Second Cohort of Educators Complete Rivers East Advanced Manufacturing Academy | Eastern NC Now

Press Release:

    Washington, N.C.     On May 11, 34 teachers from schools in Beaufort, Bertie, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, and Pitt counties completed Rivers East Advanced Manufacturing Academy.

    With funding from Golden Leaf Foundation, the Rivers East Advanced Manufacturing Academy exposes teachers to the many careers in Advanced Manufacturing within the region. Teachers visit all 4 of the community colleges within the region and learn about the programs they offer that lead to careers in Advanced Manufacturing. At the community colleges they receive hands-on experience, truly experiencing what students of those programs experience. Teachers are also equipped with resources, like the SkillsUSA Framework, to introduce personal skills, workplace skills, and technical skills into their classrooms, which prepare students for their future careers.

    Teachers that complete this program are eligible for a $1,000 stipend. At the completion, one participant shared: "This cohort was extremely informative and provided me with an opportunity to experience the excellent programs that community colleges have to offer students. I'm excited about using my knowledge to help my students determine career paths and to help them make connections between high school and the programs/pathways that are "right" for them. This cohort also enabled me to make connections with several different professionals in the community who can be guest speakers in my classroom, higher-level learning advisors/mentors for my students, and/or possible supervisors one day."

    This is the second cohort to complete the Rivers East Advanced Manufacturing Academy. Thirty teachers completed the experience previously, in December 2022. Future cohorts are being planned and will be announced soon.

    Once completing Rivers East Advanced Manufacturing Academy, teachers have the opportunity to dive deeper into the needs of the local employers by participating in employer externships. Employers across the region will host teachers at their locations and teach them more about what they do. The teachers are then required to prepare a lesson plan that they are to teach in the fall. Teachers that complete employer externships are eligible for a $500 stipend.

    In April, a new Program Manager was hired to oversee the project. Julie Cary comes to the team with over 38 years of experience in education, from the classroom to administration, and after retiring from the education system, has remained active working part time with the Boys & Girls Club of the Coastal Plain as well as teaching and mentoring our future teachers at ECU in the College of Education.

    Jennie Bowen, Workforce Development Director states, "We know students are our future workforce, and teachers are some of the most influential adults in their lives. We see Rivers East Advanced Manufacturing Academy as a way to influence the influencer. We hope that this program shows teachers and their students that there are good paying jobs and the training they need to get them right in their backyard."

    The board's office is located at 1502 N. Market St., Suite A in Washington. For more information about Rivers East Academy, please visit riverseastwdb.org/resources/riverseast-academy/.


   Contact: Jennie Bowen
   Workforce Development Director
   Phone: (252) 974-1815
   Email: jbowen@mideastcom.org