Education Collaboration Will Connect Students to Berkshire Economy
 Berkshire Chamber President Michael Supranowicz listens to Danielle Gonzalez explain the youth program's development. |
The Youth Leadership program of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce is believed to be the only one of its kind in the nation that offers higher education credit. The collaboration with Berkshire Community College is being funded by grants of $25,000 each from the Berkshire Bank Foundation and Greylock Federal Credit Union over the next five years.
It is designed to teach kids about the opportunities available here at home and the skills needed to achieve them, and to prepare them as future leaders.
"We need to do a better job showcasing employment opportunities to our students," said chamber President and CEO Michael Supranowicz in announcing the initiative on Friday morning at the Central Block, surrounded by chamber members and educators.
That became more imperative after a Berkshire Compact study found the region's job vacancy is the highest in the state. While the Berkshires has been able to attract young professionals, "there is no replacement for homegrown talent that attends our schools, shops in our stores eats in our restaurants and experiences the recreational and natural attributes that only Berkshire County can afford."
The leadership program has been two years in development and spearheaded by Danielle Gonzalez, chairman of the chamber's Youth Leadership Steering Committee. Gonzalez said her committee worked with focus groups, meeting with county youth coalitions and Pittsfield academy students, and found their perception was that the county lacked good employment for those completing high school or college.
"This is a real opportunity to showcase what is here and what is available," she said.
Up to 30 sophomores from around the county will be selected to attend the program in their junior year by panels made up of business leaders and educators. The major criteria will be engagement both in and outside of school, said Gonzalez. While a certain grade-point average will be expected, high attendance would be considered a major factor as the panel looks for leadership qualities.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams will host the incoming juniors each August for a three-day retreat that will end with a daylong bus tour of the county. On a half-day field trip each month through May, the students will visit an example of one of the county's critical employment fields: health care, skilled manufacturing, financial services and hospitality, among others.
They'll also have to complete requirements laid out by the community college. Graduates of the program will receive three college credits at BCC and transferable to higher institutions with which the college has agreements.
Supranowicz said the goal is for the students to spread the information to their peers and to continue to be engaged in the program through their senior years through social networking and possibly collaborative projects. He's also sure that what the students will see will wow them.
"Believe it or not, there's an abundance of cool things right here in Berkshire County," he said in response to a question of the cool factor, offering up a virtual ship at General Dynamics. "If we can get students steering that ship, we can engage them to think about science and math ... one of the gaps we have here in Berkshire County is providing General Dynamics with as many engineers as they can use."
 The Berkshire County Guidance Association's Marietta Rapetti Cawse and PHS Academy of Finance students Eric Miller, left, Barret Bradley and Zoris Behanzin. |
BCC President Paul Raverta described the partnership as bringing creative solutions to education and an important investment in the county's future work force. Supranowicz said another initiative is being developed to reach out to at-risk kids in younger grades.
The leadership program is the latest — but hardly the last — step in bringing diverse elements of the Berkshires together for collaborative solutions. It's in line with the Berkshire Compact for Higher Education's stated goal of bringing business and education at all levels together to encourage and provide pathways to lifetime learning.
BCC and MCLA, for example, on Tuesday signed an agreement smoothing the way for associate degree graduates in science, math and engineering to continue on to a four-year degree.
It seemed a fitting way to end a week that began (for iBerkshires, at least) on Monday with a breakfast meeting with business leaders and state Rep. Benjamin B. Downing, who urged the county groups to work together.
The acting Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Higher Education bookended those remarks on Friday, noting this time the gathering was for the outcome of one of many ongoing collaborations.
"If we are to succeed in Berkshire County we cannot be 32 disparate communities going in our own direction," he said. "If we do that we sink. .... We need to work together. You are showing yet again, that this region in the far western corner of the commonwealth is leading by example."
To apply for the program or for more information, go to www.berkshirechamber.com/ylp for instructions and a downloadable Word application form or call the chamber at 413-499-4000. Deadline for the initial program is April 30, 2010, by 5 p.m.
