Support That Goes Above and Beyond

Support That Goes Above and Beyond: Project REACH Partnership

Each year, students from Madison Park Technical Vocational High School (MPTVHS) are welcomed at North Bennet Street School (NBSS) for a tour of the School’s programs and facilities. Many of them participate in either Carpentry or Facilities at Madison Park, which makes the Carpentry and Locksmithing & Security Technology programs at NBSS a natural next step to build on their career training. 

This partnership stretches back more than a decade, when NBSS made a concerted effort to expand visibility of programming to our community and neighbors in Greater Boston. This includes a concerted effort to build diversity at NBSS. At the time, Rob O’Dwyer, Director of Admissions & Enrollment, began conversations with schools, community based organizations, nonprofits, and government agencies. One of those connections was with Beth Fitzgerald, the outgoing Director of the Project REACH/Talent Search TRIO Program, a partner program of MPTVHS, and the rest was history. 

Talent Search (aka Project REACH) is a federally-funded college and career readiness program that began in 1985 out of the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Today, they work with seven middle and high schools, serving more than 1,300 Boston Public School youth. They assist and encourage students to continue their education beyond high school, whether through post-secondary programs or college.

“North Bennet Street School is a small school with highly specialized programming,“ says Beth. “Early on, it occurred to me that the best way to achieve the goals of Talent Search was to encourage counselors to become advocates and work with students and identify the qualities and the type of interests students have,” she says.

Beth recalls her first field trip with MPTVHS students to NBSS. She was impressed, especially with the conversations between students from both schools. The partnership was underway, and blossomed over time.

“I fell in love, because it’s just such a cool place,” Beth says. “I love bringing the students, especially the students of Madison Park, because they’re already in the vocational education track and they love to work hands-on.”  

Another focus of Beth’s admiration is how NBSS understands and anticipates the needs of students, particularly in offering financial aid for career training programs. The School has significantly increased institutional scholarship support in recent years: in 2024, NBSS will award over $1.1 million in scholarships to qualified students. That includes graduates of Boston Public Schools and our Workforce Development Initiative, which provides ‘full-ride’ scholarship awards to high-need individuals who experience significant barriers to employment. 

As the oldest of four kids and someone who grew up in a single parent, low-income family, Beth says she felt like she could relate to the stresses that students and their families face when they’re considering post-secondary school, particularly the financial prospects. Beth was expected to work right after high school to help support her family. However, her trajectory changed when she was working at UMass Boston. 

“I understand what it’s like to be scared not to know about your future. I knew the way out of that was an education.” One of the benefits of working at UMass is free tuition to the college, and she took advantage of that and has since earned three degrees. Beth has worked for Project REACH for the past twenty-five years, working her way up through the ranks from secretary to her current Director role.

The partnership with Project REACH was the first partnership of its kind for NBSS, and the number of students from that program enrolling at NBSS has expanded over the years. Out of around 50 Workforce Development scholarships that have been awarded in the past, more than a dozen have come through Project REACH and Madison Park, according to Rob. 

“What makes the partnership with Project REACH so special is the authenticity and stewardship of facilitating positive change for people,” he says. “These values have been at the core of our relationship and understanding from the beginning. Our team always works to treat everyone with dignity. Beth is the same way, and I think the impact on people and communities is reflective of those values.”

Beth adds she enjoys getting to see the students in her program and the NBSS partnership succeed. She recalls one student who ended up graduating from the Locksmithing & Security Technology program and after graduation, earned a generous hourly wage for a company. Another student was Diego Rojas CA ’17, PC ’19, who through his connection to Project REACH via Madison Park, became a double graduate of both the Carpentry and Preservation Carpentry programs. 

This year, Beth has helped at least two students apply to NBSS through Project REACH, one of whom wants to follow in the footsteps of his brother, who is currently enrolled at the School. 

Beth, who is retiring this year, says she’ll miss working with students. “I’ll miss coaching students on their career and educational paths. Sometimes students just need that person to help guide them through this often difficult transition by taking them to places like North Bennet Street School and guiding them through the admissions process. But there are also people who provide so much more through financial, emotional, and educational support. This is what North Bennet Street School has always done for Project REACH students. And I know they’ll continue that tradition for many years more.”