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Friends of Vocational Technical & Agricultural Education,
We are pleased to share that the recent Pioneer / MAVA outstanding webinar,“The History of Vocational Education in Massachusetts: A Model for the Nation”, resulted in the piece below published by the Worcester “Telegram.com”. We thank Steve Sharek for forwarding this to us.
David
More investment for expansion tops list of what voke leaders want to see from state
Kinga Borondy Worcester Telegram & Gazette
The past, present and future of vocational education in Massachusetts converged Thursday in a panel discussion featuring current school superintendents and the Westborough author of a new book that explores how the state’s regional approach to technical education became the model for the nation.
The panel discussion, presented virtually by the Pioneer Institute Public Policy Research and the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators, explored the roots of the system that dates back to the turn of the last century, industrialization and the realization that the state’s industrial sector, heavy in textiles, shoes and boatbuilding, demanded a trained workforce.
“Industrialists, labor unions, social reformers demanded that education be practical,” said Wilfrid Savoie, former Blue Hills Regional Vocational and Technical High School superintendent and author of "History of Vocational Education in Massachusetts: A Model for the Nation."
Vocational training centers took off in the mid-1950s with the huge increase in high school populations due to the ongoing baby boom and the Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite. While technical education was key, students were still required to learn math and sciences, English, history and civics education.
Now, it needs to change again.
“The world is changing,” said James Brosnan, superintendent of Northern Berkshires Regional Vocational Technical High School, noting that technology is taking over all fields and it is the mission of the schools to educate and train the future workforce.
Brosnan was one of four current superintendents of regional vocational and technical high schools attending the panel discussion with Jill Rossetti of Blue Hills Regional, Eric Duda of Pathfinder Regional and Rick Martin of Franklin County Regional. The regional schools differ from comprehensive high schools, offering certain technical and trade programs but also traditional and college preparatory courses.
“The trades have changed. In automotive, we’re not turning wrenches anymore, students have to know about electronics, wiring, computers,” Brosnan said.
To meet the new challenges, the administrators discussed their wish list for the future. First and foremost was expansion.
Legislators must invest “hundreds of millions of dollars to expand the vocational technical education community,” Brosnan said. “We need to grow.”
Rossetti suggested policy changes to ensure that the curriculum is modernized to include emerging technologies and industries.
“We need to ensure students are prepared to get future jobs,” Rossetti said. And schools must align with state and national curriculum standards to ensure they can work anywhere within developing industries and technologies nationwide.
Hand in hand with expansion of the regional system would be measures to ensure voke administrators can advise all middle school students of the vocational technical option.
“We need open access to all middle school students to ensure all know what educational options are available,” Duda said.
As more and more scholars opt for a more hands-on, technical-based education, the instructors teaching the youngsters should be offered professional development opportunities to learn more about their roles as teachers of youngsters, said Martin.
Many are recruited directly from the industries where they work and lack the educational background that teachers of other subjects gain through college and postgraduate classes.
“An instructor may know all about electrical grids but may not know how to develop peer working groups, or how to grade peer working groups,” Martin said. “They are working with teenagers, not adults.”
The participants in the webinar failed to discuss proposed legislation that would change the admissions process for the schools to a blind lottery system. They also did not discuss the ongoing litigation that claims the admission process is so stringent that it poses an insurmountable barrier to entry for certain low-income and underserved populations, particularly students of color.
“The No. 1 standard for employers is that hires be on time, ready to work and show up daily,” Brosnan said, describing the ideal student as excited to learn specific skill sets and to get jobs in their chosen industries.
While the regional districts have based admissions on suitability and aptitude for a profession, a standard set in 1911, the schools have also opted to weigh other factors. These include academic performance, recommendations from mentors and counselors, absenteeism and disciplinary records.
However, proponents of changing the admissions process, the Vocational Education Justice Coalition, claim these erect barriers for students who would most benefit from a vocational technical education. Several critics of the current system have said that many otherwise college-preparatory students opt for the vocational route to enhance their desirability when applying for college admission. These, they claim, fail to accept job offers in their chosen industries and go on to a four-year college and different careers.
David J. Ferreira
MAVA Communications Coordinator
DavidFerreira
