Ben Franklin’s Gift to Boston: Franklin Cummings Tech

Michael Goldstein: [00:00:00] This idea that the only solution, the only way to get ahead is through a four year degree. People are making more money in these fields after three, four years, and these are clean jobs, they're working indoors, and they're using technology to solve problems. How is that much different than going to a four year college?

But the difference is you don't need a four year degree.

Jonathan Hughes: Hi everyone and welcome to the MEFA Podcast. My name is Jonathan Hughes and you just heard our guest on the show, Michael Goldstein. He's from Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology and we had a great discussion all about that school, its fascinating history, its exciting present, and its promising future.

We talked a lot about its co op [00:01:00] program and the great job that it does. getting its students placed into lucrative local careers. So you're going to love this conversation. I will be back with the wrap up afterwards, but for now, let me let Michael introduce himself to you.

Michael Goldstein: My name is Michael Goldstein. I am the Dean of Admissions and also the Head of Innovation for Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology or Franklin Cummings Tech. I'm originally from Manhattan born and raised in New York City. And went to the public schools, the whole bit. So I'm a city kid through and through.

And I joined the college in April of last year. So relative newcomer, but spend a lot of time in Boston specifically at year up where I worked for 11 years. Oh, that's good. I didn't realize you worked for Europe. How did that in some way prepare you for? Franklin Cummings. Oh boy. Yeah. No, it so I am trained as a math teacher and I learned to teach and fall and fell in [00:02:00] love with teaching through a program that Summer Ridge Breakthrough program that I was at for 10 years. But this idea of focusing on workforce and how powerful it is to engage companies. Yeah. In the education of students is something I learned at year. And my dowry, so to speak in coming here is taking that knowledge and the relationships that I built at year up and seeing how we might be able to apply this idea of close company partnerships at our college.

Jonathan Hughes: Could you just tell everybody who's not familiar a little bit about Franklin Cummings?

Michael Goldstein: So Franklin Cummings Tech which is the shorter way of saying Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology. So Franklin Cummings Tech has been around since 1908. We're a non profit but we're a private non profit.

So imagine a two year school that just predated all the community colleges by 60 years. That's us. Most community colleges started in the late 60s and 70s with the baby [00:03:00] boomers. We predated all of that. 1908 meant that we have been serving strivers and immigrants who are really pushing for that middle class life for 116 years.

And our DNA is all about STEM. It's all about science, technology, engineering, and math, and the careers where you are using tools to solve science, technology, and engineering problems. That's been our bread and butter for, since day one. And some notable highlights. We were literally started with Benjamin Franklin's own money.

Which is wild. He, in 1790, before his death, gave a thousand pounds to Boston and to Philly, and of course, created a contest. In a hundred years, he said, we're going to do this new thing called compound interest. I want you to loan out my money at 5 percent a year for a hundred years. And according to my calculations, you're going to have a hundred thousand [00:04:00] pounds at the end of it.

And then he died. And then we went to it. And it worked in Boston. It didn't work so well in Philly. And then they had to figure out what to do with all this money. There was a big hubbub. Franklin Park. Was named Franklin Park because there was a rival group that wanted the money to go towards the park And so named the park proactively so that the money from Benjamin Franklin's will would go to it and they lost They were so chastened that they realized they couldn't change the name.

And so they kept it but the money went to the start this school and Andrew Carnegie at the time matched dollar for dollar to be able to get it going. And so we were the first association Automotive school in the country with the Model A in 1908. Lines across the all around the block to be able to learn the latest new tech.

And we've been like that ever since. Whatever's new [00:05:00] and up and coming that can transform lives, that's what we teach. And so the most recent one, or the one from the last three, four years, has been clean energy. And the most recent one is biotech. We do cyber, we do glasses mostly because Benjamin Franklin invented the bifocals. Why do we have electrical engineering? Because lightning rod, baby we're really dedicated to this guy. He's been dead for 240 years, but we love him and his legacy, this poor guy who basically had nothing. And through the power of innovation and through the power of learning through apprenticeships built an empire.

Jonathan Hughes: That is awesome. That might be the, my favorite answer to any question I've ever asked on this show. Now I'm going to ask you to situate all of that, that you just told me in the current time in Boston. So what does [00:06:00] Franklin Cummings mean to current city of Boston and its residents?

Michael Goldstein: So we educate just under a thousand students over 50%, 55 percent of Boston. Most of our residents, most of our students are from low income backgrounds. 97 percent receive financial aid. We're one of the most diverse schools in the region, a minority serving institution, a Latino serving institution. And the only school in the Commonwealth where the majority of students are men of color. And that's a big deal for us. I had a wonderful conversation with a mom who said That her son came to the school and said, I belong here. I, my teachers look like me, the classes, classmates look like me. I'm going to make it. And that's a really important deal. So our president, Aisha Francis, our head our number two Marvin Loazo.

They represent our population which is largely Black and Latino. And that's not [00:07:00] trivial and something we're really proud of. And then we're moving to in August of 2025 to Nubian Square, which is a really neat piece and it's with great power comes great responsibility. We are seen now as the symbol of this new neighborhood and its ascent, which is a little, it's a lot to represent an entire neighborhood, but also a really neat symbol for the city.

Jonathan Hughes: Congratulations and best of luck with it.

Michael Goldstein: Thanks.

Jonathan Hughes: Can you give folks an idea of the range of programs and range of degrees that you offer?

Michael Goldstein: Sure. Most of our degrees are two year degrees. We have some one year degrees because we believe in stacking. Do your one year and then you can come and then do one more year and get your associates. Or you can go into the workforce and come back later. It makes it easy to have choices. And we have the one four year [00:08:00] program in electrical engineering. We focus on five areas. We focus on automotive, both clean energy electric vehicles and regular. We focus on engineering, which is includes engineering technology, things like robots and renewable energy and building energy management, which is a fancy way of thinking about all of the energy efficient buildings and how they run. We have I care and we have which is the optician Ria's and mixed in now is within our healthcare is biotech. Then fourth is it we teach cybersecurity. It's one of our biggest areas. Very popular. And then the fifth is the trades. So we have construction management, which are the people who are in charge of a construction site.

They're the ones telling everybody what to do and figuring out what happens when things don't go the way it should. And then we also have HVAC and which is heating and ventilation and air conditioning. And then we have electrical, practical electricity, for those that want to [00:09:00] go into become electricians.

Jonathan Hughes: And have you noticed any recent changes or trends, let's say, in popularity of one track versus another?

Michael Goldstein: Yeah. And generally the popularity in what is now called the tool belt generation. This idea that the only solution, the only way to get ahead is through a four year degree. People are making more money in these fields after three, four years, and these are clean jobs.

They're working indoors and they're using technology to solve problems. How is that much different than going to a four year college? But the difference is you don't need a four year degree. So we have seen a real upsurge in the clean energy field because people are recognizing the urgency of it and the, and learning about the jobs.

And that's a big part of what we do. So much of our school is to inform people about things that they never heard of. What the heck is [00:10:00] mechatronics? I have no idea. I do now, but it's basically robots designing and building and maintaining robots. And it's a really cool field and we're getting a lot of interest in the other thing that we're seeing, which is a trend, which is a pleasant surprise.

Charter schools tend to be, are very proud of sending a hundred percent of their before your school. Something happened. During COVID and after we're 15 percent of most charter schools now, despite the fact that they have been steeped in this tradition and see school college names on everything. And that's part of their ethos.

They don't want to go to a four year college. They don't see the point of it. They don't see the expense. And so those community, those charter schools are sending them to us. And so we're seeing big numbers. And among multiple, there's six different charter schools that have become premier partners of ours because they like our graduation rate.

This is [00:11:00] something I haven't mentioned yet, but we have the highest graduation rate by far of any two year school in the region. And so a typical two year school might be 12, 14, 16 percent graduation rate. Ours is between 50 and 54%. Our goal is to get to 60. So we're about the same as say UMass Boston which is very unusual for a two year school. For some reason, in the United States, we're okay with the idea that students start college and never finish. And it shouldn't be okay. It's giving people debt with no degree. It's not okay. And so these charter schools like us because we have the similar graduation rates as four year schools, but they can graduate and finish and get a job.

And it serves both the student and those charter schools. Speaking of that now is when I want to talk about the, that dowry that you brought with you from Europe, right? And that is [00:12:00] essentially the career placement programs of the co op programs.

Jonathan Hughes: And so you talked a lot in the presentation that I saw that got me interested in having you on the show training students for job opportunities, working with employers. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Michael Goldstein: Yeah, absolutely. It's a really big deal. It shouldn't have to be an either or either. You go to school or you go to work. It should be a both end and we are well positioned for this. We have an 85 percent placement rate. Companies line up for our HVAC and our electrical because there's not a lot of people who teach this. And so we already have the relationships and the reputations. For excellence among the companies. If we didn't have that, this would be so much harder. We are creating a new social contract. [00:13:00] We're saying to Students, in a two year program, at the end of your first year, you're going to have a job in your field full time for the summer.

And then when you come back to school, you will continue working part time until you graduate, so that you end up with a degree and a year of experience in your field so that when you're competing in the job market, you are that much farther ahead of everybody else. And what we're saying to the companies is you can't find enough talent.

This is a way for you to grow your own. It's a way for you to have a more diverse worker base, a way for you to customize You have a culture that you're really proud of, and you want to know if your people are going to fit within that culture. You can try before you buy for a year before you decide whether this is the right person who's the right fit.

It is the co op because it's [00:14:00] legendary, thanks to Northeastern, as a brand in in Boston. People know that they're getting someone who's young but hungry and who wants to learn and is ready to commit themselves to a great career. We have the same population, same talent, it's just different bank account.

And for us, a typical student arrives to Franklin Cummings Tech with an average family income of 35, 000 a year. And they graduate with an average income themselves of 53, 000. We would like to move that to 65, 000. We would like them effectively to double their salary because they've spent a year or two with us.

And that's a big deal. Is this every student that goes to that? Or is that what percentage of students that are in that program? We want, by 2026, this will be available to every two year program we have. Wow. It is, actually it predates me. We've been doing this in opticianry for 15 [00:15:00] years. So we have students who, the moment they arrive here, are eligible to work at Warby Parker or Lens crafters or four eyes or vision works in a way that they otherwise wouldn't be allowed to because this is working with patients. You are preparing glasses. There's training you need to do. Either you go to our college or you go through an apprenticeship program.

This is a third way. It's allows you. While you're studying with us to be, to go to work as if you're a optician. And that's called the co op program. It's very successful and they are falling over each other to compete, to try to get our students to work as co op students. Because they can't find enough workers.

We have we now expanded it to construction management and to automotive. And so we have 26 students today who are working for different companies. In those two fields, and a couple of things that are wonderful about it is in the case of construction management, [00:16:00] three of those companies are offering co-ops for the first time to two year students. They're very open to co-ops. They do it all the time. But to Wentworth or to Reser or to WIT or places that aren't us, and what we've been able to do through relationship building, honestly, having them meet our students could do it. Give them the ball. Let them show what they can do.

And so for the first time they have students who are in two year programs as well as four. And that is systems change. That's changing the nature of how someone can become a construction manager in the city. And we're really proud of that. And I give a lot of credit to Associated General Contractors in Massachusetts.

They are one of our closest partners and they represent the big construction firms. And they, the construction firms have told them our number one headache is talent, helped us do something about it. And so they had partnered with us [00:17:00] and they've done a great deal of work to help make introductions and to do training to prepare our students for those successful jobs.

Jonathan Hughes: And so what kind of support do you offer students through this process?

Michael Goldstein: Every student has a success coach. It's one of the reasons why we have such a high graduation rate. And from the moment they are accepted, Before they even show up, they're working with their success coach to come up with a plan for what classes to take and how they're going to succeed academically.

Then support them and help them deal with any crises unexpected that show up. They run out of food, they don't have transportation, they don't have a place to stay, health care, mental health, child care, we're there to support. And so that has been in existence for a long time and we're very good at the co op coach is a new feature.

So we've hired Adrian Palomeque, whose job is to support the students on the job. And that also means supporting the the [00:18:00] supervisor. So we do both. We are, our job is to ensure that the student stays. And if there's any issue we're there to support. We also collect data. How's the student doing once a week?

And how is, what do you like about the internship or the co op, I should say. And so if there are issues, we get involved. That's my next question is to how you interact with the employers. And first of all, how do you match up in the first place? And then, if there are changes that need to occur or expansions, how does this come about?

We reach out to the companies and we had warm introductions from associated general contractors. That was a huge help to us. We also have what's called industry advisory board. Colleges have these, especially technical colleges, companies that love us and that help us shape the future of what we're teaching in all of our fields.

What's the latest in robotics? What's the latest in cyber? How do we adjust the curriculum based on what we're [00:19:00] seeing out in the world? And so we relied on our industry advisory board partners to also make warm introductions. The warm intro was, Hey, have a meeting with us. and then come and speak to our students.

And so they would meet, they would hear the pitch. They would then come and spend an hour and a half in our school, meeting the students and presenting. Every person who comes, they actually spend 20 minutes with a student, one on one before coming. That student then introduces them to the class.

Then we- the students give, ask questions. We train them intensely on how to ask good questions. You are the questions you ask. We say this over and over and over again. And so they're, they come up with really good questions and the people come away going, I had no idea. I had no idea what to expect.

This is way better than I expected. Students sell it. And. Then they're like, how many can we have? And that's a great problem. And so we did this [00:20:00] both with automotive and with construction management. We're expanding in 2025 in all of our engineering technology. So all of our clean energy, our robotics, all of those fields will also have co ops, and then we're going to add biotech and all of our cyber in 2026.

Jonathan Hughes: We've talked a lot about career advancement and career placement in the context of the education because it's a pretty clear step by step in this case from what you're learning to what you're doing, right? So how should students in general, let's imagine somebody in high school, listening to this, how should they be thinking about career within the context of their education and what they're going to do next after high school.

Michael Goldstein: Great question. Students have a lot of choices. We're not for everybody. We only teach like 12 things. If you want to do French or [00:21:00] sociology, don't go to us. There are great other schools out there.

Ultimately, they should be asking you. of the schools, what are you doing to help me get a job? Besides having a career services arm or an office, how is it built in to everyday part of what I'm doing in terms of what's happening in the classroom real life projects where I'm learning through applying what I'm doing?

Are there internships? Are there co ops? What is the culture that is about what happens next? Not simply what's happening today. And those are great questions that they should be asking any school that they consider going to. And be discerning consumers. They're not getting, hearing what they want to hear, go somewhere else.

The other thing is, what's the cost? Is it worth the price? And does it have to be four years? There are Merrimack is now doing a three year [00:22:00] program. That's interesting. There's two year programs that, like us, that's interesting. There's more choice than ever before. I have a daughter who's finishing her freshman year in high school. And, poor kid. So I'm like, great! This summer, you're working. She's going to be working for the food project. She's very excited. But, she's also going to do ten informational interviews with people, with women who I feel are incredible in their field, who are friends of mine, and who I really respect. And our daughter is going to be researching them, coming up with questions to ask, setting up the meeting, holding the meeting, and writing the handwritten thank you note afterwards. So I'm paying her dollars per part of the deal, but like every kid should be doing this stuff.

Jonathan Hughes: This is my favorite thing I'm going to do all day. I'm sure it was great to get to meet you. And I really enjoyed [00:23:00] this conversation. I wish you the best of luck. I'm really just bowled over by everything that you've been talking about.

Michael Goldstein: I appreciate that. It is an absolute pleasure. I'm happy to do this. Anytime you want.

Jonathan Hughes: Alright folks, that was the show. I want to thank Michael Goldstein for offering his expertise and sharing his time with us. And folks, if you liked what you heard in the show today and you want to know more from us on planning, saving, and paying for college and career readiness, then you can follow the show and you can do that wherever you get your podcasts.

And if you're so moved, please remember to subscribe. To review us. It does help us to keep doing what we're doing. And getting the show out to folks like you. I wonder if you know anybody, family, friends, who may be interested in this show as well. Let them know. It's always good to get the word out [00:24:00] about the show.

I want to thank our producer Shaun Connolly. I want to thank AJ Yee, Lisa Rooney, and Lauren Danz for their assistance in getting the show posted. Once again, my name is Jonathan Hughes, and this has been the MEFA Podcast. Thank you.