PEABODY — Gov. Charlie Baker announced Monday morning that 47 educational institutions, including the Peabody, Salem and Swampscott public schools, will receive approximately $10 million in funding through the Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant Program.
Baker chose to make his announcement at the Peabody Veterans Memorial High School — which received a $175,000 skills grant last year — so that he, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta and Education Secretary James Peyser could tour the school’s updated electronics engineering and culinary arts classrooms prior to the press conference.
Peabody High used last year’s funds to modernize its kitchen by acquiring a chef refrigerator, proof boxes and gas stoves; and fiber optic equipment, robotics arms, hot-air soldering stations, drone kits and 3D printers were purchased for the school’s electronics labs.
“We want to give kids and young adults the opportunity to work with the latest equipment, the latest gear, and the opportunities in industries and spaces where we believe there is going to be significant growth economically in terms of jobs and employment and make it possible for them to develop the skills that they need to get into those careers to build a life and make a living,” said Baker.
In this round, PVMS was awarded another $125,000 to purchase simulation-based training equipment for medical assistant students. The equipment will include patient simulators, electronic thermometers, spirometers, pediatric scales, diagnostic equipment and vision and hearing screeners.
Peabody Superintendent of Schools Dr. Josh Vadala said at the conference that these grants benefit not only PVMS and the students, but also the community-at-large.
The Skills Capital Grant Program requires educational institutions to establish relationships with employers in order to receive funding. For the electronic engineering program, PVMS has developed a fiber optics partnership with RCN, one of the leading telecommunications companies in the U.S.
“This partnership resulted in Peabody offering the first certified fiber optic program in a K-12 school in the country,” Baker said.
“Students get internships and job offers through this partnership and go into the workforce prepared even better than through just a regular program,” Vadala said.
RCN has donated expertise and materials to PVMS so that the school could have the best fiber optic teaching lab in the country, said Paul Panagopoulos, marketing director at RCN Boston. The lab will open for Peabody students this fall, when school starts, and will allow students to perform exercises in a simulated, real-world environment as they practice troubleshooting drills and installing fiber. The lab includes fiber optic racks with patch panels and equipment used to build real fiber optic networks, he said.
Panagopoulos also announced four paid internships, which RCN is creating to allow high school seniors to work side by side with RCN technicians to prepare them for the field after they graduate. He said that the partnership will provide skilled and certified technicians, which will allow employers to fill critical positions.
Salem High School was awarded $116,000 in this round of funding to modernize its automotive technology program, which will ensure students have the skills required by local employers. The school is planning to purchase modern brake, alignment, tire and diagnostic training equipment and technology to enable students to prepare for industry-standard certifications.
Swampscott High School is launching a newly-state-approved Innovation Pathway program in advanced manufacturing this fall, and will spend its $74,250 grant to help create a manufacturing and fabrication lab. This lab will include hand tools and basic wood- and metalworking machinery, as well as 3-D printers, replicators, a laser cutter and a computer numerical control machine.
This program will expose Swampscott students to more industry-standard manufacturing processes and support them in attaining MACWIC and OSHA certifications, and specific certifications in industry-standard software, such as Solidworks.
Since the inception of the Skills Capital Grant Program in 2015, the state has awarded $102 million to 187 different schools and educational institutions across the commonwealth, benefiting approximately 40,000 students, according to the Baker-Polito administration’s press office.
In 2018, the Economic Development Bill, filed by Baker and passed by the state Legislature, allocated another $75 million in Skills Capital Grant funding for a period of five years.
