PWE - COVID-19 Program Update

Friday, March 13, 2020
 
Message to PWE Participants:
 
First, thank you!  Many of you are on the campus frontline: tending to our custodial needs, our administrative and technical support needs, our food service needs, our maintenance and grounds needs. We are deeply grateful for the work that you do, day in and day out. In these times of the COVID-19 virus, many of you are providing essential functions. We appreciate you and your commitment to our community. There are so many wonderful people in our campus community; and, if you read this, you are one of them!
 
Here is an update on PWE classroom, project, and event activities.
 

  • Effective Monday, March 23, until Friday, April 3rd, we are suspending all of our live in-person classes on campus.  Prior to April 3, we will update you on the status of April-scheduled sessions.
  • Our teachers are developing activities to provide online or other support for employees who are enrolled in these sessions. Stay tuned for updates. Your teachers will be in touch with you with class updates.
  • Effective today, after consulting throughout this week with the funders for our off-campus projects (Amherst College, the Southern Hilltown Adult Education Center, CommunityWorks, and 1199 Springfield Home Health Care), we now have in place agreed upon plans to temporarily amend or suspend those off-campus services.  Questions regarding these services should be directed to project directors. See links above.
  • Instead of an in-person event, we are planning to go digital with our April 14th Building Bridges Showcase. Last year, 750 attended. More than 60 employees have already signed up to display their art this year. Stay tuned.
  • Our individualized career counseling sessions will continue, although possibly by phone or Zoom.
  • We are continuing our work, all across campus, to move forward our ground-breaking career ladder projects.  Much of this work will happen via small meetings or via telecommuting.

 
Well wishes to everyone!
Joe


Joseph Connolly, Ed.D.
Director, The Partnership for Worker Education
Office of Human Resources
303 Goodell, University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA  01003     413-545-1469