Education leaders discuss challenges, opportunities for students in western Mass.

The Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy held a discussion today in Holyoke. 22 News reporter Gabriella Villas-Boas joins us live in the studio with more about how they hope to better educate in western Massachusetts. That's right, today the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy had a conversation about the conditions of education in Western Massachusetts. This is part of their annual look at the region of Western Mass and the unique challenges and opportunities students face. The executive director tells us they hope to create a diversity of pathways for students and support what they hope to achieve in adulthood. That educators and adults are listening, they understand that students are looking for different types of learning opportunities, and the more they share and articulate what they want and what resonates with them, the more likely it is to achieve those. The executive director says that in their research they noticed many students in western Massachusetts opt for two-year colleges or they go straight into the workforce after high school. While they examine the conditions of education in western Massachusetts, the Rennie Center hopes to consider students on all routes of life, not just traditional four-year institutions. The executive director tells us that there are solutions currently being made by their communities and public schools to benefit alternative learning strategies and bring students into the community and workforce. Working for you, I'm Gabriella Villas-Boas, 22 News.