Hopedale Junior-Senior High School is proud of the innovative approach we have taken in preparing our students for future careers.  

Although it would be impossible for such a small district to develop full courses in major career pathways, Hopedale has taken the lead in collaborating with other schools to offer our students unique opportunities. With Hopedale leading the way, the Blackstone Valley Superintendents Consortium applied for and received a $450,000.00 grant from American Student Assistance, a Boston based non-profit organization to focus on 21st Century Workplace training.   

Hopedale is proud of the work we have accomplished throughout the first two years of our three year grant.  

We hired a BVExcel coordinator who worked to streamline our program and enrollment process, recruited new teachers, developed new courses, and ensured job shadow experiences and hands-on learning for all of our students.  

We ran many after school courses throughout the year which included Manufacturing I, Manufacturing II, Robotics, Video Lab, Cybersecurity, Welding, Food for Thought, and Introduction to Health Careers and Care Essentials.  

We had students from across the Blackstone Valley enroll in our BVExcel courses including many students from Hopedale Junior-Senior High School.  

Students who attended these courses had opportunities to connect with students across the Blackstone Valley who have similar career interests, connect with our business community through a virtual Job shadow at Waters, a field trip to Algonquin Industries, a virtual job shadow at Staples, a field trip to WPI, and a virtual STEM Workshop at Waters. Because of the hard work of our Hopedale staff members and the generous support from American Student Assistance, our students are gaining workforce skills through high school credit bearing evening courses, field trips, job shadowing, and internships.  

We are proud of the incredible opportunities that our 21st Century Workplace Training Grant has allowed us to develop and offer to our students. We have been invited to present at conferences locally and nationally to share our innovative approach to meeting the needs of all of our Hopedale students.»

Testimonial from a 2022 graduating senior from Hopedale JSHS, Kara Stewardson

My name is Kara Stewardson, and am a senior at Hopedale High School. I was so excited when I heard of the BVExcel program and all of the unique opportunities they have to offer. I enrolled in the fall Manufacturing I course. Through this class I was given the chance to go on a field trip to Algonquin Industries and get a tour of the manufacturing plant. This tour was one of the best I’ve experienced in my School career. It was amazing to see all that I have been learning in class with BVExcel actually in use! Algonquin Industries is partnered with Hi-Tech Metals allowing them to create and produce the desired amount of custom metallic parts for their clientele. We received a tour of the whole facility including the milling, sanding, polishing, laser and pressure cutter, the machines that bent the metal sheets, the engineering room, the high-tech measuring devices, the welding stations, and the packaging section where they get all of the products ready for send-off. The two companies work hand and hand in the same building to create their products. This was such a unique experience and interesting to see in action.

Submitted by Superintendent Karen Crebase