Last Thursday night's LSC meeting we were treated to "Paradis on Parade" (don't you love the way that rolls on your tongue?). The LVTI principal touted the ballyhooed success of Tech's certified nursing assistant program.
Good timing. Friday, July 8, there is a JOB FAIR at NORTH SHORE DAY CARE 191 North Common Street, here in Lynn at 4 pm. There are a wide variety of positions available. Tech's curriculum appears timely. A POSITIVE for LPS.
WHOA! LSC member MARIA CARRASCO wondered why we are investing precious DOLLARS in a curriculum that takes four years to complete when people walking off the street go into a RED CROSS, take a two week mini-course and walk out a registered CNA.
You know what? I could have heard wrong. I make mistakes. But I used to send Dr. Latham, Dr. Wary, and "Uncle Tom" Iarabino courtesy copies of the WATCH so they would have the opportunity to dispute any inaccuracies. I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong and moving on (I'd like now to offer into evidence my four marriages). BUT THESE PEOPLE WON'T TAKE MY E MAILS ANYMORE.
Actually the SC minutes should be posted somewhere so we all know what was said (if we didn't watch on TV) - but I kind of feel the same way about the machinist course which is very expensive - once they graduate they still need to get the specific training for whatever the company that hires them uses and most get on-the-job training. Is it cost effective considering the cost to the city? Shouldn't Lynn contract with other cities to save money on vocational training? I would rather see smaller elementary school classes.
ReplyDeleteLVTI is a great school, staffed by many talented and dedicated faculty members. While Health Tech students can graduate with a CNA license after three years that may or may not be attainable in a much shorter period of time through the Red Cross, believe me they have much more working experience and knowledge when they leave Tech than you would imagine. Many of these students go out on co-op as well as work a various nursing homes gaining valuable experience that cannot be gained in a two week course. They also spend a great deal of time gaining both practical experience and book knowledge during their high school years and are light years ahead of someone that has enrolled in a quickie course. They are well on their way to a career in nursing and other health care fields if they so choose.
ReplyDeleteAs far as machine shop or any other programs at LVTI, especially the “hard” trades, the goal is to expose students to their chosen industry at the highest level, utilizing the latest in equipment taught by instructors that are masters in their craft so that upon their senior year they can gain employment in an entry level position. That said, and I will use my industry as an example, while students are exposed to repairing and refinishing collision damaged vehicles in a “live” shop environment, no employer expects them to be able to work at that level when they leave school and enter the workforce. Students enter the workforce at the bottom and through hard work and experience, learn and work their way up through the many aspects of the industry before they are considered to be at the top of their game. In my industry and many others this can take five or more years. This is how I began in 1981 and this is how most of my employees who were former students of mine began, some over ten years ago. When I was teaching, I would always tell my students that while it is great that they have had experience performing a litany of high level tasks, they needed to be proficient in about six basic tasks and if they could perform those basic tasks at a high level, work safely, be conscientious and be on time at work every day, the sky would be the limit. I have also had students graduate my program and go on to technical colleges come back and tell me that they learned the same things there as I taught them in high school. The exception was that LVTI didn’t cause them to ring up fifty thousand dollars in student loans.
Due to space limits, I will post again regarding the costs of voc-ed.
Rick Starbard
Every student in MA has the right to a vocational education and the community in which they reside must pick up the tab for this education. While most vo-tech schools are regional and take in students from surrounding areas that pay tuition, such as NS Tech in Middleton and NE Tech in Wakefield, some larger communities such as Lynn, Worchester, Somerville, etc., have their own. Even though we have a vocational school in Lynn, if a student wished to take machine shop or another program not offered at Tech, we would have to incur the cost of that student to attend another school. Currently LVTI, has approximately 700 students compared to about 1200 a few years ago. While we can all give opinions as to why, the biggest reason for the drop-off in enrollment is that the school has an underserved perception that in no way reflects the reality of what goes on in that school every day. Is it perfect? No. Do I agree with every change that has been made recently? No, but I think that they are headed in the right direction with most of the changes. As I stated, each school has a tuition amount assigned to it on the DESE website. LVTI’s tuition is $12,000 per student per year. NS Tech for example is $18,000 per year. Why the discrepancy? I’m not sure, but I would take Tech any day. LVTI’s budget number is in the 8 million range per year plus Federal Perkins grant money that comes in, earmarked to vocational schools for equipment and upgrades. Even at today’s low number of students that attend LVTI, if those students wanted to go to another vocational school because Lynn didn’t have LVTI, we would have to pay over 12 million dollars plus transportation to provide these students a vocational education. So even at today’s low enrollment numbers, we are saving money and providing Lynn kids an opportunity to get a great vocational and academic education in their own community. While we are at it, Tech has always had a reputation for not being able to provide a quality academic education, and I would have to agree to some extent especially many years ago. Beginning next year they have added both AP Calculus and English for students that wish to take AP classes and those 40 students are currently taking prep classes for those courses during the summer, so that they are prepared for the rigors of those courses come September. I am currently in the process of exploring the possibilities of opening the enrollment to other communities which would bring in added revenue. That school could easily accommodate an additional 100 students without any significant additions to staff. That alone would bring in an additional 1.2 million.
ReplyDeleteI could go on about that school all night. I am a proud graduate of Lynn tech. I am still close friends with many of class mates. I had the privilege of teaching there for 14 years. I have owned my own business in the industry that I studied there as a kid for over 28 years and owe everything that I have to that school. I have also served on the board of the alumni association since it’s beginning in the early 90s. People’s misunderstanding about Lynn Tech is one of the primary reasons that I ran for school committee. It remains one of my primary reasons for seeking re-election. If anyone would like to discuss voc-ed with me, call me anytime. I urge anyone to attend one of their open houses, get your car fixed, have lunch or get your hair done. You will be surprised at what you see.
Rick Starbard
(Hey Stan, I can't log in from my google account to post.The only way I can do it is Anon. ???)
Rick, Melissa had a similar problem. Talk to her. If I get a chance I'll ask Google.
ReplyDeleteRick, you KNOW I am a BIG supporter of Voc. Ed. To me, it is just practical education. The problem is one of perception. It is not inferior just different, a victim of academic racism.
Yeah I had a similar issue. I eventually gave up on my Google account and created a blogspot account with a website. So now I sign in through my website.
ReplyDeleteAnd Stan - just create a new e-mail address. I'd actually go all Shawshank on them and create lots of new e-mail addresses and bombard them with letters (channeling my inner Andy Dufresne {Stephen King is one of my favorite authors}).
Oh and awesome reporting BTW. Love that you are pointing out everywhere they waste money!
My child is currently in this program and it does not take 3 years to obtain the CNA. The students learn about many different aspects of the medical field throughout the 3 full years. (They are not officially accepted into the program until April of their Freshman year) The program description states that students are trained and eligible to take the CNA exam at the end of their junior year. They will then finish their senior year with a more advanced medical curriculum as well as work in a facility that employs CNA's as a co-op option. A perfect start for anyone considering working in any field of medicine or rehab.
ReplyDeleteI think when this post was published originally it was [retty well decided that there were mant global benefits too this particular program because of the things you mentioned. I was just curious as to the sudden huge uptake in activity.
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