March 2008 Newsletter
Building a Better Workforce Conference
Educational Attainment = Economic Development
Building a Better Workforce, a conference held in the MassMutual Room of the Basketball Hall of Fame in November, attracted 200 participants from the region's business, education and public policy communities and addressed the link between educational attainment - from pre-kindergarten through college and adult education - and a healthy local economy.
Nobel Laureate Dr. James Heckman, from the Center of Economic Research at the University of Chicago, spoke to attendees about the importance of investing in early education. Dr. Heckman cited a long-running study indicating that children who spent 2 1/2 hours a day in pre-school programs and whose families received home visits realized lifelong benefits. These participants had increased IQs, were more likely to graduate high school, and experience greater wage earning by age 40.
Local Initiatives to Improve the Workforce
Local initiatives making a difference and aimed at improving the skills for school-aged children, youth or adults trying to enter the workforce were highlighted in a panel discussion.
Springfield Attorney Paul Doherty spoke about his involvement with the StepUp Springfield initiative aimed at improving proficiency in the city's public schools. He shared that a group of local business people meet with staff at Forest Park Middle School to offer assistance in and resources to improve the learning environment of students. Jean Jackson of Baystate Health's Human Resource Department spoke about the important linkage between Baystate Health and education and training programs. Baystate has an ongoing working relationship with the Massachusetts Career Development Institute in Springfield which provides vocational training for participants and with Putnam Vocational Technical High School to educate students for careers in the healthcare field.
Isolda Ortega-Bustamente from Holyoke Community College and the Holyoke-based ENLACÉ shared how the program is engaging Holyoke youth - especially middle schoolers - to prepare them for educational success. Robert Schwarz, a Peter Pan Bus Lines executive, described for attendees how the company's public-private partnership with the City of Holyoke and Holyoke Community College is developing a multi-modal transportation center that will include space for an adult literacy program.
The Early Education for All Campaign
Margaret Blood, head of the Boston-based Strategies for Children, spoke to attendees about the continuing progress of the Early Education for All Campaign, a coalition of business, early childhood, labor, health care, religion and philanthropy and public policy leaders.
Blood reported that support continues to grow on Beacon Hill for universal high-quality pre-school for all Massachusetts' children, full-day kindergarten in the public schools, and the creation of a state system to improve the training, education and compensation of early educators.
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