For Immediate Release

June 5, 2009

EIGHT TEACHERS SPENDING THEIR SUMMER IN MANUFACTURING PLANTS

Learning about workplace technology will help them teach their students real-world skills

Eight Connecticut high school and college teachers are spending part of their summer working at Connecticut manufacturing companies to learn about workplace technology. The program exposes teachers to current manufacturing practices, allowing them to upgrade their knowledge so they can provide their students with the lessons and skills they need to meet the expectations of today’s manufacturing industry.

The teachers were selected for their commitment to learning about technological advances in the workplace. They will complete a 160-hour program, which runs from June to September and focuses on technologies used in manufacturing. The teachers participating in externships are:

• Neil English, of New Hartford, a technical education teacher at Litchfield High School and Tunxis Community College in Farmington. English will be working at Trumpf Inc., in Farmington from June 29 to July 24.

• Al Gates, of Moodus, the head of the mechanical engineering department at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain. Gates, who has been teaching for 15 years, will be spend nearly a month, from May 27 – June 24, at FuelCell Energy in Danbury working on the design and development of a one megawatt solid oxide fuel cell.

• Wendy Ku, of Farmington, a technology and pre-engineering teacher at Simsbury High School. Ku will spend the month of July at Trumpf Inc., in Farmington.

• Dave Langdon, of New Hartford, a manufacturing teacher at Oliver Wolcott Technical High School in Torrington. Langdon will spend four weeks, from July 20 to August 14, at BNB Manufacturing in Winsted.

• Ralph Minaya, of West Hartford, a math teacher at Hartford High School’s Academy of Engineering and Green Technology. Prior to becoming a teacher four years ago, Minaya worked as an industrial engineer. He will spend the weeks of June 15 to June 26, and August 3 to August 14, at Hamilton Sundstrand in Windsor Locks learning about manufacturing processes.

• Chris Petersen, of Mansfield, a technology education and pre-engineering teacher at Bacon Academy in Colchester. Petersen has been teaching technology education for 16 years. He will spend June 22- July 17, focusing on design drafting at Windham Automated Machines in Mansfield.

• Haoyu Wang, of New Britain, a manufacturing professor at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain. Wang will spend nearly a month, from June 4 to July 2, at Edac Technologies in Farmington.

• Tom Zelek, of Berlin, a technology and engineering teacher at Glastonbury High School. Zelek, who has been teaching for nearly 30 years, will work from July 6 to July 31 at Habco in Glastonbury. His externship will focus on computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools that have revolutionized the design process.

“Teachers learn about emerging technologies in the workplace so that they can give their students a more realistic understanding of how classroom learning can be applied on the job,” said Lauren Weisberg Kaufman, vice president of education and job training policy.“After the on-the-job training is complete, the teachers develop a work-based learning project for their students, providing a more realistic understanding of how classroom learning is applied on the job.”

The eight teachers receive a $4,000 stipend, which pays for their time spent learning in the workplace and implementing the curriculum project in their schools. 

“Participating in these externship programs with manufacturing companies across the state gives teachers another tool to help motivate and engage their students and better prepare them for post-secondary education and employment,” said Karen Wosczyna-Birch, director, Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing College of Technology. 

The Connecticut Business & Industry Association is administering the program on behalf of  

the Connecticut Community Colleges’ College of Technology Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. 

CBIA is the state’s largest business organization, with 10,000 members.

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For more information contact Nancy Andrews, CBIA media relations manager, at 860-244-1957 or andrewsn@cbia.com.

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