This year’s event will focus on the theme: “Building Bridges: Connecting Education and Industry”…“Strengthening the workforce, one connection at a time” To bring this vision to life, MAVA is proud to welcome Captain Barrington Irving, an esteemed entrepreneur, STEM+ explorer, and workforce development ambassador, as the keynote speaker.
About Captain Barrington Irving Captain Irving is a pioneering aviator and educator committed to empowering the next generation through real-world STEM experiences. His extensive career includes global expeditions, workforce development initiatives, and transformative educational programs. In 2023, he founded the Barrington Irving Technical Training School (BITTS) to provide high school and adult students with hands-on technical training, micro-credentialing, and job placement, particularly in aviation fields. In just 15 months, BITTS generated over $1 million in employment salaries and hosted 12 industry-leading maintenance competitions across the country. Captain Irving has also collaborated with top industry players, including Bombardier Aircraft, Atlantic Aviation, and Signature Aviation.
Beyond BITTS, Captain Irving has been a leader in STEM+ education for over a decade. His Flying Classroom program, celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2024, has impacted more than 3 million students by integrating hands-on, real-world problem-solving into classrooms nationwide. Additionally, his nonprofit organization, Experience Aviation, has been providing STEM-based career guidance to middle and high school students since 2005.
A true trailblazer, Captain Irving has traveled to over 70 countries, completed more than 80 STEM+ expeditions, and led groundbreaking engineering challenges—including constructing a car faster than a Ferrari and building a plane he personally test-piloted. In 2007, he made history as the youngest person and first Black pilot to fly solo around the world, earning two Guinness World Records at just 23 years old.
Question, Persuade, and Refer - the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Gatekeepers can be anyone, but this includes all educators who are strategically positioned to recognize and refer someone at risk of suicide. Just as people are trained in CPR, thousands of Americans have been trained in QPR and have saved lives. This presentation will include information specific to supporting our youth. All participants will be emailed a certificate on behalf of the QPR institute following the training.
In this interactive breakout session, educators will discover innovative strategies and practical tools to stay positive and creative amidst the evolving landscape of education. Participants will explore the importance of resilience, adaptability, and a growth mindset in overcoming challenges and embracing change. Through engaging discussions and hands-on activities, attendees will leave inspired and equipped to navigate the unknown with confidence and creativity. Join us for a session filled with inspiration, collaboration, and actionable takeaways to empower you on your educational journey.
This session offers a practical guide for vocational technical schools looking to introduce or expand the use of artificial intelligence in their programs. Using a proven framework and the DESE Integrating Artificial Intelligence document, we’ll help you take stock of where your school is now and chart a path toward making AI useful and meaningful for students and teachers. You’ll leave with planning tools and concrete strategies that show how AI can improve teaching, learning, and daily operations that work for teachers and administrators.
What You’ll Learn: How to assess your current approach to AI using six focus areas (curriculum, training, ethics, equity, feedback, and admin tools) How to build a functional plan for introducing or improving AI in classrooms and shops. How to align your efforts with DESE priorities, Perkins V goals, and workforce needs.
In this professional development workshop, we delve into the intricate intersection of teen dating dynamics and the pervasive influence of social media. Recognizing the profound impact of digital platforms on adolescent relationships, our session is designed to equip educators, counselors, and youth advocates with a comprehensive understanding of the challenges presented and effective strategies for support.
Through interactive discussions, participants will explore the evolving landscape of teen dating in the digital age. As communication methods shift from tossing classroom notes to instant messaging, behaviors that are detrimental to the health and safety of teens become increasingly difficult to observe and prevent. This session will elicit a heightened awareness of the role of social media in shaping adolescents’ perceptions of self, relationships, and intimacy, while also highlighting the potential of the digital world as an avenue for student support.
Key topics include… 1. The Influence of Social Media on Teen Dating: Analyzing trends, behaviors, and communication patterns. 2. Challenges and Risks: Understanding cyberbullying, digital coercion, and the impact of unrealistic social media standards. 3. Building Healthy Relationships: Promoting consent, respect, and digital citizenship in online interactions. 4. Supporting Adolescents: Identifying signs of distress, providing resources, and fostering open dialogue about healthy digital habits.
As high school students enter employment opportunities through experiential programs such as Cooperative Education, vocational educators and placement staff are uniquely positioned to support not only their technical development but also their mental and emotional well-being. This workshop explores the intersection of youth mental health and workplace readiness. Participants will learn how to identify early warning signs of mental health challenges, explore workplace stressors specific to young employees, and effectively navigate youth mental health with employers to encourage supportive environments that foster resilience and success.
Question, Persuade, and Refer - the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Gatekeepers can be anyone, but this includes all educators who are strategically positioned to recognize and refer someone at risk of suicide. Just as people are trained in CPR, thousands of Americans have been trained in QPR and have saved lives. This presentation will include information specific to supporting our youth. All participants will be emailed a certificate on behalf of the QPR institute following the training.
The "Hawk for a Day" program, hosted at Southeastern Regional, provided junior students from Oliver Ames High School, a comprehensive sending school within our district, with a hands-on opportunity to explore dual enrollment and post-graduation options in the particular trades of interest to them. This interactive career exploration paired the students with mentors from Southeastern (SET) in their chosen vocational fields. We will cover the detailed and structured approach taken during the shadowing experience, highlighting how this collaborative model prepares students for real-world career opportunities. Participants will leave the session with practical strategies and tools to develop similar programs in their own schools, strengthening the connection between comprehensive and CTE education.
Now more than ever, vocational and technical schools have a powerful opportunity to demonstrate leadership in creating learning environments where every student, staff member, and family feels valued and supported. This interactive workshop will focus on practical strategies for affirming and supporting LGBTQ+ individuals across the school community.
Participants will explore: • The current landscape of LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools and why visibility and support matter * Ways to implement inclusive policies and practices that align with Massachusetts guidance and the Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ Students * Approaches for engaging families and fostering strong, supportive school–home partnerships * Tools to build educator and staff capacity through professional development and cultural responsiveness
Participants will leave with actionable ideas and resources to help ensure that LGBTQ+ students, staff, and families feel seen, respected, and included in all aspects of school life.
Intended Audience:Vocational and technical educators, administrators, counselors, and support staff committed to creating inclusive, student-centered school communities.
Freshman Exploratory teachers have a short time with each group of students, and it is important to make critical information relative to special learning needs easily accessible and understandable. Through our Exploratory Binders initiative, we have a central place, and consistent procedure, for doing just that. This process facilitates communication about freshman with IEPs and 504s, as well as English language learners, during the exploratory cycles.
In today's diverse classrooms, educators play a pivotal role in shaping the learning environment and fostering student well-being. This session, "Creating Safe Spaces: Trauma-Informed Strategies for Classroom Teachers," is designed to empower educators with the knowledge and skills to support students who may have experienced trauma.
Social stigma can impede our ability to connect with others in ways that are fair and meaningful. In order to improve our relationships with community members, we must unpack stigma and examine our biases. In this workshop, participants will discuss the ways in which stereotypes can negatively impact the way people perceive other identities. Participants will examine their own identities and explore the roles that privilege and oppression may have played in their personal experiences. They will also learn how to challenge personal biases against stigmatized groups, and how to navigate different conversations in the classroom.
Session Objectives: • Understand how stigma impacts our relationships • Learn ways to combat our own personal stigma-based biases • Explore our own potential privilege and oppression. • Apply multiple aspects of empathy and bias reduction in our everyday lives
In today's diverse classrooms, educators play a pivotal role in shaping the learning environment and fostering student well-being. This session, "Creating Safe Spaces: Trauma-Informed Strategies for Classroom Teachers," is designed to empower educators with the knowledge and skills to support students who may have experienced trauma.
The needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ students in school settings are critical to understand in order to ensure educational equity and foster school-based belonging throughout the identity spectrum. Massachusetts DESE guidances recommend educational allyship professional development at least once annually in order to maintain an inclusive and responsive school environment for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities. This workshop is designed to approach allyship through an educator-specific lens, unpacking ideal protocols and best practices for LGBTQ+ safety and inclusion with a dynamic series of activities that helps participants internalize the reasons behind desired etiquette and language, rather than a procedural understanding. This workshop is best suited for educators, administrators, and other school-based professionals, and can be provided in one session but is available and recommended as a multi or extended-session series for optimal efficacy.
Objectives: -Develop a comprehensive understanding of helpful vs. harmful LGBTQ+ terminology -Unpack biases that affect our perceptions of/behaviors towards LGBTQ+ students -Identify DESE-aligned best practices for inclusion in educational settings -Troubleshoot addressing anti-LGBTQ+ harassment from both students and caregivers
This workshop engages biotechnology and health careers instructors in a hands-on case study examining the physiological and genetic effects of vaping. Participants will explore molecular diagnostics through ELISA assays to detect inflammatory biomarkers and gel electrophoresis to analyze genetic susceptibility. Aligned with CTE biotechnology and health science standards, this session provides actionable strategies for integrating real-world health issues into laboratory instruction, enhancing student understanding of biotechnology’s role in public health, and preparing them for careers in healthcare and biomedical
This session offers a practical guide for vocational technical schools looking to introduce or expand the use of artificial intelligence in their programs. Using a proven framework and the DESE Integrating Artificial Intelligence document, we’ll help you take stock of where your school is now and chart a path toward making AI useful and meaningful for students and teachers. You’ll leave with planning tools and concrete strategies that show how AI can improve teaching, learning, and daily operations that work for teachers and administrators.
What You’ll Learn: How to assess your current approach to AI using six focus areas (curriculum, training, ethics, equity, feedback, and admin tools) How to build a functional plan for introducing or improving AI in classrooms and shops. How to align your efforts with DESE priorities, Perkins V goals, and workforce needs.
This workshop engages biotechnology and health careers instructors in a hands-on case study examining the physiological and genetic effects of vaping. Participants will explore molecular diagnostics through ELISA assays to detect inflammatory biomarkers and gel electrophoresis to analyze genetic susceptibility. Aligned with CTE biotechnology and health science standards, this session provides actionable strategies for integrating real-world health issues into laboratory instruction, enhancing student understanding of biotechnology’s role in public health, and preparing them for careers in healthcare and biomedical
This session offers a practical guide for vocational technical schools looking to introduce or expand the use of artificial intelligence in their programs. Using a proven framework and the DESE Integrating Artificial Intelligence document, we’ll help you take stock of where your school is now and chart a path toward making AI useful and meaningful for students and teachers. You’ll leave with planning tools and concrete strategies that show how AI can improve teaching, learning, and daily operations that work for teachers and administrators.
What You’ll Learn: How to assess your current approach to AI using six focus areas (curriculum, training, ethics, equity, feedback, and admin tools) How to build a functional plan for introducing or improving AI in classrooms and shops. How to align your efforts with DESE priorities, Perkins V goals, and workforce needs.
Freshman Exploratory teachers have a short time with each group of students, and it is important to make critical information relative to special learning needs easily accessible and understandable. Through our Exploratory Binders initiative, we have a central place, and consistent procedure, for doing just that. This process facilitates communication about freshman with IEPs and 504s, as well as English language learners, during the exploratory cycles.
Threat Assessment Teams (TATs) are vital to the safety of schools. They have been necessary in today's world. TATs do an excellent job of assessing, directing, managing, and documenting threats, the vast majority of threats that are reported and evaluated fall into the "transient threat" category. Although a determination that the threat is not real, has no real threat behind it, nonetheless it is concerning and disruptive to a school community. How do schools support students who make these threats and how can schools help prevent such threats from occurring. We will discuss numerous interventions, supports and strategies that can be implemented to ensure school safety.
