NIMS is pleased to announce the official accreditation of the Machine Technology Program at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School in New Bedford, Massachusetts!  Officially accredited as of February 12, 2013, the staff and faculty at Greater New Bedford have met NIMS standards and will continue to set the bar for exceptional metalworking training for secondary education in the state of Massachusetts .

To complete the accreditation audit, an On-Site Evaluation took place at the high school on February 4-5, 2013, which was conducted by veteran NIMS Evaluation Team Leader Marty Arsenault of Howard Tool Company in Bangor, Maine.  Assisting Marty was Dan Ducharme, an instructor at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester, Massachusetts - which is also accredited by NIMS at this time.

The audit included a facility inspection of the high school's metalworking shop, as well as a host of in-depth interviews with students, instructors, administrators, program advisory committee members, and local employers.  Following these events, the evaluation team gathered enough evidence to recommend accreditation, giving the program very high ratings in all areas of evaluation, which include Program Purpose, Program Features, Administration, Instructional Staff, and Advisory Committee.

This accreditation is in Level I Machining Skills, with an emphasis on:

• Measurement, Materials & Safety
• Job Planning, Benchwork, & Layout
• Milling I (manual)
• Drill Press I
• Turning Operations: Turning Between Centers
• Turning Operations: Turning Chucking

Congratulations to everyone involved in this process, especially Instructor Art Trahan and Cluster Coordinator Mike Frey for working actively to secure this accreditation!   Special thanks to the Evaluation Team members Marty Arsenault and Dan Ducharme, without which this would not be possible!