Company Notebook

PeoplesBank Named Among Top Corporate Charitable Contributors

HOLYOKE — PeoplesBank has again been recognized by the Boston Business Journal as a top corporate charitable contributor. The journal named the bank the top contributor among community banks in Western Mass, and second overall behind Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. PeoplesBank has made investments totaling $1.6 million annually in Massachusetts and Connecticut for the past three years. Over the last 12 years, the bank’s charitable contributions have topped $16 million. Further, the bank’s associates and board members contributed matching gifts of $55,750 in addition to the 8,500 volunteer hours they contributed.

Window World Named to Qualified Remodeler Top 500

BELCHERTOWN — Qualified Remodeler (QR), a leading publication serving remodelers and home improvement companies in the U.S., has ranked Window World of Western Massachusetts 125th in the country on its 47th annual Top 500 Remodelers list. This places Window World of Western Massachusetts number one in Western Mass. Since 1978, the QR Top 500 has tracked the industry’s largest and fastest growing companies. In 2025, the Top 500 represented nearly $25 billion in remodeling sales volume and 2.2 million completed jobs. Window World of Western Massachusetts was chosen as a 2025 Top 500 remodeler by the Qualified Remodeler editorial staff for meeting a set of criteria including installed remodeling dollar volume, total years in business, industry association membership, industry certification, industry awards, and community service. For more than two decades, the company has served the community with a wide range of products, including energy-efficient windows, doors, durable siding and roofing, and more.

Springfield College Joins Efforts to Train Teachers, Empower Readers

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield College and its local K-12 school district and college partners will share $380,000 in state grant funding to support teacher development, specifically to give teachers access to evidence-based literacy instruction. The Healey-Driscoll administration recently awarded a total of $800,000 in grants to 17 school districts and 14 colleges to promote the evidence-based early literacy instructional skills of prospective and existing teachers. Springfield College is a partner with local public school districts and colleges in two consortia: the Early Literacy Consortium (ELC) and the Western Massachusetts Literacy Collaborative (WMLC), both of which will use the funding to make sure teachers are well-prepared to teach evidence-based early literacy and help students develop critical reading and writing skills. The ELC has three main priorities: improve teacher preparation, enhance classroom practices, and improve student outcomes. The WMLC consortium features the Summer Learn & Earn Program, in which the college and Springfield Public Schools select current undergraduate or graduate education majors to participate in a free graduate course offered through Elms College and work in WMLC districts as literacy intervention teachers during summer school. For Springfield College, Valerie Annear, director of Educator Preparation and Licensure, and Mark McCarthy, associate professor of Literacy Education and chair of the Department of Education, attend all meetings, participate in decision making on grant activities, and distribute both resources and training opportunities to the college’s faculty and teacher candidate supervisors.

Eversource Again Recognized as Tree Line USA Utility

BOSTON — For the second year in a row, Eversource has been named a Tree Line USA utility by the Arbor Day Foundation, a distinction highlighting the energy company’s ongoing commitment to following best practices for quality tree care while ensuring safe, reliable electric service for customers. The Tree Line USA program, a partnership between the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Assoc. of State Foresters, celebrates forward-thinking utilities that exemplify industry leadership in vegetation management, strengthening reliability, sustainability, and public trust in the communities they serve. Eversource achieved the Tree Line USA recognition by meeting the program’s five core standards: following industry standards for quality tree care, providing annual worker training in best tree care practices, sponsoring a tree planting and public education program, maintaining a tree-based energy conservation program, and participating in an Arbor Day celebration. This year, the energy company partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to distribute more than 1,000 free trees to customers across its three-state service territory through the nonprofit’s innovative Energy-Saving Trees program. As part of its commitment to thoughtful vegetation management practices, Eversource works year-round to advance educational partnerships with municipalities, students, and the public about planting the right tree in the right place. Additionally, the energy company’s arborists have crafted a variety of free planting resources for customers, which can help them learn more about utility-compatible plants that are native to New England as well as plants that attract pollinators and can also thrive alongside power lines.

UMass Amherst, Tech Foundry Partner on Degree Completion

AMHERST — UMass Amherst and the Tech Foundry announced a new collaboration enabling staff and community members of the Springfield workforce development nonprofit to complete their undergraduate degrees through the university’s flexible, customizable online program. Tech Foundry members can take classes, receive academic counseling, and map their educational pathway through UMass Amherst’s University Without Walls Department of Interdisciplinary Studies (UWW-IS), a leader in flexible, non-traditional, adult-focused education. The new collaboration reflects the university’s commitment to increasing access to public higher education while increasing workforce capacity across the Commonwealth. Current UWW-IS admission requires 12 transferrable college credits and a 2.0 GPA for adults who did not previously attend UMass Amherst. As part of its unique program, UWW-IS offers credit for prior learning or life experience. Under the agreement, students who are accepted into UWW-IS and have completed Tech Foundry’s 18-week immersive hybrid training program will receive 15 credits via special transcript, which is equivalent to a full semester courseload. UMass Amherst students need a minimum of 120 credits to earn a bachelor’s degree. The collaboration builds on earlier programs in which UMass Amherst IT provided internships for Tech Foundry trainees.

STCC Launches New STEM Studies Degree Program

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) has launched a STEM studies program designed to equip students with the technical knowledge, practical skills, and hands-on opportunities needed for success in a wide range of science and technology fields. An interdisciplinary program, STEM studies integrates core principles from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, with a strong emphasis on industry-relevant applications with time spent learning equipment in labs. Students will benefit from exposure to industry-standard tools and instruction from experienced faculty with real-world knowledge of STEM careers. Students who might be interested in a career in STEM, but might not know which field to pursue, will be well-served by the program’s varied approach. The degree is also a point of entry for the burgeoning quantum sector, given that Massachusetts has invested in locating a quantum computer in Western Mass. Because quantum draws from a number of disciplines, STEM studies offers introduction to state-of-the-art equipment, as well as industry-relevant programming software. As students progress on this STEM pathway, they will have opportunities to focus on fields such as advanced manufacturing, computer systems engineering, and laser optics and photonics. The STEM studies degree program is ideal for individuals who enjoy problem solving, innovation, and applying technical skills to real-world challenges. By balancing theoretical knowledge with hands-on training, the program ensures graduates are equipped to contribute effectively to the modern technology workforce.

HCC Gateway to College Earns National Award

HOLYOKE — For the third consecutive year — and sixth time in the past nine — the Gateway to College program at Holyoke Community College (HCC) has received a national excellence award from its parent network, Achieving the Dream. Achieving the Dream presents excellence awards to its Gateway affiliates when those programs meet or exceed four benchmark criteria: grade point average, retention (one-year persistence and two-year persistence rates), and graduation rate. The Gateway to College program at HCC has won one or more benchmark awards for the last 10 years, and the excellence award in 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025. Through Gateway to College, students who have dropped out of high school, or are at risk for dropping out, complete their high school diplomas in college-based programs while simultaneously earning credits toward a college certificate or degree. HCC has hosted a Gateway to College program since 2008. The program enrolled 144 students during the academic year when they received the award. During the assessment year (2024-25), students entered Gateway with an average GPA of 1.57, compared to a network average of 1.89, and finished their first term with an average GPA of 2.89, compared to a national average of 2.55. The one-year persistence rate at HCC was 94%, compared to a 63% network average. The two-year persistence at HCC was 88%, compared to a national average of 63%. HCC’s three-year graduation rate was 84%, compared to a national Gateway average of 65%.