CCN has partnered with school and district leadership on a range of activities for the school, chosen for impact and importance, including:

• Support for Program Advisory Boards
• Continual career exploration by Madison Park Technical Vocational High School students
• Co-op for all students
• Incentives for excellent performance by students, in attendance and graduation rates
• Higher skill attainment by students for core academics, including math
• Telling the Madison Park Technical Vocational High School story.
• Adult Education at Madison Park
• Clean energy training efforts

Building Collaboration with Organizations throughout the City
Already, the CCN has been able to build collaborative relationships with the Ben Franklin Institute of Technology (BFIT), Wentworth, Northeastern University, Jewish Vocational Services, Project Place, and Local 26 UNITE.

Gaining Support from Leading Business Organizations in Greater Boston
These include the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership (MACP), the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Alliance for Business Leadership, and the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA).

Recruiting New Members for the Program Advisory Boards (PABs)
To ensure that each of the twenty programs at Madison Park is up-to-date on state of art occupational requirements, a subcommittee of the CCN is reaching out to business organizations and individual business leaders to solicit their membership in Madison Park’s Program Advisory Boards. The PABs work with faculty in each of the school’s vocational programs helping guide them in training needs and certification requirements. A round of Zoom meetings with business leaders has helped recruit new PAB members for the school’s workshops and CNN continues to garner additional recruits.

Creating Continual Career Exploration
Starting no later than ninth grade, emphasis is being placed on students gaining a closer look at multiple career opportunities and helping Madison Park adopt a powerful new approach to college and career planning for all of its students using the state’s “My Career and Academic Plan” or MyCAP.

Industry-Recognized Credentials
To improve and increase student attainment of the most in-demand industry-recognized credentials (IRCs) relevant to each of the school’s 20 programs, the CCN is addressing the need for additional teacher training and raising funds for the purchase of necessary curriculum and testing materials.

Telling the Madison Park Story
A media campaign is being developed which is critical to continued growth in student enrollment, acceptance in the community, and attraction of new partners to support the school through coop opportunities and ultimately to boost the self-esteem and growth potential of Madison Park’s students.

Boston Globe OpEd
Barry Bluestone and Deval Patrick had their OpEd “Let’s Make Madison Park the Powerhouse School It Can Be” August 22, 2022, click here.

Creation of the Career Exploration Video for Madison Park 9th Graders
Working closely with two CCN members, both of whom are award-winning documentary film producers, the CCN created a 30-minute high quality film highlighting a range of occupations that Madison Park students can enter. The film crew worked with Suffolk Construction, Feeney Brothers Utility Service, Mass General Hospital, and the Park Plaza Hotel, interviewing employees who explained on camera their jobs and how much they value them. The film was shown to all 9th graders at the end of 2021. The film is now being adapted for new uses and Spanish subtitles are being added so that it can be used with adult audiences in both the English speaking and Hispanic community.

Solicit Funds for Madison Park
The CCN was successful in obtaining a $500,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Workforce Training Council for the purchase of capital equipment for the school’s new Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) workshop and a $150,000 grant for new equipment for its health assisting and dental assistant workshops. The CCN was also successful in assisting Madison Park obtain a $240,000 Career Technical Institute grant for new welding and HVAC programs for adults, and in obtaining an Edvestor grant which is now being used at Madison Park to support career readiness through its IDEAL Career Pathway initiative.

End of School Year Luncheon
For the past two years, CCN has sponsored an end of the year luncheon for all of the MP outstanding freshman, sophomore junior, and senior students who had been selected during the school year as a “Cardinal of the Month” and who had received $100 gift cards from CCN for their exceptional school performance. Each of these students has received a proclamation from the City Council noting their school success during this noteworthy event.

Equitable Opportunity and Investment Madison Park
Must receive the support it needs to support its diverse high school student body as well as adult learners in the community. Our investments in the school must reflect the fact that Madison Park not only opens doors for its students, but also builds the economic vitality of our entire City.

Boston Foundation Grant Proposal
The CCN leadership team has completed a grant proposal which will be submitted early this month. It includes funding for a part-time CCN administrator and funds for a number of school priorities.

Madison Park Staff Retreat 
Members of the CCN leadership team were invited to and attended a Madison Park Staff retreat on Fall 2022.

MP First Day Celebration 
CCN is funding a first day of school celebration underwriting the cost of balloons, snacks, and a DJ.

MP Dental Assisting Program 
CCN’s Jay Ash has been helping the school administration expand its dental assisting program.

Developing Co-op for All
A priority of the CCN is to provide all eligible upper-class students with a high-powered co-op experience by reaching out to the business community to generate additional co-op jobs across the spectrum of workshop occupations at Madison Park.

Creating the Madison Park Technical Institute
Plans are underway through the CCN to develop at Madison Park an adult training program to serve adults of all ages and backgrounds as well as providing new training opportunities for ex-felons. Given the substantial amount of capital equipment for training purposes in all twenty of Madison Park’s workshops, the plan is to be able to open these workshops for adult classes in the evening and on weekends so as to take full advantage of these assets.

Mayor’s Green New Deal
Targeting organizations with relevance to the Mayor’s Green New Deal to help build capacity at the school to provide students with skills needed for the green economy

Identifying Possible New Programs for Madison Park Identifying and connecting with potential partners for any new programs that the school might pursue such as biotech, robotics and solar, as well as early childhood support

Enhance the Health Care Programs
Supporting efforts to enhance the health care programs at the school.

Training of PAB members
Developing opportunities for training both new and current PAB members about their role at Madison Park, to deepen their connection to the school, and improve the quality of PABs

Identify Needs
Work with PAB members to identify needed credentials by program and to systematically identify ways to modernize programs to help them keep up with changes in industry needs and requirements

Student College and Career Planning
Deeper methods of student college and career planning using MyCAP as the main structural element

Addressing Academic and Technical Skills of Students
Through supports for better instruction, remediation and credential attainment

Support for Adult Students and Out-of-School Youth
Provide after school and evening programming as well as summer programming and encouraging a commitment to career technical education and, career readiness, for all the students in Boston (both at Madison Park and other middle and high schools).

Support Efforts
By BPS, the City of Boston and the Commonwealth to address facility needs

Plan Meetings with Key Officials
To share news and information about the school, e.g. new Superintendent Mary Skipper

Create Short List of Key Organizational Allies
Plan coordinated efforts with allies including the Friends of Madison Park and the Boston PIC

Alumni
Supporting school efforts to work with alumni of the school