Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School (“Northeast Metro Tech”) is a 4-year public high school located in Wakefield, MA. The school serves the surrounding communities of Chelsea, Malden, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Revere, Saugus, Stoneham, Wakefield, Winchester, Winthrop, and Woburn with an enrollment of approximately 1350 students. The school offers programs in 16 vocational tracks, and students select their path of choice resulting in earning a Certificate of Vocational Proficiency along with their high school diploma. 

Full Integration

We welcomed Northeast Metro as a MEFA Pathway participating school in February 2023. Before that time the career center had been actively using MEFA Pathway for over 5 years with students, in conjunction with other college and career websites. Now, fully vested school counselors, special education department liaisons, and the career center use MEFA Pathway extensively and exclusively to support their students’ postsecondary plans, embracing the MyCAP model and documenting student progress. Additionally, school counselors manage students' college applications for both Common App and Parchment colleges within the MEFA Pathway Counselor Portal. Educators meet with students in both small groups and individual meetings and find the website to be “easy to use” for all.

Freshman Year

For schools to make the most out of MEFA Pathway, it is imperative to create a scope and sequence that aligns with the goals and objectives of the school. Northeast Metro Tech has done this by embedding and utilizing MEFA Pathway throughout their students’ high school experience in support of whatever path the students gravitate toward. In freshman year, MEFA Pathway is used to help students learn about their interests, skills, and work values. Career exploration, career research, and understanding career pathways are fundamental in all meetings and include using MEFA Pathway for labor market research and identifying trending careers. Students begin recording their academic, career, and personal goals in MEFA Pathway, which they continue throughout high school, and students begin adding quick journal entries to reflect on meetings.

Sophomore Year

In sophomore year, students continue their career research in MEFA Pathway to accompany their focus on experiential learning experiences in school, and learn in MEFA Pathway how academic courses tie into their career plans. With the support of educators, students continue to identify goals, start their resumes, and add any earned certifications in MEFA Pathway for a deeper understanding of their career pathway.

Junior & Senior Years

In junior year, Northeast Metro Tech students spend time researching postsecondary opportunities and their requirements, including employment, 2 and 4-year colleges, technical schools, registered apprenticeships/unions, and the military. MEFA Pathway helps them gather this information.  In senior year, Students continue to utilize MEFA Pathway as they finalize postsecondary plans, update resumes and cover letters, review interview and employability skills, and continue using labor market research to explore their career opportunities after graduation.  

Passion for Students

Collaborative, collective effort is key in making the most of MEFA Pathway, and this amazing team of educators works in step with one another and is persistent and passionate in their work to ensure that their students have the skills and education behind them to be equipped for life after high school. Keep up the great work, students and team Northeast Metro Tech.