couple departments and focus on the mental health of students.