A shifting culture
Stoneleigh-Burnham School
JENN SMITH— THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
Justin Kratz is principal of Charles H. McCann Technical School in North Adams and its 508 trades students. Teens chose to study and practice in the advanced manufacturing technology, automotive, computer-aided design, carpentry, culinary arts, electrical, internet technology or metal fabrication fields.
“I didn’t really know what I was capable of...
It was a lot more than I thought.”
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“There has definitely been a shift, culturally, in accepting that, not only can you earn a sustainable and livable wage in the trades, but it’s what students want to do,” said Matthew Bishop, Taconic High School’s principal. Are there concerns that all these efforts could amount to an overcorrection? Not yet. Tammy Gage, Pittsfield Public Schools’ assistant superintendent for college and career readiness, explains that, for vocational technical education programs to receive approval by the state (known as Chapter 74), schools have to provide proof for current and future occupational growth in the industry. “So it’s not just opening programs for the sake of it,” she said. “We take our lead not only from industry, but the MassHire board that produces the Berkshire Blueprint.” At McCann, sophomore Paige Dufur is optimistic for a secure future in more ways than one. “I want to work for Lenco,” she said, referring to the Pittsfield-based manufacturer of armored Vehicles.
Making The Grade | Thursday, February 27, 2020
counselor for Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, Mass., Flynn was appointed the school’s career and vocational technical education coordinator in 2018, a new position. In collaboration with Construct Inc., Greenagers and Railroad Street Youth Project, Monument Mountain launched the Pathways to the Trades initiative in December. The program gives students handson experience at construction sites and working farms. About a dozen students are participating. The effort builds upon the school’s other vocational offerings, which include woodworking, automotive, horticulture and its new advanced manufacturing program in partnership with Boyd Technologies in Lee. Farther north in Pittsfield, educators at the new $120.8 million Taconic High School, which opened last fall, say that by next school year, nearly half of its student population of about 814 students will be enrolled in career and technical education classes. That includes health care technology; cosmetology; culinary arts; early childhood education; horticulture; auto technology, auto collision, repair and refinishing; advanced manufacturing; and electrical.
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