Westfield Technical Academy

Harvest traditions are a part of every community, and Westfield is no different.

This Saturday, families will attend Westfield on Weekends’ 10th annual PumpkinFest at Westfield Middle School Athletic Fields, behind Amelia Park, off South Broad Street, rain or shine, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The event is free admission with live performances, games, activities, costumed characters, strolling performers, craft/local vendors, food trucks, pumpkin carving/decorating, trunk or treat and much more.

This year, WOW has a new layout featuring themed villages for families to enjoy: Westfield G&E and Whip City Fiber’s “Autumn Arcade”, Home Depot’s “Homer’s Harvest Workshop,” “Make Some Magic” with TruNorth Bank, KidzBiz Village where young entrepreneurs ages 7-17 showcase their own businesses, products, crafts and services.

There will also be the Peaceful Low-Sensory Pumpkin Grove, a place where folks who want to take a break from the activities can find a calm, quiet space to enjoy the festival at their own pace.

https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2026/10/wows-pumpkinfest-returns-with-updated-layout.html

This week on Superintendent’s Spotlight, we welcomed staff and students from Westfield High School to learn about the exciting ways students are exploring their career interests through internships, job shadowing, and other work-based learning opportunities! 💼🌟

We also had a delicious visit from Westfield Technical Academy’s Culinary Arts Department, who helped us celebrate National Pierogi Day with some tasty treats! 🥟👨‍🍳

A big thank you to our students and staff for joining us, and thank you for watching!

#AchievingExcellenceTogether #CareerReadiness #workbasedlearning #NationalPierogiDay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8TsG_gi1qg

Please click below for the latest newsletter from Westfield Technical Academy. Thank you! https://app.smore.com/n/f1bvj

This week on Superintendent’s Spotlight, we welcomed students from Westfield High School and Westfield Technical Academy to talk about their experiences with Early College—including taking college-level courses and earning college credits while still in high school.

Our friends from Westfield Technical Academy also stopped by to help us celebrate National Pumpkin Spice Day with some delicious homemade pumpkin cheesecake!

Thanks for watching and for helping us celebrate the great opportunities available to our students! 🎓🎃🍰

#AchievingExcellenceTogether

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7GXAsjvrFc

Yesterday, Westfield Public Schools was pleased to welcome Massachusetts Secretary of Education Dr. Stephen Zrike, Assistant Secretary Bob LePage, and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member Kristen Smidy to our schools!

During their visit, they spent time with students at Westfield Intermediate School and toured the Aviation Maintenance Technology program at Westfield Technical Academy, seeing hands-on learning and student engagement in action.

Thank you to Dr. Zrike, Mr. LePage, and Ms. Smidy for visiting our students, staff, and programs! #AchievingExcellenceTogether

🎥 **This week on Superintendent’s Spotlight!**

We celebrated **National Math Storytelling Day** with second-grade students and staff from **Westfield River Elementary School**, who showed us how math and storytelling can come together in fun and creative ways.

We also welcomed students and staff from **Westfield Technical Academy**, who stopped by with some delicious homemade **Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts**! 🍩🎃

Thanks for watching and for helping us celebrate the great things happening across Westfield Public Schools!

#AchievingExcellenceTogether
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i40YBuRFz5c

Please click the link below for the latest newsletter from Westfield Technical Academy. Thank you! https://app.smore.com/n/f1bvj

📺 Did you miss this week’s “Superintendent’s Spotlight”?

We were live from Studio 120 at Westfield Technical Academy for this week’s show!

We talked with staff and students from Westfield Intermediate School about the start of the new school year and the importance of acts of kindness throughout our school community. 💙

Staff and students from Westfield Technical Academy’s Culinary Arts Department also helped us celebrate National Apple Dumpling Day with a delicious recipe featuring apples grown by WTA’s own Horticulture Department! 🍎🥟

Thanks for watching and for helping us celebrate the great things happening across Westfield Public Schools!

👇 Click the link below to watch this week’s episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5KZWFehi-A

📺 **Did you miss last week’s brand-new episode of *Superintendent’s Spotlight*?**

In this episode, we sat down with members of our Curriculum and Instruction Team to learn more about **Building Thinking Classrooms** and our annual **Curriculum Summit**, held each August to help prepare our educators for the year ahead.

We also welcomed staff and students from **Westfield Technical Academy’s Culinary Arts Department**, who helped us celebrate **National Hot Dog Day — California style!** 🌭

Thank you to all of our guests for joining us, and thank you for watching!

▶️ **Watch the full episode here:**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfVY-sqb4A4

James Laverty has just started his fourth year as a school safety attendant at Highland Elementary School through a Veterans Services program.

Director of Veterans Services Julie Barnes said the volunteer program started four years ago in elementary schools that didn’t have school resource officers from the Police Department. Currently, Westfield High School and Westfield Technical Academy each have an SRO assigned, and Westfield Middle School and Westfield Intermediate School share an SRO.

At the time, Barnes met with state Sen. John Velis and Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski to discuss implementing the veterans’ volunteer program. In return for their volunteer work, veterans who work 100 hours in the schools can get a $1,500 tax abatement.

Director of Operations and Safety Christopher Rogers provides onboarding for all volunteers, who are all CORI-checked and fingerprinted. According to Rogers, the veteran's program is designed to identify and deter potential problems and foster a sense of security by having an extra level of protection in the schools.

Interested veteran volunteers should contact Barnes at 413-572-6247. Program guidelines and a volunteer application are also available on the city website under Veterans Services. Barnes said veterans must have served on active duty to qualify for the abatement program.

Heidi Cote, coordinator of Volunteers in Public Schools, said there are many volunteer opportunities in the schools throughout the year for the public at large, including at special events, where extra hands are always needed.

Cote said there is currently a big need for cafeteria support at both Highland Elementary and Westfield River Elementary. She said there are three lunches a day with recess between them, and volunteers who can come in for an hour or two are most welcome. “Consistency is best,” Cote said. Email heidi.cote@schoolsofwestfield.org to sign up. Anyone with questions should call Cote at 413-572-6463, ext. 61417.

https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2026/09/veterans-who-volunteer-in-the-schools-receive-tax-abatement.html

On Sept. 8, Chef Eric Rogers, Westfield Technical Academy culinary department head, visited the transition services program at its new home at 390 Southampton Road to discuss the commercial kitchen with students and staff.

Special education teacher Carolyn Busiere said there are 24 young men and women in the program this year, and 390 Southampton Road is a great new location. “It’s quite the upgrade,” she said.

The transition program is part of the Westfield Public Schools. It gives students ages 18 to 21 who are still entitled to services the support and opportunity to achieve their goals by offering continuing education opportunities, assistance with employment and workplace readiness, and community-based opportunities and support.

390 Southampton Road is also on the bus route, and several participants said they took the bus to get there. Outside, one student was waiting for a bus to Westfield State University, where he is taking classes.

“Today, Chef Rogers from WTA has been nice enough to train our clients and staff on individual appliances,” Busiere said on Tuesday.

She said many of the students in the program are interested in cooking and have taken culinary courses in high school. Several also work or have worked in kitchens at Shaker Farms, Noble Hospital and Westfield State, and two are in the culinary program at Holyoke Community College and are ServSafe certified.

Besides the commercial kitchen, new touchscreen displays for visual learners are being installed. There is an on-site apartment for mastering life skills and budgeting. There is also a community room, a meeting room, a technology room for studying and a recreation room in development.

“We’ll be gardening; we have a large backyard,” Busiere said.

Another great new addition is a van. “We got them a van so they can go out and visit in the community. We worked with Westfield Technical Academy to work that out; it’s one of theirs that wasn’t being used. They saw the importance of the transition program and made it happen. We’re very grateful to them,” Jendrysik said.

“It’s a great facility. The kids are excited. They’re going to have a recreation room. There are so many different opportunities,” Jendrysik said.

https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2026/09/wta-chef-tours-390-southampton-road-commercial-kitchen.html

The Westfield Technical Academy topped Mohawk Trail 168-180 behind freshman Jakob Elmer who fired a 2- over 38, tying Mohawk’s Connor Bergeron for medalist honores. Fellow freshman Tyler LaCasse, who tallied a 4-over 40, also helped lead the way for the Tigers.

Elmer played the final seven holes one under to card his 38, a team best so far on the year, while LaCasse’s 40 tied the previous team best on the season.

Josh Elmer and Chris Pederson each carded 45s to round out WTA’s top scorers.

Westfield golf defeats Northampton

Medalis Nathan Jarvis shot an even par score of 35 to lead Westfield to its first win of the season, 156-164.

Treygan Lemanski (39), Danny Romanelli (40) and Jonas Miller rounded out the top scorers for Westfield.

https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2026/09/wta-westfield-high-golf-squads-earn-victories.html

Please click here for the latest newsletter from Westfield Technical Academy. Thank you! https://app.smore.com/n/e5p8z

Westfield Technical Academy opened its golf season with a 172-191 victory over Pioneer Valley Regional High School in a Bi-County East Division 3 match at Shaker Farms Country Club Monday afternoon.

Chris Pedersen paced the Tigers with a 39 over nine holes on the par-37 course, claiming medalist honors. WTA swept the top three individual positions as Tyler LaCasse carded a 42 for second place and Josh Elmer finished third with a 43.

Jakob Elmer shot a 48 and Jacob Wilson finished with a 49 to round out Westfield Tech’s top scorers. Josh McDonald added a 52, Zach Morgado shot a 53 and Jameson Cotto carded a 55 for the Tigers.

https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2026/09/westfield-tech-golf-opens-season-with-victory-over-pioneer-valley.html

Westfield EATS, Westfield Public Schools Food Services, has announced a new partnership with My School Menus that offers interactive online menus to make it easier for families, students and staff to see what’s being served each day.

“My School Menus is a program that we’ve teamed up with to help us get all of the menus and pertinent information out to parents,” said Food Services Director Rachel Kania. She said parents can now scroll through the daily menu items and see pictures of the food, nutritional facts and ingredients, which is especially important for families of children with allergies, she added.

“Now we can have all of that information right at the fingertips of parents, who can go online and see all of the options available every day,” she said.

Kania said Westfield EATS gets its food from local farms and partnerships. For example, ground beef comes from North Elm Butcher Block, which grinds it fresh that day. Lettuce and produce come from local farms, and fruit from Mountain Orchard Farms in Granville.

Previously, Kania had to keep track of all the recipes, ingredients and nutritional information by hand on an Excel spreadsheet. She said her staff spent the summer transferring the information to My School Menus.

“To be honest with you, it was a pretty big undertaking. We had to enter every ingredient for every recipe we have here. It took us two months to enter over the summer,” she said. “Now parents can see what we can see, make their own decisions and navigate the menu safely.”

On the menu site, there is a drop-down list for allergies. For example, if an egg allergy is indicated on that list, any items containing egg will be crossed off the menu.

Kania said some medical conditions also require nutritional information. For a child with diabetes, parents can now see a carbohydrate count, so they know how much insulin is needed for their child. “This helps everybody, from nurses to parents to us; it’s a great program,” she said.

Kania said parents can either navigate menus on their own with their children or utilize a menu from a registered dietitian. Food Services has a dietitian on staff who has been with the department for 25 years. The dietitian may be reached at 413-572-6493 or by visiting the Food Services office in Suite B10 in City Hall at 59 Court St.

The new online menus for Westfield EATS may be accessed at: menus.healthepro.com/organizations/3724

“It’s really a wealth of information at the parents’ fingertips, which we’re so excited about,” Kania said.

https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2026/09/westfield-food-services-offers-new-interactive-menus-for-parents-to-safeguard-kids-choices.html

District teachers will take their turn at summer enrichment during a three-day curriculum summit at Westfield Intermediate School from Aug. 17-19.

Topics at this year’s summit will include the role of lead teachers, building student discourse and whether and how to use approved artificial intelligence tools in the classroom.

https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2026/08/westfield-teachers-take-a-turn-at-summer-enrichment.html

The Westfield Technical Academy’s Aviation Maintenance Program showed its appreciation to Mrs. Murphy’s Donuts in Southwick in a way that only it could, by offering a thank-you ride in a 1942 Stearman bi-plane to owner Shane Murphy.

Mrs. Murphy’s Donuts celebrated 50 years in business on July 12.

“Mrs. Murphy’s has been a staple of our community for 50 years, constantly giving back to Southwick, Westfield and the local public schools. Most recently, Shane generously donated all the donuts, pastries, muffins, and coffee for this year’s Westfield Technical Academy Aviation graduation ceremony,” said AMT instructor Scott Hepburn, adding, “This flight is our program’s way of giving them some well-deserved recognition for half a century of community support.”

Hepburn and his brother Ed Hepburn, who was present for the occasion, have a long association with Mrs. Murphy’s Donuts, having worked there for many years in their youth, along with their sisters and nieces.

They originally offered the flight to Rose Murphy, who passed it to her daughter, Shane, who now runs the business with two of her children. Rose was on hand to see her daughter take off. “I could not do that, but she loved it and thought it was such a great opportunity,” she said, adding, “This is better than Six Flags.”

Ken Dromgold, president of the AMT advisory board and owner of the vintage WWII trainer, piloted the flight. He said the plane started as a Naval trainer, and after the war, spent some years as a crop duster, as many retired planes did.

Dromgold said he got the plane six years ago and has restored it a few times, keeping everything original, although he did recently put a new wooden propeller on the radial engine. He called the plane pretty rugged but said it has taught a lot of people to fly.

Now Dromgold’s goal for the plane is to “keep it looking good and give rides.” He flies veterans and auctions off rides for charities. Hepburn said Dromgold also flies every student in the AMT program every year.

https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2026/07/wtas-aviation-program-gives-thank-you-ride-to-mrs-murphys-donuts-owner.html

Westfield Technical Academy sophomore Elias Layng returned home with a bronze medal and great memories from the national SkillsUSA competition in Atlanta, Georgia, which was held the first week of June.

Layng, who was accompanied by his Information System Support and Networking Instructor E. Scott Lockwood and WTA’s SkillsUSA Chapter Advisor Angel Arenas Nieves, earned the trip after winning the gold medal in Internet of Things in the Massachusetts SkillsUSA competition.

“Eli did great at the competition. He won Bronze in the IOT [Internet of Things] category, which is awesome. He’s excited to go back next year and win gold. I think it was a great trip and an awesome experience for all of us,” Lockwood said.

This is the third year in a row that WTA earned a gold medal in the state competition in Internet of Things and went on to compete at nationals. Brady LePage, who graduated in 2026, also won gold at nationals two years in a row.

https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2026/07/wta-sophomore-earns-bronze-at-national-skillsusa-comp.html

Westfield Public Schools and Offices are closed on Friday, July 3, 2026, in observance of Independence Day. Happy Birthday, America!