Roosevelt H.S. Launches Pre-Apprenticeship Program with Local 66

ROOSEVELT, NEW YORK (JANUARY 2024)—The Roosevelt School District and Laborers Local 66 celebrated this week the launch of an impactful new construction pre-apprenticeship program at Roosevelt High School. The LEARN Program, created by the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), equips students with applied academic, work and life skills that provide them with a solid foundation to enter a U.S. Department of Labor-Recognized Apprenticeship program. The Roosevelt School District is the first school district on Long Island to offer the LEARN Program, which has had success in school districts throughout the country.

“At Roosevelt, we are always looking for versatile career-training opportunities that provide our scholars with the resources and skills they need to succeed upon graduation,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Deborah Wortham. “We are so excited for this partnership with LIUNA and Local 66, which will provide for our students a pathway to pursue a thriving career in the construction industry.”

Through this new joint program, scholars will be offered hands-on experiences, classroom education, construction jobsite visits and career exploration. Graduates are promised direct entry into a Laborers' apprenticeship through Local 66 as well as advanced training credit for higher starting apprenticeship wages.

“Roosevelt’s exciting partnership with LIUNA and Local 66 is the latest example of all the great work happening here to provide students with a pathway to success,” said Board of Education President Rose Gietschier. “We’re so proud of all the students who took the opportunity to invest in their futures by joining this pre-apprenticeship program and we look forward to seeing all the amazing things they accomplish through it!”

“Our LIUNA Training LEARN Program is the latest in a number of career-training education opportunities students have the option of pursuing,” said Director of Pupil Personnel Services Dr. Dionne Wynn. “From barbering, culinary arts, nursing and construction, students at Roosevelt are excelling in their trades and cultivating their careers before graduating high school.”

“I commend Roosevelt High School for putting their students first and adopting the LIUNA LEARN Program,” said Vincent Alu, Laborers Local 66 vice president and business agent. “By integrating the curriculum into mainstream education, the district is sending a strong message to students that a career in the trades should be explored and pursued.”

“LIUNA Training LEARN Program provides students with the understanding of how to do a job safely, while building critical thinking skills that can lead to supervisory positions or entrepreneur opportunities,” said John J. LeConche, the executive director of the LIUNA Training and Education Fund.

“Today’s construction industry is seeing a steady and sustainable boom that it hasn’t had in generations, giving students enrolled in the program a head start toward the numerous career opportunities they could pursue on graduation,” said David Bolger, the business manager of the Mason Tenders District Council.

“It is my job to ensure Long Island is built safely and expertly, and I take that job seriously,” said Michael Hellstrom, LIUNA vice president and eastern regional manager. “Introducing students to union construction careers at a formative age serves as both an opportunity for them to gain the skills needed to immediately enter the workforce upon graduation, and also as an opportunity for us to gain the best and brightest in the construction industry—and that’s who should be building and maintaining Long Island’s infrastructure.”

To learn more about the Roosevelt Union Free School District, please visit the District's website at https://www.rooseveltufsd.org. Happenings in the District can also be followed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RooseveltUFSD.