NORTH COUNTRY CAREER CENTER
REGIONAL ADVISORY BOARD MEETING
North Country Supervisory Union School District
Newport, Vermont
Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
NCCC Room 380
9:00 AM
I.Call to order:
Grant Spates called to order the regular meeting of the NCCC RAB at 9:07 am on June 3,
2015 in the NCCC Room #380.
Roll call:
Cecile Randall conducted a roll call. The following members were present:
John Castle, Grant Spates, Rose Mary Mayhew, Effie Brown, Julie Lague, Louise
Bonvechio, Karin Barrup, Joe Kasprzak and Toni Eubanks representing LR School
Board filling in for Michael Sanville
Members absent: Donald Van Nostrand, Chris Masson, Deena Gray, Michael
Sanville and Tim Chamberlin
Guest: Karen Geraghty, Jim Campbell and Ross MacCormick, Dr. Kathy Gray,
Audry Brown and Don Whipple
Press: Jennifer Hershey Cleveland
Staff present: Eileen Illuzzi, Gwen Bailey-Rowe, Gillian Staniforth and Cecile
Randall
II. Welcome and Introduce Guest from the Economic Development Group:
 Ms. Illuzzi said Mr. Castle suggested inviting the members of the Economic
Development Group to the RAB meeting to involve this group with the RAB to
discuss their input to assist the Career Center
 Ms. Illuzzi asked the Economic Group to assess with the RAB what we are now
doing versus what we should in the future to prepare our students for their careers
 The three guest are: Karen Geraghty from the UVM Extension Service, Ross
MacCormick representing the Newport Renaissance and Jim Campbell a local relator
 Mr. Campbell said we need to focus on the development and jobs that are already
here in the NEK
 Ms. Geraghty expressed the need of students to adapt to 21st century careers
 Mr. MacCormick expressed that marketing of the programs are important
 Ms. Illuzzi asked the RAB membership to introduce themselves and what businesses
they represented
 Dr. Kathy Gray, NCCC faculty member and a NCCC student Audry Brown were
introduced and welcomed to the meeting
III. Presentation by the Forestry, Agriculture and Water Resources Program:
 Ms. Illuzzi introduced Sam Nijensohn, the Forestry, Agriculture and Water Resource
instructor.
 She explained Mr. Nijensohn joined the staff at the NCCC this past January
 Ms. Illuzzi said the two instructors hired had not worked but said we were very lucky
to hire Mr. Nijensohn who comes to us from St. Johnsbury Academy
 Mr. Nijensohn introduced the Forestry students who talked about what they were
most interested in the FAWR program
 Mr. Nijensohn gave an overview of the FAWR program including the collaboration
of the NC English department and the NCCC Building Trades program in completing
Henry Davis Thoreau’s cabin
 Mr. Nijensohn said a transformation took place from a group of young men to a welloiled team which realized their potential in the winter and spring FFA competitions in
which NCCC cleaned house winning 1st place as a team and 1, 2, 3 place as
individual and a tie for 4th place
 Ms. Illuzzi told the group the Forestry class has been through a lot but has pulled
together as a group showing their potential
 Mr. Campbell said he was very impressed with these students
 Dr. Gray said if the group needed support she was willing to work with them as she is
a veterinarian and could assist the students in the dairy part of their curriculum
IV. Program highlights for the 2014 – 2015 school year – Eileen Illuzzi:
 Ms. Illuzzi told the RAB members the North Country Career Center had 122
completers this year; this year student’s received many awards in the local Career and
Technical Student’s Organizations (CTSO) such as Skills USA, FFA, DECA and
FBLA
 Ms. Illuzzi gave an overview of the NCCC Program of Study of the 17 programs
offered at the Career Center
 She said there were 6 completers in the Culinary Arts program; this is a two year
program of students working in a commercial kitchen and bakery students prepare
breakfast and lunch working in the front of the house with a point of sales just like a
real restaurant; this program has been integrated with the Hospitality & Tourism
program which means more training for the students; this year’s students went on
field trips to NYC and to restaurants in the Burlington area
 Ms. Illuzzi said there were 9 completers in the Building Trades program; students
participated in the Thoreau cabin, made wooden lockers for other schools, worked on
the athletic field in Troy, has constructed an arbor which will be used in a fundraiser
raffle for a softball tournament in which the money will be given to a staff member
who is ill
 Ms. Illuzzi said there were 8 completers in the CADD program; this covered both
architectural and mechanical computer aided design. The students participated in
various projects such doing a 3D rendering of the Haskell Opera House, the Old
Stone House and a covered bridge in which they hand drew then used CAD software
and then printed their rendering on the 3D printer which was very impressive
 Ms. Illuzzi said in the Early Childhood Development there were 8 completers which
accumulated 45 hours of field placement with local pre-schools and kindergarten
classes. The students trained in basic sign language, first aid and Level 1 CPR and
dual enrollment
 Ms. Illuzzi said there were 5 completers in the Heavy Equipment program and 6 in
the Forestry, Agriculture and Water Resources programs
 She said in the Protective Services program there were 6 completers. There were 8
students completing the E-911 dispatching class; there is now a question of this
program being viable due to the closure of the 911 call center in Derby
 Ms. Illuzzi said there were 6 completers in the Computer & Networking program
 Ms. Illuzzi said there were 3 completers in the Video Game & Web Programming
program; this group participated in a CODE training which is nationwide and allows
girls to develop careers in STEM and other non-traditional careers
 Ms. Illuzzi said there were 7 completers in the Welding/Metal Fabrication program,
20 completers in Health Careers who were involved in LNA and Human Growth and
Development and dual enrollment which is year 2; year 1 student go to NCH for
clinical rotations to all departments as well as dental office, funeral homes for real life
experiences
 She said there were 3 completers in the Automotive program which will be changed
to Transportation Science Technology now with Aviation as a strong component;
industry recognized credential in ASE inspections, P/S 2 certification, and are
presently preparing for the NATEF re-certification for the automotive industry
 Ms. Illuzzi said the Cosmetology program had 14 completers in which the students
were involved with community services visiting the Meeting Place and Bel-Aire to
give manicure and other services to the residents. She said when Ms. Marsh became
il; Ms. Jacobs took over the program and didn’t lose a step
 Ms. Illuzzi said the Marketing program has 9 completers in which the students run the
school store and competes in events throughout the US
 She said the Mechatronics program did not have any completers but explained
students learn application of computer and mechanical engineering with hydraulics
and pneumatics. She explained the CAD program will be morphing into the
Mechatronics program next year. Ms. Illuzzi said the two instructors, Dan Ross and
Hazen Converse have worked with the students to align the program according to the
Pathways set by the state with the students receiving industry recognized credentials
which the students will be able to use in whatever field they go into. Mr. Ross and
Mr. Converse will be training at Siemens in Berlin, Germany. The funds for this
training will be through grant with the AOE. In the 2nd year students will receive IRC
in a world recognized certification and can be used at local businesses such as
Tivoly’s and Anc/Bio
 Mr. Campbell asked what is the present enrollment and was told the numbers are
dropping and the present enrollment at NCUHS is 780 students
 Ms. Mayhew said 8.3 student out of 10 are now enrolled at the NCCC
 Ms. Illuzzi saying many students cannot take Career Center classes due to scheduling
conflicts with classes at the high school for students taking high level classes
 She said Lake Region students numbers are at 33 this year; students at LR do not
have block scheduling which makes it difficult for the students to attend NCCC
classes
 Ms. Staniforth said it more difficult for LR students in their senior year; students
decide not to come back to the Career Center
 Ms. Illuzzi said she will hire a Math teacher for the Career Center for next year; the
reason for this is low state wide math scores; she said the integration of math will be
in Building Trades, Automotive and Welding programs; the cost of the math teacher
will be covered by the Perkins Grant
 Mr. Spates noted there were 111 students in the Cooperative Education program this
year
 Ms. Staniforth said work based learning is essential and many students participate in
all aspects of on the job training
 Mr. Spates said the SWIB originally the WIB found more students want to be
involved with job shadowing although they attend classes for the educational
component; they like being in the workplace
 Mr. Castle asked the group to share ideas and thoughts on involving active partners
and how can we adjust our strategies for the program we have today as they will
change in the next two to three years
 Mr. MacCormick said he was very impressed and the community show know more
about the Career Center; he suggest retail management and how that will change in
the next 5 years; he says entrepreneurship development will spark students interest in
the area of retail management, entrepreneur and financing services
 Ms. Illuzzi said this is part of the competencies in all of the programs
 Mr. Castle emphasized we need transferable skills such as Mr. Nijensohn
demonstrated by focusing on communication and critical thinking
 Mr. Spates noted the importance of the Annual Career Fair each fall which Ms.
Bailey-Rowe coordinates which gives all students the opportunity to participate and
research local businesses
 Ms. Illuzzi emphasized the importance of the NCCC Adult Services which has
breathed fresh life into the adult community by offering a great selection of courses
and continues to add new classes
 Mr. Kasprzak said the Career Center is a great resource with a list of referrals; he said
to contact Gwen if a need is seen; he said getting businesses engaged; being
proactive; gets everyone engaged
 Ms. Illuzzi said the Transportation Sciences Technology which will be woven into the
new Automotive Technology which will include field trips to the airport, she said a
jet engine has been donated; she said we have a new teacher, Karen Chitamber who
is familiar with how these things are done
 Ms. Illuzzi said this will have a positive effect on Anc/Bio; which will lead the way in
engineering
 Ms. Illuzzi thanked the Economic Development Committee for attending the RAB
meeting and for their comments and input at today’s RAB meeting
V. Thank you to guest attending – Break!
VI. Review and accept minutes of April 1, 2015 RAB Meeting:
A motion was made to approve the North Country Career Center Regional Advisory
Board minutes of April 1, 2015. The motion was unanimously approved (E. Brown/
L. Bonvechio).
VII. Break into work-groups to look at enrollment data from Gillian Staniforth:
 Ms. Illuzzi passed out handouts of the NCCC Enrollments 2011-2015, Program
Request FY 2015-2016
 She asked the membership to break into groups and ask the following questions
1/ What do we know about programs and enrollment?
2/ What do we need to know more about data, description, etc?
3/ Where do we go from here?
 VIII. Report from work-groups:
1/What do we know about programs and enrollment?
a/ Declining enrollment,
b/ Great facility that serves a purpose
c/ Transportation and scheduling are a problem
d/ Tours for kids for promotion
e/ Kids can only take one program
 2/What do we need to know more about data, description, etc.?
a/ Impact of Anc/Bio
b/ Why do students chose programs/data exit interviews
c/ What do students need to work locally – survey employers
d/ How will Personal Learning Plans impact enrollments
e/ Impact of cut in state budgets – jobs
f/ Are the numbers, trends or anomalies – good teaching
g/ What dollars are saved through dual enrollments
h/ What are business needs – do they match the program
i/ Why do students pick certain programs
j/ How do we promote our programs
k/ How will Potential Proficiency Based Outcomes change CTE? Will it?
 3/Where do we go from here?
a/ Get employment data from the Department of Labor
b/ Shift program curricula to match jobs
c/ Satellite program at different location and times
d/ Improve communications with guidance departments
e/ Better Marketing plan - use Marketing Education
f/ Set up a tracking mechanism for graduates (success stories)
g/ Convene stakeholders to look at the picture
h/ Cable Access for Marketing
i/ Promote Dual Enrollment
IX.. Next steps:
 Ms. Illuzzi suggest hitting the ground running in the fall to research trends in each of
the programs
 Mr. Spates said we may need more meetings in the fall to continue the work that was
started today
 Ms. Illuzzi will email the RAB members of the fall meeting
 The RAB members agreed having the meeting dates scheduled throughout this year
worked very well
 Mr. Spates suggest bringing in different NCCC programs and groups from the
community to showcase and market the Career Center
 Mr. Spates suggest asking RAB members who are not able to make the meeting to
send a representative from their business to come to the meetings
 He will contacting individual members to see if they would be willing to send
someone in their place to the RAB meetings
X. Other Business:
1. RAB Representation – vote on new members
A motion was made to invite Dr. Kathy Gray as Faculty Representative and Audry
Brown as student representative to the North Country Career Center Regional
Advisory Board membership. The motion was unanimously approved (L.
Bonvechio/E. Brown).
2. Format and schedule of future RAB meetings
 Mr. Castle said the additional voice of a faculty member and a student here at the
Career Center is a good opportunity to hear directly about the Career Center; he
supports this addition to the RAB board
 Mr. Spates said area businesses want students to co-op through the summer months
and also hopes there is money to bring in a cooperative education coordinator to
oversee these students during the summer months next year
 Mr. Castle told the RAB members they are crucial to the Career Center and the
recommendations that come from the RAB board to the high school are very
importance
 Mr. Castle complimented the RAB members for the today’s work and encouraged
them to be part of the ongoing conversation in the budgeting process, in informational
and planning meetings and asked the RAB membership to continue the conversations
which started today and will continue this fall
 Ms. Illuzzi reminded the members to email her with suggestions for the fall meetings
XI. Adjourn :
Mr. Spates adjourned the meeting at 11:37 am.
Respectfully submitted
Cecile D. Randall 06.08.15