The Milton Innovation Center; it is not just a renovation of an old, worn space. It is the fusion of the hearts and minds of the Milton Community. It is years of dreaming, designing, planning and persevering; all in the interest of providing Milton scholars - the future of the Milton community, with a personalized, high tech learning opportunity that inspires them to visualize a college or career pathway.
Through the Milton Innovation Center program, scholars will learn to use a variety of tools, materials and applications - traditional and current, while developing skills to identify and solve problems; design and build solutions; and to be collaborators, communicators and creators. The MIC is a learning space that will allow them to practice being innovators and entrepreneurs; artists and engineers; builders and craftsmen.
The Milton Innovation Center; it is not just a renovation of an old worn space. It is a vision realized by the collective work of a Youth and Adult Partnership made up of Thinkers, Dreamers, Designers, Facilitators, Builders and Champions. As we cut the ribbon and begin a new phase of learning at MHS, I would like to extend my appreciation to those who made this vision a reality.
The Thinkers or the Milton Economic Development Commission. A thoughtful and diverse group of community / business members. In 2019, they were contemplating how to develop the workforce; diversify businesses and expand economic opportunities for Milton. Unconsciously, they were planting a seed with MTSD, and we began to grapple with how we could more intentionally equip scholars with the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the workforce or a variety of career training pathways.
The Dreamers a combination of youth and adults facilitated by Up For Learning. This group included Michael Metz and Meg Hammond from the Burlington Generator Maker Space, members of the Milton Artist Guild, Milton Middle and High School Students (Baylee Rock, Brody Hammond, Otis Hecker, Charlie Griffin, Dom Douglas, Mi’Sean Graham, Colbie Miller, Malachi Bergeron, Sam Morin-Sourdiff, Kira McDonald, Taylor Johansen, Tess Follensbee, William Ryan, Willa Wright) and Milton Teachers (Dusty Kemp, Amanda DeCarlo, Ryan Bushey, Ben Sevey, Christina Reider, Jenna Schultz, and Jon Adams), members of the EDC (Lou Mossey, Michael Joseph, and Rick Hamilton) and then of course was Lindsay Hallman from Up for Learning who brought her energy and expertise to lead this group of Dreamers through a design process that resulted in a vision for the MIC; the development of curriculum; the selection of equipment and materials and the exploration of grant funding.
Our Designers - Truexcullins Architects (David Epstein and Ethan Nutting) who took the time to talk with our Dreamers, review their design sketches, meet with them in the empty space to collectively visualize the layout and get a sense of how they wanted the space to look and feel in order to inspire learners. They took all the information and transformed it into drawings and graphics and reviewed it with our Dreamers, listening to their feedback, offering suggestions and making revisions; it was a true iterative process.
MTSD Facilitators - Matt Grasso, Bruce Cheeseman, Anne Blake and MaryJane Stinson who coordinated the Dreamers and Designers, managed the logistics of the architects and builders, and were relentless in navigating multiple barriers especially the PCB issue. They persevered by knocking on the doors of the VT Agency of Education, the VT Agency Natural Resources and other entities demanding answers and action.
Our Builders - Aaron Stewart and Stewart Construction. From day 1 their approach was genuine, highly professional and responsive. They immediately instilled confidence and never once disappointed in their communication, delivery of services or workmanship.
And last, but certainly not least, Our Champions- the MTSD Board of Trustees and the Milton Community. Over the course of 4 years, the Board asked questions, listened, deliberated, and considered the long term benefit; that is, improving the caliber of programming at MHS would not only benefit scholars, but the community as a whole.