Jun-26-14 Lt. Governor Highlights Career And Educational School Partnerships During Visit To Newark Tech TEAL/IRONBOUND Summer Program
Initiative Showcases How Business Principles And Teamwork Prepare Students For Future Careers
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| For Immediate Release Thursday, June 26, 2014 |
Contact: Michael Drewniak Kevin Roberts |
Trenton, NJ – Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno today continued her tour of New Jersey’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) schools with a visit to the Technologically Enhanced Active Learning (TEAL) Center at Newark Tech High School to meet with participants of the TEAL/IRONBOUND Summer Program. The program creates a real life businesslike environment that requires students, mentors and teachers to work together as a team to accomplish common objectives.
“The TEAL Center’s collaboration with IRONBOUND USA combines traditional curriculum with an added emphasis on social media, business strategies and team-driven problem solving to prepare students for whatever path they take in the future,” said Lt. Governor Guadagno. “Seeing this new facility in action highlights the importance of providing educational opportunities to our students that will give them the skills they need to be competitive in tomorrow’s careers.”
The pilot 2013-2014 school year welcomed 40 incoming seniors with an intense summer program that developed a marketing program for the IRONBOUND build-to-order product line. Several of these students have returned to serve as mentors for the 2014 program.
Building on the success of last year’s program, this summer’s class of incoming seniors has started learning the principles of business and time management and using those skills to promote their own “personal brand” in preparation for the upcoming school year and future entrance into the job market.
Students apply IRONBOUND’s 3x5 method, which teaches life skills through investigation, identification, innovation, improvisation and implementation. The expected result is increased curiosity, better communication skills and the self-assurance to make a contribution to the community.
IRONBOUND USA defines itself by its mission, “Building Skills and Creating Jobs.” The company has also implemented its program at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark and will expand to three additional schools in the fall of 2014.
Lt. Governor Guadagno was joined today by Commissioner Harold J. Wirths of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and Joseph DiVincenzo, Jr, Essex County Executive. The officials toured the facility and met with students to learn more about their progress and experiences with the TEAL Center.
“We are finding an increasing demand among employers today for people trained and experienced in science, technology, engineering and math. However, we also are finding from employers that they cannot find enough qualified workers to take those jobs. By bridging that skills gap, which is what Newark Tech and programs such as TEAL and IRONBOUND help us to do, we can help our young people step into promising careers while additionally helping New Jersey businesses find the talent they require to be prosperous and boost the Garden State economy,” said Commissioner Wirths.
Other representatives who took part in the tour included Joseph Zarra, Interim Executive Superintendent for Essex County; Oge Denis, Principal of Newark Tech; Anthony Abbaleo, School Business Administrator and Board Secretary; Frank Robinson, NJBIA Vice President; Bickram Singh, Supervisor of Program Accountability for Essex County Vocational Technical Schools; Dicxiana Carbonell, Ed.S., Supervisor of Curriculum & Instruction for Essex County Vocational Technical Schools; Gary Bloore, founder of IRONBOUND USA; and Michael Pennella, PhD., former superintendent of the Essex County Vocational Technical Schools, current professor and director of business communications at the Rutgers Business School and executive director of the educational group of IRONBOUND USA.
In 2013, Governor Chris Christie attended the formal opening of the 3,300-square-foot TEAL Center, which provides glass-enclosed classroom spaces that can be changed to fit teaching and learning needs with shifting seating, equipment and storage systems. This system enables students to study their core curriculum and prepare for a future career at a pace that is most conducive for learning.
Newark Tech combines a rigorous academic schedule that prepares students to pursue a baccalaureate or associate degree with CTE fields of study, including Robotics, Dentistry, Music Production, Manufacturing and Welding. Students who demonstrate specified skill competencies attain a certificate listing areas of mastery in addition to a high school diploma.
There are CTE programs offered throughout New Jersey’s 21 county vocational high schools and in more than 100 traditional high schools. More than 90,000 secondary students participate in CTE programs, with approximately 30,000 of them attending the 21 vocational schools. Approximately 70 percent of the state’s vocational-tech students attend college. Every county features partnerships with business, industry, colleges and universities.
Labor Commissioner Harold J. Wirths (left) joined Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno (center) in her
tour of the Technologically Enhanced Active Learning (TEAL) Center at Newark Tech High
School. They were joined by Marie Barry, Director of Career and Technical Education at
the Department of Education (pictured behind the Lt. Governor and Commissioner).
