vocational schools

Alternating weeks of academic and vocational education, school autonomy, and close ties with local businesses have been key to the success of Massachusetts's  vocational-technical high schools, according to a report published today by Pioneer Institute.

The co-operative education program at Boston’s Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, which places students in paid positions with local employers, lags far behind other Massachusetts vocational-technical schools in terms of both placements and number of employer contacts.  But with the school as a whole beginning to improve after years of turmoil, the co-op is also showing promising signs, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

HANDS-ON EDUCATION plays a critical role at Massachusetts regional vocational-technical high schools, where students alternate weekly between academics and shop classes. Given that reality, you’d think the schools would be particularly hard hit by the switch to hybrid models under which students are in a physical school building only half the time. But thanks to innovative approaches to coping with pandemic-related restrictions, voc-techs are successfully bucking statewide public-school enrollment trends.

This op-ed appeared in Commonwealth Magazine and New Bedford Standard Times. A recent visit to Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School demonstrated why career and technical high schools are rightly considered a Massachusetts success story. But it also serves as...

Programs could help stem enrollment declines, provide opportunity to disadvantaged students BOSTON – A new Pioneer Institute study explores whether medical vocational-technical education could be a tool to help area Catholic schools address declining enrollment and also provide economically disadvantaged students with...

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_20581617/legislator-tech-schools-should-change-their-admissions-policies#ixzz2NdY6GEln If a wait list is a sign of success, vocational-technical high schools across the state are thriving. But with more students being denied entry to the schools each year, one lawmaker is questioning whether they are serving the population of students...

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/editorials/ci_20250784/pivotal-role-vocational-education According to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, the stagnant manufacturing industry has enjoyed a comeback in the state and nation, and the main factor jeopardizing that growth is a lack of skilled labor. The decline of the industry created a gap...

http://boston.com/community/blogs/rock_the_schoolhouse/2012/02/a_halfhearted_school_budget.html You know you’re in for trouble when a school district with major graduation and dropout rates problems announces a new budget and leads with the hiring of five new nurses.  That is not the definition of urgency. The big new Boston...