Royal Bolling, Kevin McCaskill, and I were proud to be part of the City of Boston’s Electric Vehicle Announcement at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School (MPTVHS). Mayor Wu was there to kick off an EV tech training program for city workers, Madison Park students, and college students from Ben Franklin Institute of Technology.

Over the past year we worked hard for this day. It represents a huge step in preparing Boston students for tomorrow’s jobs, as well as making the city a leader in addressing the climate change crisis. To get the details, you can view the full announcement event here on YouTube, or simply scan the summary on the following pages.

Jim Sproul
Founder, The Sproul Company
Co-Founder, Cardinal Works

Electric Vehicle Announcement-City of Boston & Madison Park Technical Vocational HS
City of Boston Central Fleet Maintenance (CFM) / Madison Park Collaboration
Training Techs for the Future
Wed, April 6, 2022
10:00 – 10:45 AM
Madison Park Automotive Garage
Background
Over the last six months a collaborative effort was put forth by those identified in this Electric Vehicle Announcement that was funded by a grant for City of Boston, Department Environment, Energy and Open Space. Below is a timeline of the invited speakers.
00:00 – 00:50: Welcome To Madison Park – Dr. Sydney Brown-Head of School
Dr. Brown announcing Mayor Wu and Electric Vehicle training at Madison Park.
0:50 – 06:45: Mayor Wu’s open remarks include comments on how important vehicle electrification is to the climate and jobs of the future. Transportation is the 2nd highest cause of pollution and the City will lead by example and begin electrifying their school vehicles and buses. To do that, the workforce will need to be trained to support this program and charging stations will need to be installed. To begin, 10 city mechanics will be trained in a Train the Trainer program and in partnership with Madison Park. Starting in the fall of 2022, electric vehicle service and maintenance will become part of the core curriculum at Madison Park and offered to Benjamin Franklin Technical Institute as well. Mayor Wu will launch a pilot program for school bus electrification. Complete electrification of 700 school buses will be complete by 2030.
6:45 – 09:18: Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space-As an EV owner, she has to take her vehicle for service outside the City and wants to have it serviced here at Madison Park. Green jobs create opportunities in the leading edge technology and will transform the economy. The Chief looks forward to seeing all City vehicles service by “our own”.
09:18 – 15:08: Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Chief of Streets: Climate change is real and calls for urgent action as the window is closing. The City transportation department will take this seriously and prepare the city workforce for this electrification. This is opportunity for economic growth for new jobs and critical infrastructure. The City has an EV ready program for charging stations, a pilot program for electric bikes and EV Car Share program to help spur demand.
15:08 – 17:00: Delavern Stanislaus, BPS Director of Transportation: Discussed her pilot school bus electrification program. Next year they will have an equitable green initiative. See Boston.com for related article, “Boston to replace school buses with electric by 2030”
17:00 – 19:27: Kevin McCaskill, Assistant Superintendent, Boston Public Schools (BPS): Kevin starts by thanking those who have helped get the program up and running (Bill Coughlin, Royal Bolling & Jim Sproul). Madison Park has the ability to take a educational leadership position in the country with this leading-edge program for students of color. Kevin stresses to provide BPS continued support for the program.
19:27 – 22:05: Bill Coughlin, Director of Central Fleet Maintenance, City of Boston-Thanks all those that made this program happen and spoke of his 9-year relationship with Madison Park. He is expecting that within 18 months, a senior class should have gone through the program, City employees will have been trained and Benjamin Franklin will have classes offered. Bill thanks all the electric vehicle partners at the announcement that provided vehicles and he highlights how technology is changing the workforce and educational needs to service the fleet.
22:05 – 23:46: Mayor Wu’s Closing Remarks- Thanks all the students and specifically a rising star, Briana Duran, Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA) Student of the Year.
23:46 – 37:09: Mayor Wu Press Q&A Session

Additional Reference Links:
1. Mayor Wu Announces Progress Towards Electrifying City Vehicle Fleets, April 6, 2022
2. Mayor Wu announces new electric vehicle plan in effort to reduce vehicle emmissions, December 10, 2021 by Boston Globe