Thaddeus Miles will assist in first-of-its-kind partnership aimed at bolstering student achievement and preparing students for success in global economy
BOSTON – November 5, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Thaddeus Miles, MassHousing’s Director of Public Safety, has been appointed to the Joint Industry Advisory Board for the newly formed Roxbury Massachusetts Advanced Polytech Pathway (RoxMAPP), a first-of-its-kind partnership between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston to increase student achievement and prepare students at Roxbury Community College (RCC) and Madison Park Vocational Technical High School for success in a 21st century economy.
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The new program was announced in June by Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas Menino with the goal of creating clear avenues for students to high-demand careers including health care, information technology and the life sciences, while also helping to increase graduation rates and close access and achievement gaps for students at RCC and Madison Park.
The RoxMAPP partnership will increase coordination among RCC, Madison Park, business leaders and the greater community in order to ensure that students at both institutions have greater access to essential information about specific career pathways and greater opportunities to participate in exciting work-based learning programs.
RoxMAPP will allow students attending Madison Park to enroll directly into RCC after high school and graduate with a high school diploma, an associate’s degree and a technical training certificate in a high-demand field in as few as five years. The partnership will also connect RCC graduates with local employers in their field of choice for employment options after college, and create more defined pathways to local four-year universities for students who want to pursue higher degrees.
The 21 members of the programs advisory board were appointed by the Governor and Mayor.
“Thaddeus Miles has made a tremendous impact on the lives of thousands of young people living in Boston housing communities by not only making them safer, but also by empowering them to be leaders and successful members of their community,” said MassHousing Executive Director Thomas R. Gleason. “I know Thaddeus will be a great asset to this innovative new program that will boost educational and career opportunities for students at Madison Park and Roxbury Community College.”
In 2009, Miles was named Boston’s Crime Fighter of the Year for his work with the Boston Police Department in making city housing developments administered by MassHousing safer and for creating opportunities for advancement for youth and residents.
In October, Miles was awarded the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for his public safety efforts at housing communities and their surrounding neighborhoods across Massachusetts. Miles was honored for his work with law enforcement and diverse communities in designing and implementing crime prevention strategies as well as his efforts to help traumatized family members and residents affected by violent crime. Miles also works with youth in programs like Think Big, Dream Big, which encourages them to pursue their goals and talents and to a make a difference in their community.
Over the past 19 years, Miles, of Lowell, has worked closely with all levels of the Boston Police Department to improve safety and the quality of life in 280 Boston housing communities administered by MassHousing containing approximately 30,000 housing units. He also worked in housing communities across the state. MassHousing administers more than 100,000 housing units in 931 housing communities across Massachusetts. “Working alongside the tremendous industry leaders on this advisory board is not only an opportunity for us to make a collective impact on the quality of cross sector partnerships but will without doubt help me to learn, grow and apply more effective solutions to my own work in public safety,” said Miles.
About MassHousing
MassHousing (The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency) is an independent, quasi-public agency created in 1966 and charged with providing financing for affordable housing in Massachusetts. The Agency raises capital by selling bonds and lends the proceeds to low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners, and to developers who build or preserve affordable and/or mixed-income rental housing. MassHousing does not use taxpayer dollars to sustain its operations, although it administers some publicly funded programs on behalf of the Commonwealth. Since its inception, MassHousing has provided more than $17 billion for affordable housing. For more information, visit the MassHousing website at www.masshousing.com, follow us on Twitter @MassHousing, subscribe to our blog and Like us on Facebook.
Media Contacts
Eric Gedstad: 617.854.1079 | egedstad (at) masshousing (dot) com
Tom Farmer: 617.854.1843 | tfarmer (at) masshousing (dot) com
