PITTSFIELD, Mass. Aug. 11, 2014—Hillcrest Educational Centers, Inc. (HEC) has been awarded $4,000 by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America to begin a culinary pre-vocational program at the Housatonic Academy campus. A pre-vocational culinary program will enhance both independent living and pre-vocational skills for students at the Housatonic Academy.

Four Hillcrest staff will become ServSafe Food Safety Managers and will be certified as exam proctors, so they may instruct students in the culinary pre-vocational program and certify them in food safety and sanitation, as required by the Massachusetts Food Code. Students will be given a variety of program opportunities from basic sorting skill development to basic food recognition and preparation for increased self-sufficiency to certification in food safety and sanitation for those students fourteen and older who would like to pursue vocational job placements or who would like to have the certification for future use. Student food safety certifications are good for five years and will be a benefit to students as they graduate and pursue employment, becoming productive citizens of our community.

About Hillcrest Educational Centers

A top Berkshire County employer Hillcrest Educational Centers is a private not-for-profit organization, providing therapeutic treatment and special education to children and adolescents with unique psychological and learning needs, in Berkshire County, Massachusetts and the Northeast. Campuses include a day student academy and three residential schools. They are also a resource for a broad range of psychological services, counseling and evaluations for individuals, families and schools in Berkshire County through Hillcrest Community Support Services. Hillcrest also operates Hillcrest Dental Care, Inc., a complete general family dentistry practice. Hillcrest Dental Care is the largest provider in Western Massachusetts of oral healthcare services to MassHealth recipients and special needs patients. In 2010, Hillcrest formalized an affiliation with Berkshire County Kids’ Place and Violence Prevention Center, Inc., a fully accredited Children’s Advocacy Center for child abuse victims and their non-offending family members. Visit our Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn pages under Hillcrest Educational Centers.

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Media Contact:
Hillcrest Educational Centers, Inc.
Katrina Cardillo
Director of Communications
413-499-7924 ext. 114
kcardillo@hillcresteducationalcenters.org