What you need to know about vocational-technical education in Massachusetts:
Find a Massachusetts vocational-technical school near you:
111,000
Students participating in CTE
44%
of jobs require Skills Training
32
Vocational School Districts
91%
of Massachusetts Secondary CTE concentrators met performance standards
94.8%
Graduation Rate
$20,908,948
in Perkins CTE funding for Massachussetts
NEW BOOK
Hands-On Achievement: Massachusetts’s National Model Vocational-Technical Schools
While the U.S. has had mixed educational results in recent decades, Massachusetts has defied national trends to emerge as a leader in educational achievement and innovation. Nowhere is that seen more clearly than in career and technical education.
Pioneer Institute’s new book, Hands-On Achievement: Massachusetts’s National Model Vocational-Technical Schools, explains how the Bay State has combined its industrial heritage, educational excellence, and wise governance to forge a voc-tech system that is second to none. It offers a blueprint for how communities nationwide can leverage human capital and local and regional strengths to meet the needs and challenges of schools and workplaces in the twenty-first century.
Praise for “Hands-On Achievement”
“ The Bay State is a leader in K–12 education, and Pioneer Institute’s book Hands-On Achievement: Massachusetts’s National Model Vocational-Technical Schools makes a compelling case that their career and technical education programs are among the best in the country. There are important lessons here for policy makers, school leaders, and businesses alike about how to craft reforms that educate and train students with the career-ready skills they’ll need to compete in the global economy.”
““Hands-On Achievement: Massachusetts’s National Model Vocational-Technical Schools,” edited by Chris Sinacola and David J. Ferreira and published by the free-market think tank Pioneer Institute. It has many surprises. Public high schools advertising themselves as models of vocational and academic instruction have often been weak in both areas. But Massachusetts has made great strides since its 1993 Education Reform Act required that vocational students be taught with the same academic standards and tests used by regular public schools.”
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Read Pioneer’s Research on Voc-Tech:
Hear from VTE Advocates & Students
“There are so many opportunities in this school (Madison Park) that can help you, not only the vocations, but there is also extra programs that can help you grow further. ”
“I think kids see a purpose that they don’t see in a traditional high school. Families are beginning to question the return on investment for higher education, especially when the student goes to that secondary institution without any purpose or idea what it is they want to do for a living”
“(Voc-Tech) teaches you so much about what is expected in the industry, and when you can bring that knowledge across the country… I think it’s a welcomed blessing that we do get folks directly from the industry”
“Career and technical education gives students academic knowledge, technical skills, and employability skills. It helps them see how what they are learning applies to the needs of employers, and prepares students for the future whether they are headed to college or to the workforce.”
“Our goal with this program is to provide workforce skills that are in demand and to familiarize students with going to college and encourage them to continue after they graduate from high school. If students maximize the program, they can graduate high school with marketable job skills and industry credentials and college credits.”
“(Madison Park) helps me get ready for the outside world when I graduate from here. I learned what I want to study and what career path I want to take. ”
“The Career Technical Initiative represents an essential component in our work to close the achievement gap as we reimagine how to best provide career technical training and encourage employer engagement at all levels.”
Read Pioneer’s Op-eds on Voc-Tech:
Links to other articles:
- Lawmakers, others want sweeping $3B investment in voc-tech schools
- Let’s make Madison Park the gem it should be
- Cosmetology is one of the most popular vocational tracks in Mass. But is it too late for a makeover of Madison Park’s beauty program?
- Post-pandemic high schools should offer more career and technical training. Here’s why.
- Put voc-tech school access on priority list
- Should Parents Consider Vocational Schools? (CNN Video)
Make Your Voice Heard for Voc-Tech Now!
Learn more about how you can help increase knowledge of the power of voc-tech education in Massachusetts!