Franklin Regional Superintendent Takes the Reigns as Westmoreland County Forum for Workforce Development Chair
Franklin Regional School District( FRSD) Superintendent, Dr. Gennaro R. Piraino, accepted the Chairmanship of the Westmoreland County Forum for Workforce Development( WCFWD) before a crowd of 180 educators, business leaders, and government officials that included Pennsylvania Secretary of Education, Pedro Rivera. The event was conducted at the Greensburg Country Club in Hempfield, PA.
The WCFWD, a newly formed group of business-education representatives, has been meeting regularly under the guidance of Dr. William Kerr, outgoing WCFWD Chairman and current Superintendent of Norwin School District, with the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit( WIU) Superintendents Association comprised of the 17 School Districts. The purpose of the group is to discuss ways which will provide a better understanding of regional quality workforce needs of business and industry and how improved communication and collaboration can be cultivated and developed between education and business entities to address the needs of the new economy. The longterm plan will include K-12 curriculum supervisors, guidance counselors, career teacher coaches, etc., industry, business, and community leaders, post-secondary education leaders, and county and state government officials and agency heads.
Dr. Piraino shared the plans of the WCFWD to take the opportunity to collaboratively address the needs of the county workforce and resident retention objectives by creating pathways of learning in all Westmoreland schools.
“ Through this robust partnership between K-12 schools, higher-education, local and state governments, and business, we will create outstanding opportunities for the strength, prosperity, and success of our students and businesses,” said Dr. Piraino. The WCFWD truly reflects what is great about Westmoreland County and what is right about our school systems.”
Leading the way for workforce development across the Commonwealth and county, Secretary Rivera, in a rare appearance on this side of the Commonwealth, shared his thoughts about the progressive stance the WCFWD has taken in the Commonwealth to create pathways for career success for students across the area, while linking school districts with post-secondary schools, and businesses to bridge the gap and create opportunities for students wishing to pursue specific career choices.
“ By using multiple pathways to success, we can excite our education system,” said Rivera.“ Rather than focusing all of the educational resources on improving that one test score, it would be better to take the system back to focusing on what is best for the students.” Dr. Piraino agreed with Secretary Rivera.“ We must meet the not-so-basic academic and Core Standards, but we cannot sacrifice their preparation for career success for a meaningless standardized score that ranks, sorts, and fragments our educational system,” said Piraino.“ We must measure the quality of our schools in a better way that is relevant to our students and the world in which they will enter.”
Dr. Piraino said the Forum’ s next step is to launch task forces that will intently focus on the development and implementation of three interconnected and vital components of the group’ s workforce development model.
“ The first task force will be focused on career exploration and education,” said Dr. Piraino.“ This group will focus on evaluating and developing the career-centered programs that will allow students K-12 to realize their future potential as productive and contributing members of society.”
He said the students will have powerful experiences and will develop global competencies and knowledge that are essential to make intelligent and informed decisions on career pathways and to master skills critical to future success.
The second task force will be career pathways, which will create a sustainable and successful College and Career Pathway Model. This will increase dual enrollment opportunities while establishing articulation agreements with all five Westmoreland County institutions of higher education.
The third task force will be focused on internships, externships, and apprenticeships. Through a countywide partnership, the WCFWD will create an Experiential Hub.
“ This Experiential Hub will enable us to create a clear understanding of the internship, externship, and apprenticeship process for students, schools, and businesses,” said Piraino.“ Through this Experiential Hub, our students will be matched with potential future employers for these invaluable opportunities.”
Chad Amond, President of the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce, is part of the WCFWD and supports the positioning of students for college and career pathways by building public-private partnerships to address what business and education have called a skill gap.
“ We need to have the conduit between schools, the post-secondary institutions and the business community,” Amond said.
The evening also featured a presentation by Bill Flanagan, Chief Corporate Relations Officer for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, who shed light on the future needs of the region with regards to how demographic trends will impact education and business.
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