As 2019 begins, officials with BayCoast Bank are looking back with pride on two educational summits that in the words of President and CEO Nicholas Christ “have helped move the needle in terms of academic achievement for students in our region.”
Over the course of the past several months, BayCoast Bank sponsored a Youth Summit and co-sponsored the 2018 Southcoast Education Summit.
The Youth Summit, held at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, drew some 1,600 students from Fall River, New Bedford and Somerset; the educational forum was held in collaboration with the University’s LeDuc Center for Civic Engagement
The summit served as a follow-up to the 2017 “College Positive Tours,” an initiative for 7th grade students sponsored by BayCoast Bank to encourage students to pursue higher education. At that time, the now 8th graders were provided tours of the UMass-Dartmouth campus. BayCoast Bank continues to sponsor “College Positive Tours” for local 7th graders.
The Youth Summit featured nationally recognized motivational speaker Carlos Ojeda, Jr., who gave a moving presentation about the power that lies within everyone and how students can harness that power to make positive change. The keynote address was followed by an exciting game show that quizzed students on both pop culture and college readiness topics. A sampling of student feedback following the summit included responses such as “moving,” “inspiring,” “insightful,” “relatable” and “life-changing.”
"Many grade school students on the South Coast do not have college aspirations because their parents did not attend college, and view higher education as an expense instead of an investment,” said Matthew H. Roy, Ph.D., Assistant Vice Chancellor for Civic Engagement at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. “The Leduc Center at UMass Dartmouth, BayCoast Bank, and our Bristol County Chamber of Commerce collaborators are making college access and awareness a top priority.”
The Youth Summit was followed by the Southcoast Education Summit; the event held at Somerset-Berkley Regional High School featured more than 40 workshops, all with an emphasis on social-emotional learning and mindfulness and was attended by an estimated 250 educators from across the Commonwealth.
Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeff Riley opened the Summit while keynote speaker Dr. Mitch Abblett, a clinical psychologist and consultant in private practice in Wellesley, Massachusetts, delivered “Prizeworthy: Mindfulness Skills for Effectiveness with ALL Students (even the ‘difficult’ ones!).”
In his keynote address, Dr. Abblett spoke to the necessity for educators to possess mindfulness themselves before they are able to instill the many merits of resilience and stress self-management to students.
The 2018 Southcoast Education Summit was organized through a collaboration of the Fall River, Somerset, Swansea, Westport, and Diocese of Fall River school districts, and was funded and supported by the Bristol County Chamber Foundation, the Carney Family Foundation, BayCoast Bank, and the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
“This collaboration has been such a positive experience for us in Fall River,” said Barbara Allard, Retired Director of Early Childhood at Fall River Public Schools. “I feel as though this collaboration has extended and enhanced our district leadership team so that we can better provide educational opportunities and support for our students, families and staff.”
Matt Malone, Superintendent of Fall River Schools, echoed those sentiments, saying, “The Southcoast Education Summit is a tremendous example of collaboration between the Mass Teachers Association and management from our local parochial, suburban, and urban school districts in partnership with The Bristol County Chamber of Commerce.” He continued, “The Summit has quickly become the ‘must attend’ event in education.”
“We are so fortunate that our business community understands the value of education and helps by offering financial support for our schools,” said Rebecca Cusick, President of the Fall River Teachers Association. “There’s a great deal of work that goes on behind the scenes in planning events like the SEL Summit, and the pooling of resources and ideas is an example of collaboration at its best.”
BayCoast Bank’s call to action regarding the importance of education as a driver of economic growth in the region began in 2016 when Nicholas Christ, who is Chair of the Bristol County Chamber of Commerce Education Committee, initiated the Bank’s “Get on the Bus” campaign to put a spotlight on education as an essential element to a region’s commercial health. The Education Committee has organized and funded initiatives that target students, parents, and educators, as well as the local communities – all in an effort to support education.
Over the past year, the Education Committee, in collaboration with local school and community leaders and with funding from BayCoast Bank and the Bristol County Chamber Foundation, have launched several successful programs aimed specifically at motivating middle school students to excel in the classroom and aspire to a college education. With additional funding from the Carney Family Foundation in 2018, the Education Committee has provided local educators with classroom tools to support students’ social and emotional needs.
Looking ahead to 2019, the Bristol County Chamber Education Committee, led by Nicholas Christ, will continue with both the Youth and Southcoast Education Summits in addition to other educator training programs. The committee will also host a new summit on early childhood in the new year and expand its outreach to parents.
About BayCoast Bank
BayCoast Bank is mutually-owned, serving the needs of consumers, businesses, non-profits and municipalities through 18 branches and three loan offices throughout southeastern MA and RI. Additional services are offered through the Bank’s affiliates: BayCoast Financial Services, Plimoth Investment Advisors, Partners Insurance Group, LLC, BayCoast Mortgage Company, LLC, and Priority Funding LLC. Nicholas Christ is the Bank’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Visit www.BayCoastBank.com or call 508-678-7641 or 888-806-2872.
