Colleagues,
We are pleased to share the attached information received from Brenda Waslick, Career and Vocational Technical Education Coordinator, Gloucester Public Schools.
Money for upgrades were made possible by nearly $950,000 in state and federal grants from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center with Gloucester High receiving a Climate Critical Workforce Training, Equipment and Infrastructure Grant.
Congratulations!!
David
Auto shop upgrade involves many moving parts
By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer Nov 20, 2025
Gloucester High School Vocational Auto Tech students, from left, Saldana Santiago, Elijah Brooks, and Drew Rodolosi lo of the new tools they will be using to learn how to work on electric and hybrid vehicles. KIRK R.WILLIAMSON photos — By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer Nov 20, 2025
The two-year, nearly $1 million transformation of a rundown auto tech classroom into a state-of-the-art learning center full of auto simulators, including those for EVs, plus other improvements to the Career and Vocational Technical Education shops at Gloucester High arrived with a lot moving parts.
Those involved in upgrading the small auto shop crammed into the new space for a ribbon cutting Wednesday at noon.
The brightly lit space features a host of modern training simulators that will allow students the ability to hone their skills and land jobs that pay well over $100,000 a year.
Among the EV technology simulators auto tech students can work on are a hybrid vehicle trainer and an electric vehicle charging station trainer.
There were also simulators for traditional cars. The learning center now emulates today’s dealerships, officials said.
“Well, we can actually show the students what’s happening,” long-time Auto Tech instructor Jack Porter said. “This simple board back here, it’s all GM … But we can see how things work. We change the temperature, it changes the gasoline flow, it changes the fuel mixture, it changes an oxygen sensor.”
Some of the biggest problems with cars are oxygen sensors and evaporative emission control systems.
“We can’t see it,” Porter said of the instruments inside an engine. “But now we can.” Junior Drew Rodolosi, 17, showed a simulator of how a car works with a brake ignition, throttle, temperature and air-conditioning switches.
Auto Tech Instructor Jack Porter talks about the new tools the Auto Tech shop will be using for electric and hybrid vehicles.
When asked if this equipment was better than the old, he said “100%. Before got this we had an old engine that he (the instructor) would basically point inside. We had half of a front of a car. And we didn’t use much of it, we did mostly book work.”
Those various moving parts to upgrade the auto shop’s classroom included Auto Tech instructors Porter and Branden “Bud” Maciel and school administrators Superintendent Ben Lummis, Assistant Superintendent Amy Pasquarello, former High School Principal again turned English teacher James Cook and his successor, Principal John Perella.
Money for upgrades were made possible by nearly $950,000 in state and federal grants from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center with Gloucester High receiving a Climate Critical Workforce Training, Equipment and Infrastructure Grant to train students in automotive, advanced manufacturing and construction trades, according to Waslick.
The MassCEC grant paid for new computers in the Advanced Manufacturing shop. The auto, advanced manufacturing and carpentry shops got new compressors for their pneumatic tools, with this equipment, with clean energy incentives, by Energy Source, LLC, Waslick said.
Gienapp Architects designed the space for the small auto shop. It received new tables, chairs, teacher desks, shades, lighting and an epoxy floor, with the construction overseen by Massey Construction Corp, Waslick said. An EV Repair Safety Cabinet was purchased through Collision Tools Direct containing personal protective equipment for hybrid and EV vehicle repair.
Brenda Waslick, Career/Vocational Technical Education coordinator at Gloucester High School, addresses those gathered for the ribbon cutting of the high school’s new Auto Tech Shop.
The learning center with training simulators supports both traditional and EV automotive training, and it was installed by TechEd Products, Waslick said. Servers will be connected to the simulators so that instructors will be able to program the devices with specific repair problems (think check engine light) for students to troubleshoot. The school’s electrical students are installing internet connections to link the simulators to the instructors’ computers. The school’s carpentry students also helped out on the project.
Mayor Greg Verga, a supporter of the Career and Vocational Technical Education program, gave some remarks. School Committee members Kathy Clancy, Melissa Teixeira Prince and Keith Mineo were also on hand.
Representatives of area car dealerships were there, too, including Cidalia Schwartz, the marketing director for Lyon Waugh Auto Group, long been a supporter of the auto tech shop. Lyon-Waugh, working with the Gloucester Education Foundation. has supported the auto shop financially, with programing, materials, supplies, equipment and visits with technicians in their dealerships.
Other auto dealership representatives on hand were Service Manager Tim Sullivan of Sudbay Motors of Gloucester, Honda North Service Manager Steve Bouchie, and Gloucester resident and CEO of Kelley Automotive Group Brian Kelly.
Representatives of companies that worked on the project were on hand as were Ted Costa, an aide to state Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, and Dru Tarr, an aide to state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester. Board members of the nonprofit Gloucester Education Foundation, and its Executive Director Emily Siegel were there, too. It was GEF that secured $350,000 from Lyon Waugh over seven years to help fund the auto shop’s second instructor. GEF also initially funded Brenda Waslick’s position as the Career/ Vocational Technical Education director.
And of course, the auto shop students who will benefit from the upgrades were present.
Brenda Waslick, Career and Vocational Technical Education Coordinator, can be reached at 978-491-6825 (bwaslick@gloucesterschools.com)
Chapter 74 Vocational Technical & Agricultural Education
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