A Message from the Executive Director | |
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Dear Friends;
As I reflect on the last six months, there is so much to share!
We had a great spring and summer at the Northshore Education Consortium (NEC). Students participated in Special Olympics, intramural sports, schooner sails, and field day experiences. They performed at the Boch Center - Wang Theatre, enjoyed Prom, and participated in another successful "Walk and Roll" event.
Approximately 50 students graduated from our programs, and as noted in their graduation ceremonies, so many of them surpassed the expectations that they had for themselves, or that their parents and staff members had for them. Whether moving on to continuing education, college, employment, independent living, or adult services, each of our graduates left us with new strengths, skills, and relationships. As we welcomed new students this fall, we saw worry and fear in many of their faces. But we also saw the resilience, the strength, and the hope, that they had finally arrived in a school that could help them meet their full potential.
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I am always so proud when our amazing staff can share what they know with other professionals. NEC was well represented at the annual Youth at Risk Conference held at Endicott College in May. Over 700 professionals from across the region attended this conference, and NEC staff played an active role on the planning committee, presented several workshops, and designed the beautiful centerpieces made by our Kevin O'Grady School Vocational students.
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In addition, we continue to provide impactful professional development opportunities for our staff and those in our region. We sponsored a variety of grant-funded trainings throughout the summer thanks to the John W. Alden Trust and the Behavioral Health Partnership grant supported by the Essex County Community Foundation and the North Shore Community Health Network. The trainings focused on topics such as Youth Mental Health First Aid and Preventing Adolescent Substance Use. | |
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You may have read about the nationwide crisis in special education staffing, the shortages in many specialized fields, and the difficulties with hiring entry-level assistants. This has affected us as well, and it has become more challenging to attract and retain diverse and talented employees. I am so proud of the incredible people who show up every day, putting not only their skill but also their hearts and souls into their work. The continued support of philanthropy, through our Staff Enrichment Fund, and through the funding of special programs for our students and professional development for our staff, makes a huge difference in our ability to sustain our energy and do the work in these challenging times!
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Another huge challenge that we face is maintaining and updating our aging buildings to meet current needs. Our largest capital project is ahead of us. A failing HVAC system must be replaced in our building at 112 Sohier, home to our Kevin O'Grady School and Northshore Recovery High School. To support the new system, the 27 year old year old roof must also be replaced. Funding this multi-million dollar project will be a team effort. While we will need to finance a large portion of the work, which will impact our budget and our tuition rates, a generous grant from the Cummings Foundation helped us get started with preliminary engineering costs.
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Supporting the future of NEC, Richard M. Jones of Jones Architect volunteered the time and talent of his team to provide us with concept plans for much-needed upgrades and possible expansion at our Topsfield Vocational Program and J. Hilary Rockett of JHR Development, LLC recently completed renovations at our Northshore Academy Upper School.
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As I look out my office window at the changing leaves, I hear the music from one group of children enjoying a special outdoor program, and the voices of another group of children preparing to leave on a fall field trip. We are well into the school year, and the start of a new season in a world beset by troubles but I feel incredibly grateful for the NEC community and for the privilege of working with dedicated and passionate people to do important work. Thank you for joining us to create meaningful and life-changing opportunities for our students!
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Francine H. Rosenberg, M.Ed., Executive Director | |
Transitions Programs: SOAR & Embark | |
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Carlos Joins Pisa Pizza
Not only a proud graduate of our Northshore Academy Upper School but more recently, of our SOAR Program, Carlos is gainfully employed at Pisa Pizza. After several years of training at the pizza shop, Joe Crowley, owner of Pisa Pizza in Malden said, "We are proud to bring Carlos aboard to our Pisa Pizza crew. Welcome aboard, my friend, so proud of you!"
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Mackenzie & Max In The Kitchen
There is always something cooking in the kitchen out at SOAR & Embark! When asked about their favorite jobsite, both Mackenzie and Max said they loved working in the Café at school. Max likes to prepare meals while Mackenzie enjoys putting the salads together and delivering them to the staff.
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Makerspace = Creative Entrepreneurship
In Makerspace this summer our students worked hard to design and make cups for all of the students and staff. They used the Cricut to cut out logos and names so everyone could have a personalized cup at school. After the students applied the names and logos to each cup, they got the satisfaction of delivering the finished products to each classroom! Makerspace is providing many real life learning opportunities for students in the field of technology and graphic design. This "space" is compartmentalized into a variety of workshops set up for hands-on learning preparing students for future careers and job placement opportunities. Both the Makerspace and Vocational Laboratory are the direct result of donor support and grant funding.
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Horsing Around
We were so fortunate to partner with Northshore Recovery High School (NSRHS) and receive a visit from Mini's With a Mission out of Ipswich. Students were able to mingle and snuggle up to the miniature horses and donkeys. It was a great experience for all students. Oh, and the staff too!
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Special Olympics - A New Feat
What an amazing day for many Kevin O'Grady (KOG) students! Traveling by bus to St. John's Prep to participate in a number of different games, our students played soccer, ran on the track, did the long jump, and entertained us with some singing. It was invigorating to see our students engaged in sports with others in our community. There were a bunch of smiling students at the end of the day as they received their medals!
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Another Successful Walk and Roll
We were so lucky to get a beautiful day for our Walk & Roll event which was well attended by staff, students and families. Students walked and rolled around the building while listening to music, dancing and blowing bubbles. As always, the raffles provided were a big hit helping us raise over $7,000 which will go toward continuing to enhance our memorial spaces for students and staff who have passed... but will always be remembered.
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Northshore Academy Upper School | |
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The Heat Is On
For the friendly Diamond Chef Annual Cooking Competition, Northshore Academy Upper School (NSAU) students worked against the clock to create their selected show stopping dish and then present it to the judges. This annual event teaches planning, teamwork, good sportsmanship, responsible decision making, and self-awareness and is an eagerly anticipated event each year. All teams had winning attitudes and amazing food. There were no losers in this competition!
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From Bees to Fried Dough
NSAU students had many opportunities to learn and laugh with friends and staff on their annual trip to the Topsfield Fair. One of the highlights this year was the Beehive Hut. While the fair is a ton of fun it also provides many opportunities for students to manage money, make decisions and navigate various social situations. One of many decisions students encountered this year was choosing between Fried Oreos vs. Fried dough.
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How About That Fish
As a part of NSAU Outdoor Program, interested students have been participating in Fishing Enrichments. Through these classes students are learning how to fish plus a wide variety of skills needed to build and utilize fishing rods and tackle. Enrichments are self-selected classes students choose to explore new activities, skills and hobbies, make social connections, and learn about new and exciting topics. Some of the NSAU Enrichments include opportunities that would not be made possible without the support of donors, local business and grants, including the rock wall in our gym, LAN Parties, and our Outdoor Program, to name a few.
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Northshore Academy Lower School | |
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Leading the Way
This is the first year that Northshore Academy Lower School held a student Leadership Group election. Six members from the upper classrooms were voted in by their peers to represent them for a Leadership Group. The group meets once a week, has identified what it means to be a leader and to serve, and has selected a fall service project. They chose to collect food and toiletries for the local homeless shelter. Once the collection box is full, the school will have a community celebration with a school wide football game!
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Zones of Regulation
Throughout the fall, 5th and 6th grade classes have come together to learn about the Zones of Regulation. The students first discussed what each zone was, and worked on identifying and labeling what category an emotion would be in. The students then began completing art projects related to each zone and identified coping strategies that could be helpful for returning to "the green zone", which is the zone that we are "ready to learn" in! Students continue to review and practice these strategies in their everyday lives at school!
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Topsfield Fair - Pairing Learning & Fun
The recent field trip to the Topsfield Fair was a delightful outing for our 6th grade class. Each year this is a memorable experience for our oldest students who look forward to it for years. The fair always provides many hands-on learning opportunities in addition to offering a taste of local culture. This year, students enjoyed performances from Robinson’s Racing Pigs, watching the "Money Tree" contest, catching a glance of the giant pumpkins and feeding the chickens which was quite entertaining. One class favorite was visiting the beekeeping house and trying the organic honey sticks. Students even won ribbons for spotting the queen bee!
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Topsfield Vocational Academy | |
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The Tradition Continues
Another boat launched this spring thanks to the Topsfield Vocational Academy (TVA) Woodshop students in partnership with Essex Shipbuilding Museum. In June, a Caribbean style skiff designed and crafted by Student Shipbuilders was launched on the Essex River! Plans are already underway for the next boat build to set sail in 2024!
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Jones Architecture Moves TVA One Step Closer To Making Dreams a Reality
When Richard M. Jones, a local architect and friend, learned about our capital planning challenges, he volunteered the time and talent of his team at Jones Architecture to work with us at TVA to draft a series of concept plans to help us think about the best options for future expansion and upgrading at this site. TVA has welcomed lots of new students, added vocational offerings and has a huge desire to "do more" with the space they have to better serve their students. Rick, this is the largest "in-kind" gift NEC has ever been given! Many thanks to you and to your team!
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Northshore Recovery High School | |
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Frankie’s Voice
In October, hundreds of community members flooded The Cabot in downtown Beverly for a night of ping-pong and cribbage in memory of Frankie Raffa, Jr. The event featured over 60 silent auction items and a live auction that left many of the guests in tears as folks stepped up to support the Northshore Recovery High School. Our own students, who served snacks throughout the evening, stood speechless, unable to comprehend the outpouring of support for each of them in their recovery journey. We cannot thank the Raffa family enough for the immeasurable ways they have invested in our NRHS.
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"Live your life as an expression of gratitude." ~ Anonymous
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When the Consortium’s nonprofit fundraising arm, Friends of NEC, was established back in 2004, no one could have imagined how important having a 501(c)3 dedicated to supporting the needs of NEC would become. As a result, the Consortium has been receiving "expressions of gratitude" for decades. Whether those expressions are the gift of a plant for a student garden, a smile at morning drop off, a grant to support mental health training, or a financial gift, every gift to NEC has mattered. | |
We are fortunate to be the recipient of so much generosity from foundations, individuals, the landlord for one of our schools and now, a local architect! It is recent grant support from the John W. Alden Trust, Essex County Community Foundation, North Shore Community Health Network, Cell Signaling, Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, M&T and Rockland Trust Charitable Foundations, New England BioLabs, and the Tower Foundation, that are helping to fund our growing technology need, professional development opportunities, vocational and outdoor programs, mental health trainings, peer to peer mentoring and more. Linzee Coolidge and John and Mollie Brynes, cornerstones to NEC, have shared their resources to support everything from kitchen upgrades to assistive communication devices to unrestricted operational support and beyond. Their years of thoughtful giving will deeply impact our programs for years to come.
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Our landlord at Northshore Academy Upper School, J.Hilary Rockett, worked with us to make some capital improvements on the property, which have benefited our students and staff! We now have an updated outdoor area with raised garden beds and a lovely seating area, and an improved indoor space for storage and additional student activities. When Friends of NEC VP, Luisa Coppola, connected NEC to a local architect, Rick Jones, he and his staff donated their time and talent to draft expansion plans for our Topsfield Vocational Academy which is at an all-time high for enrollment.
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Every philanthropic gesture from the gift of a balloon arch for our Walk and Roll event to being the recipient of a capital Cummings grant helps provide what our students need.
Now Is the Time
Yet, if there was ever a time for NEC to be fully transparent and speak beyond our generosity to our need, it is now. While we have been given much over the years to support program needs, mission critical capital needs have become "front and center" for NEC as an education collaborative. Like public schools, collaboratives are required to go through a complex public procurement process for capital work. Unlike public schools, collaboratives cannot petition for local city and town financial resources, nor are collaboratives eligible for Massachusetts School Building Authority funding; all of which support capital repairs.
| This is the reality NEC faces as we plan for our biggest capital project in our almost 50 year history. A failing HVAC system in the building where our Northshore Recovery High School and Kevin O'Grady School are located must be replaced. KOG serves our most medically and physically compromised students. In order to install the new HVAC system, the aged roof must also be replaced. This multi-million dollar capital project will not only put unprecedented strain on NEC’s budget but it will require tuition rate increases on our member districts, impacting their budgets. | It can be a common misconception that NEC doesn't really "need" philanthropic support as tuition follows each student enrolled in our schools/programs. But, that couldn't be further from the truth. NEC's mission is to balance cost effective rates and high quality programming as we respond to our district's need to serve a diverse population of students with complex special needs. Philanthropy bridges the gap between low rates and high cost programming. | |
NEC’s connection to the community is strong but we know there are people we need to meet, businesses that need to hear our story and foundations that, once they know about us, will want to support us. Keeping our community partners aware and connected to NEC is essential for the wellbeing of our students. Thank YOU for being a part of our NEC family. Your influence is purposeful and impactful!
"Every student. Every day. Whatever it takes."
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Did you know that the Friends of NEC can receive gifts of stock?
For more information, please contact Sarah Seiler, Director of Development at sseiler@nsedu.org or 978.232.9755 x1251.
Friends of NEC EIN #61-1479553
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Festivus 5K for Autism 2023 | |
Join us for the 12th running of the Festivus 5K for Autism in historic downtown Salem, MA! We are looking forward to another exciting race and expect 500 runners! In 11 years this race has raised over $204,000 for children with autism. With your support, we will be able to purchase much-needed technologies to assist and educate children with autism at the Northshore Education Consortium. | |
Arpeggione, Beverly’s own chamber music ensemble, will bring a multi-sensory performance to NEC in May 2024. Made possible by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, "Dreams and Dances" will take listeners on a journey through enchanted forests and countryside, combining music by Beethoven and Mendelssohn with dancers and costumes. | |
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Thank you! Your giving matters...
"Every student. Every day. Whatever it takes."
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