PULASKI, NY – Thanks to the efforts of the staff and students at CiTi BOCES, Oswego County Opportunities (OCO) Family Welcome Center, at Selkirk Landing, 10 Bella Road in Pulaski, now has a new sign for its entrance.
When Brian Heffron, administrator of Workforce Development and Community Relations at CiTi BOCES visited OCO’s Pulaski Family Welcome Center, which houses the agency’s SCORE program that provides work ready support and community resources, he noticed that there was no sign at the facility. He saw a perfect opportunity for CiTi students to gain some valuable experience.
After speaking with Site Supervisor Sarah Spataro, Heffron reached out to CiTi Construction Technology Instructor Craig Mahon and Student Support Coordinator Martin Pasternak to have students design, build and erect a sign at the Pulaski Family Welcome Center.
The sign project was a collaborative effort involving several of CiTi’s programs. Zachary Thompson’s welding class cut and polished the aluminum for the sign, students in Jon Miller’s Digital Media program transferred the design to both sides, and students in CiTi’s Construction program stained and built the frame, and installed the sign near the road for all to see.
“These types of projects provide our students the opportunity to get a real feel for the industries they plan on going into while also allowing them to understand what is needed to collaborate with different departments,” said Pasternak. “One of the students in the Digital Media program took the lead in designing the entire sign, emailing various proofs to all stakeholders, solicit appropriate feedback, and modify the design, providing this student a real world working experience that was client focused.”
“It was a pleasant surprise when Martin told me that the students would be making a sign for us,” said Spataro. “The sign looks great and I can’t thank them enough for their hard work and choosing this us for their yearly project.
OCO’s Family Welcome Center is one of two Literacy Zones that OCO has partnered with CiTi BOCES to bring to Oswego County. A statewide initiative funded by the New York State Education Department, Literacy Zones offer a variety of programs and services aimed at providing a systemic approach to meeting the literacy needs of communities from birth through adult.
One of those is OCO’s SCORE program. Working in collaboration with CiTi BOCES, the SCORE program works to solve barriers that people face regarding education and employment. The program’s staff assists individuals with gaining and improving job skills and connect them with community service providers and resources that includes employment, housing, healthcare, childcare, nutrition, transportation, social services, and substance abuse disorders.
Pulaski Family Welcome Center, located at Selkirk Landing, 10 Bella Road in Pulaski, is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information on the SCORE program call 315-216-4521 option 3 and follow them on Facebook.
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An example of promotion through failure. The Ptech program is a joke, costs tax payer additional money because it was voted out of most district budgets because it is accomplishing nothing and has gone downhill since Bill started the program. So Heffron gets promoted for failure at Ptech principal, to this position. Wonder how longer before the rest of the county refuses to work with him and CiTi has to ‘promote’ him again.