Dream It Do It WNY Director Melissa Himes looks in on welding class

The Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier has announced the hiring of Melissa Himes as the Director of the Dream It Do It Western New York program.

Himes has 16 years of experience working in manufacturing and 23 years of experience in human resources. She replaces former Director Francine Rondenell.

MAST Executive Director Todd Tranum said Francine took a position with a partner organization, where she will be providing training to help individuals who are entering or re-entering the workforce.

Tranum said in a statement that Melissa Himes had previously been involved with the Dream It Do It program during her time working in manufacturing and has been involved in several other programs including P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) in Dunkirk and the Chautauqua County Education Coalition.
Dream It Do It Western New York, an initiative of the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier, has a mission to increase the skilled workforce pipeline entering manufacturing careers.

Himes will oversee implementation of a variety of DIDI programming such as the annual STEM Wars event, technology tours that connect local students to local manufacturing, engagement with teachers and counselors to facilitate an understanding of manufacturing careers, girls in manufacturing programs introducing more young women to manufacturing career opportunities, manufacturing camps and a variety of other initiatives.

DIDI Chautauqua County is seeking volunteers from industry, schools, and the community. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Melissa Himes at mhimes@didiwny.com.

To learn more about Dream It Do It, visit www.didiwny.com.

Dream It Do It coordinates tours of students, teachers and counselors through local manufacturing facilities. A group of students from Randolph with assistance from DIDI toured Stuart Tool & Die in Falconer this past fall.

A local program that works to get more skilled workers into manufacturing is starting strong after the pandemic put the program on pause.

Dream It, Do It Western New York‘s new coordinator, Francine Rondenell, said October is National Manufacturing Month, “What we tend to do during the month of October for Manufacturing month is to really try to get students into area manufacturers to tour, ask questions, see in person what today’s manufacturing looks like.”

Dream It, Do It is an initiative of the Manufacturer’s Association of the Southern Tier. MAST Executive Director Todd Tranum said workforce is the number one challenge faced by manufacturers and has been even before the issues brought on by the Pandemic, “We see Dream It, Do It as an important part of this. I mean, there’s other initiatives in the community that are important. JCC has made a significant investment in their workforce development side and in the Manufacturing Institute. We have the P-TECH program out of Dunkirk which is available to schools throughout the district. We’ve seen our specific schools make additional investments and recognizing the importance of skilled trades and manufacturing.”

Rondenell said the Dream It, Do It 500, which originated in Cattaraugus County, is coming to SUNY Fredonia this November. She said it’s a competition where students build and market rubber band powered cars, “But the task is for them to be on-site and coming up with the design and building it and testing it and then racing it. And we’ll have a panel of judges there who will be judging various criteria. We’re also planning on having some engineers from area manufacturers there who can help them with the design process.”

Rondenell said the competition had been held remotely last year, with over 300 students participating. She said STEM Wars also will be returning this Spring after being on hiatus.

For more information about the Dream It, Do It program, visit didiwny.com

As of Monday, June 1, over 600 people have signed an online petition calling for the P-Tech program at Jamestown Public Schools to remain open during the 2020-21 academic year.

JAMESTOWN – A group of families from the Jamestown Public Schools district are asking for community support in expressing concern for the closure of two programs as part of next year’s school budget.

Earlier this month it was announced the Jamestown School board approved a 2020-21 “pandemic budget” for next year which – among other things – called for the temporary closure of both the Success Academy program and the P-Tech program. Jamestown School Superintendent Bret Apthorpe had acknowledged both programs were very successful in helping to improve student achievement and performance, but also said that due to a projected cut in state aid, the district had no choice but to remove those programs for next year.

However, a group of parents are hoping the district can still find a way in the 11th hour to bring the programs back.

“I understand that this is a tough time for so many, but for these kids and so many more losing their education will profoundly and drastically change their futures,” explained Alexis Macri, one of the parents whose child is involved with P-Tech. “We (P-Tech/success academy families) are reaching out to gain support for these amazing programs, hoping to get financial help from government aid so that we can let these kids continue on the great path they are on.”

The families that want to see the programs restored are now asking the public to join them in asking the district to make them a top priority, should more school aid come in from the state than what is projected in next year’s budget. An online petition has also been set up specifically asking for the public to support re-instating the P-Tech program. As of Monday morning, over 600 people had signed on to the petition.

The school board will hold a budget hearing on Monday at 6 p.m.  The hearing will be held remotely and the public can access the
Budget Hearing at www.jpsny.org/budgethearing. There are also directions on this page for community members who would like to participate in the live broadcast Budget Hearing with questions or comments.

The public can also email questions or comments in advance to the BOE @ jpsny.org by noon on Monday to have them read during the Budget Hearing.

A comparison between expenses and revenue for both this school year and next school year for the Jamestown Public School District, under the proposed 2020-21 school budget.

JAMESTOWN – The public hearing for the Jamestown Public Schools’ 2020-21 proposed budget will be held remotely on Monday, June 1 at 6 p.m.

On May 19 the Jamestown School Board unanimously approved the $88.3 million budget that includes no property tax increase.

The total spending is nearly $2.7 million less than the current year’s spending plan and includes the temporary elimination of the Success Academy and P-Tech programs, seven layoffs, the elimination of all field trips, and the holding off on hiring 40 new employees – including 23 teachers.

The austere spending plan is due to the state saying all schools in New York could see as much as a 20% reduction in state aid due to a downturn in the economy caused by COVID-19.

More details on the budget are provided on the school website.

• RELATED: WRFA BUDGET INTERVIEW WITH JPS SUPERINTENDENT BRET APTHORPE

The public can access the Budget Hearing at JPSNY.org/BudgetHearing. There are also directions on this page for community members who would like to participate in the live broadcast Budget Hearing with questions or comments. The public can also email questions or comments in advance to the BOE @ jpsny.org by noon on June 1 to have them read during the Budget Hearing. Any questions? Please email BOE @ jpsny.org.

The budget vote is being done by absentee ballot with the deadline for submission be 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 9. There are two propositions on the ballot.

• The first proposition is for the JPS Proposed 2020-21 Budget not to exceed $88,313,671, which includes NO tax increase.
• The second proposition is the Prendergast Library Association asking the public to approve a tax levy of $350,000 for the purpose of funding the library.

In addition to the June 1 budget hearing, School Superintendent Bret Apthorpe will be holding his next weekly Facebook Live update on Friday, May 29 at 10 a.m. to update and answer questions for students and parents. Join the conversation at Facebook.com/JamestownPublicSchools/.

During its weekly update sent out on Friday, May 22, the district reported that its Food Service Department served 10,600 meals on Thursday alone for the Memorial Day Weekend. Since school buildings have closed, they have served 146,000 school meals. School meal pick up for JPS students is available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Jefferson, Persell and Washington Middle Schools and Jamestown High School. Our meal pick up service is not available on Saturday or Sunday. Please bring extra bags on Fridays to pick up weekend meals. Weekly menus are posted at jpsny.org/meals.

For details about Learning at Home during COVID-19, visit the district’s Continuing Instruction Plan at JPSNY.org/ContinuingInstruction. If a student or parent needs technical support for their iPad or Chromebook device, please send an email to techsupport @ jpsny.org or call 716-483-4242.

Also, Jamestown community childcare program still has spaces available. Priority will be given to parents who work in healthcare, public safety, and first responders. If you have a child age 3 to 11 and are in need of childcare, please reach out to childcare @ jpsny.org and/or call 716-203-1539 for information. Please be ready to provide proof of employment when registering.