Today I was a guest at a very exciting graduation ceremony.  The academy was the Greyston Foundation in Yonkers. The students were newly trained building energy analysts and technicians showing unmistakeable pride as they held their diplomas.  The audience included the Mayor of Yonkers and work force development experts from the surrounding counties, along with family and friends of the graduates.  Jason Chapin, a colleague from The WOrk Place in Bridgeport, introduced me to program manager Ellen Waldman (check name) who shared the pride.  “We based our plans on about 30% dropout rate,” she reported, “But in fact, we started with fifteen students, and all fifteen graduated.”

I had expected a quality program from Greyston, founded by Zen teacher Bernard Glassman and well known for figuring out how to support human beings in getting off the streets and into meaningful work. Greyston’s inn and bakery have provided life skills and work skills in the community for years.  This energy training brought them into a new field, but with the same approach.  I asked how we might all learn from them. She replied, “Our model is actually very very simple. It consists of two things:  intensive, lifelong case management to help people access the services and supports they need to be successful, and very rigorous vetting so that the people entering the program show both the aptitude and the motivation to succeed.”  

Everywhere in the Valley, we have leaky buildings, underemployed people, and work to be done.  Let’s put those pieces together.