The youth program of the NewBridge Cleveland Center for Arts & Technology is facing an especially challenging conundrum no one dreamed we would encounter this early in NewBridge’s life—and we couldn’t be happier about it.

The space and resource shortage we knew we were likely to confront somewhere down the road is here, but it’s a wonderful “problem” for a program like ours to have. Early data for the 2013 winter quarter indicate that enrollment in all four studio options—ceramics, digital arts, music recording and production and photography—is at or near capacity. Moreover, we have every reason to believe that the stellar attendance pattern established this past fall, with an overall rate of 84 percent, is on track to continue this winter.

Since opening in fall 2010, young people from all over Greater Cleveland have enrolled, representing more than 60 area high schools, and have taken an active role in their twice-weekly classes. Many students came to NewBridge and chose to stay quarter after quarter. And (arguably most important) they are engaged. Indeed, as NewBridge Youth Program Director Dr. Karen M. C.-Keys said, with tremendous satisfaction, “If ever there was a time that students voted with their feet, now is it.”

The reasons for these trends are, no doubt, as diverse as our students: the fact that every one of our teaching artists is both an accomplished working artist and an experienced instructor; NewBridge’s state-of-the-art studios and professional-grade equipment; and unique accessibility (we provide bus tickets and substantial, healthy after school snacks for all of our students), for example. Beyond these rather generic explanations, however, is an equally long list gleaned from the experiences of the more than 300 individual youngsters who have joined us here for one or more quarters over the past two years. Our students are invited to be a part of a dynamic creative process that challenges them to observe and think more deeply, and to grow perhaps beyond even their own expectations. Day after day, in ways that are as unique as they are, our students embrace this opportunity.

That is why a dedicated group of NewBridge students and teaching artists chose to devote a significant portion of their Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday to a volunteer service project at CMHA’s Garden Valley Estates. That is why the completely optional Friday Video Project that launched this fall continues to attract students in remarkable numbers week after week. That is why the evening exhibition marking the end of the fall quarter brought proud students, families, and friends to NewBridge in record numbers on a snowy December Friday, and why those gathered to celebrate our students’ work left in awe of what they and their teachers had achieved together.

Which brings us back to our looming conundrum: How can we accommodate every young person who wants to study at NewBridge while maintaining the integrity of our proven model, with its 12:1 student-teacher ratio? How do we provide the next level of growth and development for our seasoned students who continue to come to us quarter after quarter? What must we do to sustain their interest and keep them coming so that we are in a position to offer them support and encouragement during their later years of high school and particularly their senior year?

At this point, we have plenty of options to consider, absolutely no reason for hasty decisions and, thankfully, still no need to turn students away. Still, as Dr. Keys and her amazing team continue to imagine what our youth program might look like in the not-so-distant future, it is clear that if NewBridge is to succeed in its mission of educating, empowering, and inspiring its students, we must first consider the implications of our program’s rapid growth, the documented needs of this community and our abiding commitment to impacting our students’ lives in meaningful and lasting ways. The challenges of limited space and limited resources are upon us. Our conundrum is real, and we couldn’t be happier.

Teaching artist LaMarr Dillingham, in gray sweater, huddles over a computer to help his students learn tools for music recording and production.

Thanks to a Grant from JPMorgan Chase Foundation

A grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation has allowed NewBridge Cleveland Center for Arts & Technology to add training in skills that will help its adult graduates keep and excel in the jobs they land.

While soft-skills training has always been core to NewBridge adult programs, a series of soft-skills training sessions provided by Towards Employment are now part of the NewBridge curriculum. Towards Employment is a local nonprofit that, among its services, provides job-readiness training such as job search skills and soft skills—teamwork, communications, conflict resolution and dealing with stress, among others—needed to succeed on the job.

“We hope this will deepen the impact of these concepts on our students as they enter and navigate a competitive job market,” said Karen Thompson-Shaheen, NewBridge interim executive director.

The sessions provide practical, hands-on training focused on everything from workplace appearance standards to résumé development and interviewing skills. While NewBridge has offered such training, the Towards Employment sessions strengthen the concept, practice and internalization of these soft-skills, said Thompson-Shaheen.

For example, one session had the students exploring the differences between work rules and the rules at home; how gossip is harmful; and how criticism can be constructive and should not be taken personally. Sessions also review the roles of the supervisor and the worker, as well as how to learn about a new employer’s culture.

Towards Employment calls the course Workplace Skill Training, and it was developed specifically for students in the phlebotomy and pharmacy fields. Students receive 30 hours of instruction, said Staci Wampler, advancement coordinator for Towards Employment. “They are learning the hard skills to do the job from their instructors, but we are teaching what employers expect from them,” said Wampler.

Cinnamon D. Pelly, JPMorgan Chase & Co. vice president for corporate responsibility for Ohio and West Virginia, said her company takes great pride in its history of supporting organizations and programs that strengthen the communities it serves.

“We commend the important work of your organization, are glad to support its efforts with this grant and look forward to learning about its community impact,” Pelly wrote in awarding the $50,000 grant.

Students received their certificates of completion for the Towards Employment Professional Development component, as well as a set of Crocs and scrubs, at a luncheon celebrating the beginning of student externships and attended by representatives from JP Morgan Chase.

James Gilliam, vice president of government and community relations for JPMorgan Chase in Chicago, encourages NewBridge’s adult students at a luncheon marking completion of soft skills training supported by the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.

Adult Programs Stay in Stride with Job Market

With upgraded components for the phlebotomy technician program, 100 percent of pharmacy technician graduates who took the national Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam passing on their first try and growing support from local employers for both courses, NewBridge’s vocational training programs are keeping pace with the job market.

The programs, which take from six to nine months to complete, have been running for less than two years. Even so, doors of employment and new opportunities have opened for three-fourths of the graduates.

Local healthcare employers continue to be involved partners with NewBridge. They are helping by guiding curriculum development and revisions, providing on-site training through externships and hiring graduates, said Zerrine K. Bailey, NewBridge Director of Student and Partner services.

NewBridge’s adult programs are market-driven, meaning they are tailored to the needs of the Cleveland Area job market. NewBridge’s ability to respond quickly to employer demand is why the phlebotomy technician course for this term has been upgraded to a clinical phlebotomy technician program. This revised course features seven additional weeks of training that include instruction focused on several more patient-centered skills, as well as an additional externship.

“Providers are looking for a person who can not only draw blood, but who can also take vital signs, administer electrocardiograms and perform other clinical tasks throughout the hospital,” said Cynthia Y. Hill, NewBridge’s new director of adult programs and former phlebotomy instructor.

NewBridge’s pharmacy technician class also has had a great deal of success. In the last class, 13 graduates took the national Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam, which allows them to work in hospitals and other specialized pharmacy settings as well as retail pharmacies. Each one passed on the first try.

The NewBridge pharmacy technician program has gained acceptance and high regard. CVS/pharmacy®, for example, has been working with NewBridge not only to get pharmacy tech students to apply for jobs, but also to screen for potential managers, said Duane Rohr, CVS Regional Learning Center manager. One of the four graduates CVS has hired is on the fast track as a lead technician.

Daryl Johnson, a graduate of NewBridge’s first pharmacy technician class and now a CVS technician, praised the instructor, pharmacist David Stepanik, and the rest of the NewBridge staff.

“They made you feel like family by how much they showed care and concern for us the students,” said Johnson, who had been working as a shipping-receiving temporary before he enrolled at NewBridge. “While we may not have the power to change the world, we do have the power to change ourselves.”

Virginia Dean, left, has been hired by University Hospitals as a phlebotomist after she completes her externship there, and Tatche Hamilton has begun her externship at the Cleveland Clinic.

In addition to attending their regular Monday-Wednesday and Tuesday-Thursday after-school classes at the NewBridge Cleveland Center for Arts & Technology, a core of more than 20 students has been spending Friday afternoons, and on occasion Saturdays, learning how to create stories on video.

Students in the youth programs had expressed an interest in video production in prior years, so NewBridge, with a grant from the City of Cleveland’s Cable Television Minority Arts and Education Fund, offered the add-on class last Fall as a project during open studio time on Fridays. It is continuing in the Winter and Spring quarters.

“Participation and attendance have been off the charts,” said NewBridge Youth Program Director Dr. Karen M. C.-Keys. The Fall quarter showed the project needed some fine tuning, as eight Fridays was a very short time to produce a video from start to finish—including writing story lines, filming and editing the sound and visuals.

“The cool thing is how this has been a highly adaptable and changing process—often fraught with high stress—but no one wants to stop or walk away from this,” said Dr, Keys.

Stay tuned.

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Eleven youth program students and six of NewBridge’s teaching artists spent much of Martin Luther King Day volunteering at the Garden Valley Neighborhood House, helping out with the center’s food pantry, stocking medical supplies and assisting with its Hunger Network database and computer lab.

Student volunteers included Kayla Bradley, Malaki Carter, Pam Campbell, E’Lyric Christopher, Jalecia Fair, Tynesha Flagg, Kaila Harris, Tyra’h Johnson, De’ja Roddy, Marcel Wheatley and Nicholas Williams.

Teaching artists who helped were Donald Black Jr., photography and the Friday Video Project; LaMarr Dillingham, music recording and production and the Friday Video Project; José Fontanez, music recording and production; Dagna Griffin, digital arts; John Miyazawa, ceramics (and wife Kristin and daughter Saya); and McKinley Wiley, photography.

NewBridge is proud to give back to the community, and hopes to organize future days of service in collaboration with local organizations.

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Cynthia Y. Hill, NewBridge’s phlebotomy instructor since March 2011, has been appointed the organization’s new director of adult programs. In her new role, Hill will be overseeing the phlebotomy and pharmacy tech programs as well as the development of new job training programs at NewBridge.

Hill came to NewBridge from the Cleveland Job Corps. Prior to that she was a supervisor for Laboratory Corp. of America, laboratory coordinator for the Free Clinic of Cleveland and phlebotomy coordinator for Cleveland Clinic Huron Hospital. She was also a medic and medical and laboratory technician in the Air Force and the Army Reserve.

Hill will continue to serve as NewBridge’s phlebotomy instructor until the current class is completed March 1. A search is being conducted for the position.

Youth Programs

Students entering the 9th through 11th grades as of Fall 2012 are eligible to apply online for the Spring Quarter, which begins April 8. For additional information, please contact Dr. Karen Clark-Keys, Director of Youth Programs at NewBridge, at 216-867-9775 or kckeys@newbridgecleveland.org.

Winter 2013 Quarter
January 21, 2013: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day — NewBridge Closed
March 7, 2013: Last day of Winter 2013 Quarter

Spring 2013 Quarter
April 8, 2013: Spring 2013 Quarter begins
May 30, 2013: Last Day of Spring 2013 Quarter

Summer 2013 Programming—To be announced

Adult Programs

For dates and times of adult program testing for admissions and test preparation workshops, please visit our website at www.newbridgecleveland.org/program-calendar.

Can It Be Fixed?

Do you have a ceramics piece at home that has a chip or crack in it and needs repairing? NewBridge’s teaching artists are full of helpful tips to share with friends of NewBridge. John Miyazawa, studio coordinator and teaching artist in ceramics, says you can repair minor damage to ceramics DIY style—sometimes.

The good news is minor damage to ceramics can be repaired easily and cheaply with a little patience and the right materials, but it depends on the piece and how it is used. If you bumped a decorative bowl or sculpture and cracked or chipped it, there’s hope. You can do a respectable repair without having to re-fire and re-glaze it.

First, repair the damage with sculptor’s putty—available at most craft, hobby or art supply stores. Then use acrylic paint, usually available in the same stores, to blend the patch with the rest of the piece. If the piece has a glossy finish, get a spray fixative, also usually available at the same stores. To be sure, ask the sales clerk for a recommendation. Alternatively, you may be able to get away with something like clear nail polish if the repair is small.

The bad news? A repair cannot bind with the original clay in the same way that fresh clay binds with itself. Repairs compromise the structural integrity of the piece, so it cannot achieve its original strength and functionality.

That’s okay for a sculpture, decorative bowl or mug that sits on a shelf. If it’s your favorite coffee mug, it may be time to start looking for a new one. Even the best repairs will always have the risk of cracking again, and you probably don’t want a shower of hot coffee falling on you or your clothes.

John Miyazawa, studio coordinator and teaching artist in ceramics, helps students perfect their techniques.

NewBridge has benefited from the knowledge, creativity and support of many Northeast Ohio corporate, nonprofit, public and private partners. In this issue of News from NewBridge, we focus on KeyBank. As one of our earliest supporters, it helped launch NewBridge.

KeyBank Commons is the first thing visitors see when they walk through the door at NewBridge Cleveland Center for Arts & Technology. It is a lobby and lounge area used by NewBridge’s adult students attending classes during the first part of the day, and then by high school students enrolled in NewBridge’s after-school arts programs later in the day.

NewBridge strives to create success across generations. It trains unemployed and underemployed adults in new careers, and helps motivate youngsters to stay in school with its programs in technology and the arts. KeyBank, by supporting NewBridge, is fostering economic self-sufficiency through financial education and workforce development.

The name of the lobby is an acknowledgement of Key’s critical role as a supporter, with a $1 million contribution that continues to fund NewBridge’s programs. Besides helping fund NewBridge’s training programs, KeyBank Foundation’s generosity has provided NewBridge with a vital resource for the range of supportive services that are so important to students’ capacity for both short- and long-term success. One of those services is financial education, including individual credit counseling, offered through the support of KeyBank Foundation in concert with Neighborhood Progress Inc. Other student services include assistance in helping students to identify childcare opportunities, housing and legal assistance through collaborations with local groups and service providers.

“We are delighted to support NewBridge and its critical work in education and workforce development. NewBridge and KeyBank Foundation share mutual goals for our community,” said Margot Copeland, KeyBank Foundation chair.

“NewBridge programming—its youth arts classes and its adult career training offerings—has experienced tremendous growth and even transformation, thanks to the support of partners such as KeyBank Foundation,” said Karen Thompson-Shaheen, NewBridge interim executive director. “The Foundation has enabled us to maximize our programs’ relevance within the community and capacity to meet the needs of our students and the needs of the marketplace.”

About KeyBank

Cleveland-based KeyCorp is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $87 billion. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally. The company’s businesses deliver their products and services through branches and offices; a network of 1,620 ATMs; telephone banking centers 800-KEY2YOU® (800-539-2968); and a website, Key.com®, that provides account access and financial products 24 hours a day.

• June 18 – July 12– Youth Summer Session I – new students
• July 23 – Aug 16– Youth Summer Session II – returning students
• October 15 – Fall Session Begins
• December 6 – Youth Fall Art Exhibit

Summer Sessions

Students entering the 9th, 10th and 11th grade as of Fall 2012 are eligible to apply online for the summer sessions of NewBridge’s youth programs, which begin June 18. For additional information, please contact Dr. Karen Clark-Keys, Director of Youth Programs at NewBridge, at 216-867-9775, or kckeys@newbridgecleveland.org.

Adult Programs

For dates and times of adult program testing for admissions and test preparation workshops, please visit our website at http://www.newbridgecleveland.org/program-calendar/.

NewBridge has benefited from the knowledge, creativity and support of many Northeast Ohio corporate, nonprofit, public and private partners. For this issue of the newsletter, we focus on University Hospitals, one of the nation’s leading health care systems.

If University Hospitals’ contribution to NewBridge Cleveland Center for Arts & Technology were on a restaurant menu, it would be — well, pretty much the whole menu.

Starting before we began, when NewBridge was a mere glint in the eye of the Cleveland Foundation, and continuing today, UH has provided soup-to-nuts guidance and support for our program and our students. The health care system took part in early work leading to the creation of NewBridge and has:

• Committed $1 million to NewBridge over five years, the largest gift UH has ever made to a nonaffiliated, nonprofit organization.
• Helped determine the two career tracks we offer adult students and helped develop the curricula for both programs. UH continues to work with us on future programming, based on expected future workforce needs.
• Provided free vaccinations and medical assessments for students.
• Conducted career development workshops for students that included mock interviews and résumé writing tips.
• Donated scrubs and lab coats, and a laminar flow hood, an expensive piece of equipment that provides a clean environment for work with antibiotics and other products. Our pharmacy tech students will be able to use the laminar flow hood for practice preparation of items for intravenous therapy.
• Provided externships for students in both our phlebotomy and pharmacy technician programs. (UH also became the first employer to hire pharmacy tech graduates from our recently concluded first class.)
• Created opportunities within our youth program to showcase students’ artwork at the health system’s main campus — University Hospitals Case Medical Center — and will be engaging students in new projects providing hands-on experience in the UH Department of Marketing and Communications.

“University Hospitals has been wonderfully generous with its help with every facet of our adult programs and support of our youth programs,” said Jeffrey Johnson, NewBridge executive director.

In addition, two top-ranking UH officers — Steven D. Standley, chief administrative officer, and Heidi Gartland, vice president of government relations — serve on the NewBridge board of trustees, and UH representatives serve on our pharmacy and phlebotomy advisory boards.

For UH, NewBridge was a natural fit. Our program gibes with the second part of the health care system’s mission — “To Heal. To Teach. To Discover.” — and meshes with other work UH has done in the community. And it fit with UH’s Vision 2010, a strategic plan that included a major capital expansion of the health care system and a focus on local and regional investment.

“University Hospitals is committed to the communities we serve and proud to be an engine of regional economic growth,” said Standley. “NewBridge is a perfect partner and demonstrates an aligned mission.

“Our commitment to education includes a collaboration where individuals can explore their interests, develop their talents and further their careers. By supporting NewBridge we are creating a training pipeline that stimulates interest in, and academic preparation for, careers in health care,” he said.

About University Hospitals

University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of hospitals, outpatient centers and primary care physicians. At the core of our health system is University Hospitals Case Medical Center. The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, UH Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and clinical research centers of excellence in the nation and the world, including cancer, pediatrics, women’s health, orthopaedics and spine, radiology and radiation oncology, neurosurgery and neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, organ transplantation and human genetics. Its main campus includes the internationally celebrated UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women’s Hospital, Ohio’s only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. For more information, go to www.uhhospitals.org.