School officials in Southern Vermont have seen a surge of interest in career education programs that has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Career and technical education is unique and generally undervalued,” said Michael Lawler, superintendent and director of the Southwest Vermont Regional Technical School District. “However, seat space at Southwest Tech is quickly becoming a premium, often with programs developing waiting lists for the following year.”
He added, “Students want Southwest Tech; they enjoy the rigor, relevance, relationships and the sense of belonging to their programs — all of which is fostered by the faculty and staff.”
“Everyone agrees that learning anchored in the real world is a good thing,” said Michele Hood, who leads the department of science at Brattleboro Union High School and teaches biomedical classes at the Windham Regional Career Center. “The Career Center offers these great opportunities to weave an experience over time, not to just see who they will be, but also to see how they are becoming that.”
Both programs offer courses in careers such as automotive tech, early childhood education, building trades, culinary arts, engineering, plumbing and electrical, biomedical and nursing, filmmaking and digital editing, and forestry.
“Students enrolled at Southwest Tech come from all towns in Bennington County and Hoosick Falls, N.Y., and we are happy to report that we continue to see increased enrollment in almost every economic pathway,” said Lawler. “Southwest Tech affords students both exploration (or tryout classes), as well as fully immersed two- and three-year technical programs.”
Southwest Tech, which is adjacent to Mount Anthony Union High School, also offers a range of adult/continuing education programs, including toward obtaining a commercial driver’s license and nursing assistant training.
Future expansion of programming into the Northshire also has been discussed.
“Yes, we still plan to extend our offerings,” Lawler said. “With the pandemic, rising costs, etc., the board and I decided it was best to wait on this until things stabilize, and we can focus on such an undertaking. The programs [cited as showing rapid growth] are the ones most likely to have some sort of Northshire expansion in the future.”
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“Career and technical education in 2022 is very different than what it was in the 1960s or the stigma attached thereto,” Lawler said. “While we still struggle with the perception that (career and technical education) somehow provides a lesser education, is an alternative placement or a school for ‘other’ students not bound for college is really disheartening and tiring.”
He said that what educators “really find is that people simply don’t ‘know’ what we do today and only have their own past experiences to draw from. In Governor Scott’s [recent] press conference, he called for the stigma of (career and technical education) to be erased. A four-year degree is no longer the gold standard of educational attainment, but rather a singular measure of accomplishment,” he said.
“We start with the question: ‘What challenge or problem do you want to solve?’” said Anne Doran, Windham Regional’s career counselor. “We want them to see the connection between their interests and values and a broader career.”
The shops and classrooms at both centers are well-equipped with modern industry-relevant materials, tools and technology.
“All of our educators are highly skilled professionals that had to re-enroll in college (while still working full time) to pursue their Vermont teaching license; the very same license that traditionally trained teachers obtain,” said Lawler.
“We want them to have a real spark of creativity and see this can be fun,” said Richard Thompson, engineering instructor at the Windham Regional Career Center. “What they do after that … whether going into engineering or becoming a machinist, a blacksmith, for all I know. Or in the arts.”
Southwest Tech also offers dual-enrollment for students in six different program areas providing college credits.
“While the full impact of the COVID pandemic has yet been realized, it is clearly time that career and technical education be brought into the forefront of our society and no longer stay in the back alley of our minds,” Lawler said. “(career and technical education) centers are well poised to help usher in a new generation of professionals.”
“The kids we trained 10 and 15 years ago, these are the people who have carried us through a pandemic,” agreed Nancy Wiese, director of the Windham Regional Career Center. “We are helping individuals do very honorable work.”
The Windham center provides technical and career training for students from Brattleboro, Leland & Gray in Townshend, Twin Valley in the Deerfield Valley, Bellows Falls and from Hinsdale, N.H.
“The Windham Regional Career Center is an invaluable resource for our county’s students,” said Christy Betit, Pipelines and Pathways Program coordinator at the Brattleboro Development Credit Corp. “Their top-notch faculty and experiential learning opportunities help engage all students, whether college or workforce bound. BDCC’s Pipelines and Pathways Program collaborates with the Career Center to connect students with high-wage, in-demand career sectors that lead to economic prosperity and an improved quality of life for our entire region.”
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