Westfield Technical Academy

Join us for our next Westfield Education to Business Alliance (WE2BA) meeting and learn how your business can partner with Westfield Public Schools to support students and develop our future workforce!
📅 Tuesday, November 10, 2026
⏰ 8:00 a.m.
📍 Reed Institute at Mestek
152 Notre Dame Street, Westfield, MA
🔧 Westfield Technical Academy staff will share opportunities for businesses to employ students through cooperative education.
🎓 Westfield High School staff will highlight opportunities for internships, job shadows, and other work-based learning experiences.
✅ All businesses are welcome to attend!
📧 For more information, contact Stefan Czaporowski at s.czaporowski@schoolsofwestfield.org or Amanda Brodkin at amanda@westfieldbiz.org.

REMINDER: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS – TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2026

Westfield Public Schools will be closed to students on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, in observance of Election Day.

This day is also designated as a Staff Professional Development Day. While students will not attend school, district staff will participate in professional development activities focused on enhancing teaching, learning, and student success.

We look forward to welcoming students back on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.

⚽⛳ Fall Sports Take Center Stage on Superintendent's Spotlight!

This week, we welcomed student-athletes from the Westfield High School Girls Soccer Team and the Westfield Technical Academy Golf Team to talk about their fall sports seasons and experiences!
🥣 We also had some special guests from WTA's Culinary Arts Department stop by to help us celebrate National Oatmeal Day with some delicious treats!
👏 A big thank you to our students and staff for joining us and thank you for watching!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB6VId5Z29w

DTA has mailed new chip/tap EBT cards to all clients. DTA clients must activate their new
EBT card by November 29, 2026, before their old card is deactivated. After November
29, their non-chip EBT card will stop working. Learn more by visiting mass.gov/EBT and
clicking “EBT Chip/Tap Frequently Asked Questions.”

Please click below for the latest newsletter from Westfield Technical Academy. Thank you! https://app.smore.com/n/f104x

Join us for our next Westfield Education to Business Alliance (WE2BA) meeting and learn how your business can partner with Westfield Public Schools to support students and develop our future workforce!

📅 Tuesday, November 10, 2026
⏰ 8:00 a.m.
📍 Reed Institute at Mestek
152 Notre Dame Street, Westfield, MA

🔧 Westfield Technical Academy staff will share opportunities for businesses to employ students through cooperative education.

🎓 Westfield High School staff will highlight opportunities for internships, job shadows, and other work-based learning experiences.

✅ All businesses are welcome to attend!

📧 For more information, contact Stefan Czaporowski at s.czaporowski@schoolsofwestfield.org or Amanda Brodkin at amanda@westfieldbiz.org.

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