Partners

Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) arose 40 years ago from the looming threat of a devastating economic blow to the region – the closing of the U.S. Armory. Today the institution, the only technical community college in the state, is a powerful economic engine in its own right, providing businesses throughout Western Massachusetts with trained employees and encouraging business to grow and thrive. Springfield Technical Community College is the only community college in the nation with a technology park – one that was the sole national winner of the United States Department of Commerce’s Award for Excellence in Economic Development. STCC now offers 86 programs for 6,074 students and has given the community over 29,000 alumni. There are currently 827 students in STCC’s Engineering Technology programs, and 60 in the Engineering Transfer program.

The Springfield Public School system (SPS) is a high-need public school district which served 25,791 (5,692 middle school) students in 44 schools (6 middle schools) during the 2006-2007 school year. Of these, 49.9% (12,870) are Hispanic, 25.5% (6,577) are African-American, and 18.6% are white. The “Limited English Proficiency” population totals 13.7%; 77.5% of the student body (19,988) are low-income students, defined as eligible for the “free lunch” program, and over 22% (5,674) are “special needs.” Significantly, the Springfield Public Schools’ high risk academic indicators all far exceed state averages - evidence of extremely high student need. As a result, Springfield students continue to score low on the MCAS (the statewide standardized achievement measurement for No Child Left Behind) tests. For example, fifth grade science and technology scores resulted in 50% of students needing improvement and 37% of students warning or failing versus 37% of students statewide needing improvement and 12% warning or failing. The current high school graduation rate is 53.8%, compared to 80.9% statewide. Approximately 39% of STCC’s students are from the Springfield Public School system.

Founded in 1871, Smith College is the largest liberal arts college for women with a current enrollment of approximately 2,600 undergraduates studying within 37 academic departments. Smith boasts over 46,000 graduates. Over 46,000 women have graduated from Smith. The Picker Engineering Program is the first and only engineering program in the nation just for women. The program accepted its first students in the fall of 2000, and enrollment has been increasing each year. In response to the growing demand for properly educating tomorrow’s engineers, Glenn Ellis, Associate Professor of Engineering, has developed the Engineering Education Partnership for future teachers. In addition to the two baccalaureate degrees, Smith recently received funding from General Electric for their “Talk to Me” series of fiction books with an engineering focus for middle school girls.