Posted March 30, 2020 (8:10PM)
Dear Students, Parents, and Community Members,
Earlier today Governor Wolf announced that all schools in Pennsylvania would be closed indefinitely. We will notify you when we are able to open again. In the meantime, EASTERN will continue to provide quality education to students on an online/distance learning platform. Today was our first day launching our Continuity of Education plan and we were very pleased with the participation of our students. Students, please continue to take advantage of this opportunity to continue to advance in your career fields. Parents, thank you for your support and encouragement of your child’s learning during this time. Many of you are working from home while your child is learning from home, and we realize that isn’t an easy adjustment – many of us are making that adjustment ourselves.
Parents have contacted me with questions about end-of-program certificates and the impact of a student not taking the NOCTI. We continue to work through these and other questions as we seek guidance from the state department of education and will inform you about these issues (and others) when we have more information.
On a final note, many of our parents are still out there working, either in health care in the front lines fighting this pandemic, or in manufacturing, the food industry, and other critical industries. Thank you for your service to our community.
Wishing everyone good health,
Cathleen E. Plesnarski, Ed.D.
Executive Director
Eastern Center for Arts and Technology
On Monday, March 23, 2020 Eastern Center for Arts and Technology (EASTERN) was pleased to donate t o Montgomery County’s COVID-19 Response Center efforts. Donations included 140 N95 masks from our Collision Repair Technology program, sterile and exam gloves from our Veterinary Science, Allied Health, and adult Practical Nursing programs, surgical masks from our adult Practical Nursing program, and safety glasses and goggles from our program inventory.
On Tuesday, March 31, 2020, EASTERN’s Protective Services Instructor, Mark Zaslavsky, dropped off 120 N95 masks to the Upper Moreland Police Department from the Protective Services program’s crime scene training supplies. The police department needs some of the masks, and they will provide the balance to Abington-Jefferson Hospital .
On May 5 2004, Eastern Center for Arts and Technology (EASTERN) Welding Technology/Upper Moreland High School senior, Adam Weissner, passed away suddenly in a tragic car accident. The Weissner family has made it a priority to recognize a Welding Technology student at EASTERN’s annual awards night since May 2005. The Adam J. Weissner Memorial award is given to a hard-working student who found their niche in the Welding Technology program and demonstrates promise to succeed in the field.
EASTERN 1989 Electrical Technology/Upper MorelandHigh School alum, John Bartley,is currently enjoying his second career as an electrical specialist for SP Industriesin Warminster, a manufacturer of specialty equipment, scientific glassware, laboratory and lab safety supplies, and home healthcare products serving pharmaceutical, biotechnology, educational, industrial, and commercial markets. Prior to his role at SP Industries, Bartley served in the U.S. Navy for 13 years as an Aviation Structural Mechanic repairing P-3 Orion airplanes.
EASTERN 2018 Cosmetology and Upper DublinHigh School alum, Gabbie Saylor, is currently pursuing her associate degree at Montgomery County Community College while training atGlam Hair Studio in Springhouse where she will soon begin working as a full-time stylist. After high school graduation, Saylor completed her required Cosmetology hours at Lansdale School of Cosmetology, an EASTERN articulation agreement partner, and received her Pennsylvania Cosmetology License in December of 2018.
