Furthering Education One Program at a Time

A high school in New Bedford, Massachusetts has received a $30,000 state grant to be used to begin the process of implementing a marine program. This program will be connected to the industry sectors of advanced manufacturing as well as life sciences, according to officials responsible. This will offer further education opportunities for students and could be a huge boost for the school. 

New Bedford High School currently has a Career Vocational Technical Education program that offers programs in finance, instructional technology, health sciences, engineering, early childhood education, and hospitality. This new marine program will be another offered under the umbrella of the Career Vocation Technical Education program. 

The state of Massachusetts, led by Governor Charlie Baker, and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito has awarded this $30,000 grant to New Bedford High School as part of the Innovation Pathway Planning Program. This program was created to give support to schools in creating programs offering curriculums that would help prepare students for high-demand industries that are going to increasingly need a prepared workforce. New Bedford was one of 21 schools in Massachusetts to receive Innovation Pathway funding. 

Governor Baker spoke at Lawrence High School alongside officials from American Student Assistance, announcing the availability of $1.8 million in grant funding to help schools develop innovative programs that would help prepare their students for the modern workforce. In speaking of the funding, Governor Baker had this to say, “Innovation Pathways are designed to engage students who are trying to discover what the next steps in their future careers are and help them succeed through college-level courses and internships. We are proud to continue investing in these important programs and appreciate American Student Assistance’s support with this generous award, and are pleased that high schools across the Commonwealth will be able to give students better insight into the choices available to them”

This kind of funding is essential especially as the world moves the use of new technologies, within high-demand vocational sectors, that desperately need prepared workers. New Bedford plans on using this grant to begin a very rigorous planning program that will involve both staff and industry partners to develop coursework and a curriculum that will combine marine manufacturing and vocational-technical training with academic content focused on life sciences. This academic content will include marine biology. This kind of programing will help students prepare for real-life marine careers, especially as the industry continues to grow in Massachusetts. 

Authored by Lianne Hikind

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