Salem State University

Gloucester Police and Fire Departments Attend Municipal Drone Training

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, March 15, 2019

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Gloucester Police and Fire Departments Attend Municipal Drone Training

GLOUCESTER –Police Chief John McCarthy and Fire Chief Eric Smith are pleased to share that members of the Gloucester Police and Fire Departments attended a training on municipal drone use earlier this week.

Police Lt. Joe Fitzgerald and Fire Lt. Kevin Gargan attended a Salem State University workshop on Monday, March 11, on municipal applications of drones. The day-long workshop included lectures, discussion and field work with hands-on training.

The city of Gloucester is currently exploring the possibility of drone usage as a resource and shared asset to the Police and Fire Departments as well as the Department of Public Works.

“This training provided a great base knowledge of municipal drone use to Lt. Fitzgerald and Lt. Gargan,” Fire Chief Smith said. “As Gloucester examines the possible benefits of municipal drone use for several departments, it is great to have multiple city employees furthering their knowledge of how these devices function, the necessary steps for a municipality to pursue a drone program, and the possible benefits these devices may offer.”

The training was lead by Salem State University Geography Professor Stephen Young, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) professional Richard Ames and Peabody Police Sgt. Christos Zamakis, who is currently studying drone use for police departments as he pursues a master’s degree in geo-information science at Salem State University.

“This training was comprehensive, and we greatly appreciate Salem State’s work in offering this workshop to support municipalities as we navigate this complex, new territory,” Chief McCarthy said. “Drones may become an invaluable resource to the city of Gloucester in the future, and it was great to give members of the police and fire departments the chance to expand their knowledge and gain some experience with these devices.”

Participants in the training learned about the current uses of drones for municipalities, how public safety departments and public works professionals can use drones, the different drone models currently available, necessary software to fly drones within Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements, how to obtain a remote pilot’s license, how to acquire proper insurance, and how to set up a drone project and fly a drone.

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Melrose High School Works with Salem State for Dual Enrollment Program

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Melrose Public Schools
Superintendent Cyndy S. Taymore
360 Lynn Fells Parkway
Melrose , MA 02176

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Melrose High School Works with Salem State for Dual Enrollment Program

MELROSE — High School Principal Jason Merrill is pleased to announce that the global language department has partnered with Salem State University to offer a pilot dual enrollment program for students in their final year of Spanish.

The program, which replaced the high school’s Advanced Placement option for seniors, is designed to recognize students for the entire scope of work they complete during the year, with the hopes that many achieve biliteracy.

At the end of the year, those who meet the criteria will receive credit for a 300 level course from Salem State. This year, around 20 Melrose students enrolled in the course, as opposed to the less than 10 who were in last year’s AP course.

Kim Talbot, Melrose’s Director of Global Education, and a team of Spanish teachers, including Paul Bondanza and Nicsa Dagger-Cain, as well as MaFLA New Teacher Award winner Steven Malley, visited Salem State last year and earlier this year, observing the Spanish courses to best tailor the high school’s program to college level.

“We know that our students work so hard in the final year of their language class,” Talbot said. “We don’t feel it’s appropriate to have everything they’ve done over the course of school year come down to one day, one test. We want to reward them for the work they’re doing all year long.”

Talbot is also working with Dr. Nicole Sherf, Secondary Education Coordinator and Professor for the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Salem State, to ensure Melrose’s program meets the correct course objectives.

The philosophy behind the partnership and program centers on allowing for a more seamless connection between what happens in the high school and what happens in college, and in turn, furthering a student’s language skills for any path they choose going forward.

“I think the bottom line is that the AP course is not fully accepted by all colleges and it’s also a very specific program for the top tier of students. It doesn’t emphasize language learning for all students,” said Sherf. “The college course aspect is more universal, it’s not just for the top tier student, or for the typical AP student. It can be for the student who’s just interested in learning another language.”

Students who pass the dual enrollment assessment, which involves applying interpretive reading skills, writing, speaking and using authentic resources, are then able to more easily apply the credits to a college of their choosing.

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