WIRE-Net, a non-profit, economic development organization that provides expertise to manufacturing leaders and connects leaders to each other and to their communities, has been a leading corporate partner at Max Hayes High School since 1992, working to engage manufacturing leaders in programs at Max Hayes.  Working with the Greater Cleveland Partnership and a coalition of NE Ohio metal working industry associations, WIRE-Net was instrumental in launching TEAM Academy.  For nearly two decades, students at Max Hayes have participated in WIRE-Net’s youth career development programs that are designed to create awareness and build a pipeline for new manufacturing leaders.

Working with partners at CMSD and Max Hayes, WIRE-Net secured funding (from The Cleveland Foundation, Eaton Corporation, Greater Cleveland Partnership, and Swagelok Inc.’s foundation) to help create the foundation for a new school-business-community partnership that will help define and drive a shared vision and desired educational outcomes at Max Hayes. CMSD’s leadership understands how important a new curriculum design and community partnership will be to ensure that the new Max Hayes reaches and exceeds the outcomes our students and community expect and need, above and beyond improved graduation rates, and scores on the Ohio Graduation Test, or benchmarks set by the Ohio Department of Education.  The new Max Hayes must have a curriculum that is rigorous and relevant, top notch instructors, and programs that are highly integrated with the region’s employers and post-secondary institutions.

WIRE-Net, CMSD, the Greater Cleveland Partnership and other partners see the new Max Hayes as a world class career-tech education and training center for youth and adults. With support from The Cleveland Foundation, Eaton Corporation, Swagelok, the Greater Cleveland Partnership and many others, WIRE-Net and CMSD leaders  will help guide an energetic, broad-based partnership from the community, business, civic and education communities who will participate in a project over the next year that will:

• Conduct a NE Ohio economic and labor market scan to identify the appropriate industry clusters that would be best served by the new Max Hayes;
• Conduct an evaluation of best practices including site visits to career-tech education and training centers in the United States and elsewhere where technical education is highly valued and well developed;
• Identify resources to assist with curriculum design analysis, review, and support;
• Identify and develop resources to fund capacity building initiatives once the facility is completed; and

Communicate and leverage opportunities to attract youth and adult students to the new Max Hayes; now a world class career- tech education and training center.

Download our fact sheet here.