By Patrick Adrian Staff Writer
CLAREMONT — Data indicates that student demand for career-tech education is increasing in both Claremont and Newport as both communities will soon face opportunities to demonstrate their commitment to invest in their respective career-tech schools.
In a shared presentation on Wednesday, Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center (SRVRTC) administrators Alex Herzog, director of the Claremont campus, and Jennifer Opalinski, director of the Newport campus, shared about the direction of their programs, their interdistrict partnership (known as Region 10), and key decisions that each school district will face during the next three years regarding the future of career education or workforce development opportunity for students.
Though career-tech courses are tailored to specific vocations, the skills students acquire are transferable to any profession or workplace, the directors said.
“Our students [learn to] have a ‘work attitude,’ meaning they are ready to work, dressed for work and willing to work when they get here,” Herzog said. “That’s what we want and what employers are asking for when we start talking to them about their needs.”
According to Christine Brenner, Newport’s economic development coordinator, employers often prioritize the need of “soft skills,” or general skills that enable an employee to adapt to a workplace and grow, over trade-specific skills.
“They are looking for responsible, work-ready employees,” Brenner said. “They are willing to do the training once you get into the position, and if it’s specialized training they are willing to help with that. But it’s really about people who are excited to work and ready to enter the workforce and be in a professional environment.”
Enrollment data from both Claremont and Newport campuses shows an overall increase in students during the last four years, the directors noted.
In Newport, enrollment for the first course of Health Science Technology, the entry program for advanced courses in emergency-medical training or nursing assistance, is at capacity after increasing from 12 students in the 2019-2020 academic year to 21 students this academic year.
With the hire of Opalinski in 2019, the Newport campus has added two certification level courses in the medical field, an EMT course this school year and a licensed nursing assistant (LNA) course, which was restored in the 2019-2020 academic year.
Opalinski also reported that the addition of an animal science course next academic year to the horticulture program, has increased anticipated enrollment from seven students at present to 18-21 students.
In Claremont, all five of the school’s two-year programs have increased in total enrollment since 2017 by 20 to 80 students each. Enrollment in the course-only option, where students take the entry-level course but not the advanced study, has also increased during that time in every program except Culinary Arts.
Both directors noted fluctuations in the year-to-year data and attributed those to a variety of factors.
Programs experienced enrollment drops transitioned to takeover by a new instructor, for example. This was the case in Claremont during the 2018-2019 school year with two of its programs: Culinary Arts and HVAC/Plumbing.
During the pandemic each school also saw a significant loss in enrollments from neighboring districts, largely due to a lack of bus drivers to transport students between their schools and the centers, the directors said.
Renewing the partnership and considering renovationsThe partnership between Claremont, Newport, and Sunapee tech-ed centers, which allows students in each district to attend programs in the others, is set to expire in 2022 and will need renewal.
The agreement between the districts has been renewed in the past and currently no party has indicated any reason to expect differently in 2020.
However, a change in state law in 2016 raises questions about how many districts, including Claremont and Newport, have used parts of the career-tech spaces for unintended uses.
The 2016 state policy states that career-tech centers “must be dedicated to [career tech education.” While state statute NH RSA 188 says the school districts own the buildings once constructed, the buildings, whose construction was state-funded, is “for use by the career and technical education center exclusively.”
Since 2016, the Claremont School District has used spaces in its career-tech building to house the district’s pre-school and at one time a high school alternative education program, neither of which are affiliated with career-tech education.
In fact, the district discontinued the career-tech’s Early Child Education program, including the program-run preschool, in 2015 to relocate the district’s own preschool program to the center. The district initially said it would be developing a new teacher preparation program around the relocated preschool services. However, despite proposals in recent years by Herzog to the school board to create that program, the program has yet to come to fruition, resulting in a loss of one career-tech offering since 2016.
The district also plans to open a new self-contained classroom for students with special needs on the second floor of the career-tech center in the fall. The program, funded with one-time state aid in 2019 with approval of Claremont voters, aims to enable the district to teach students in-district who would previously have needed an expensive out-of-district placement and raise revenue through tuitioning-in students from other districts.
In Newport a facility study conducted by Lavallee-Bresinger Architects identified “several areas in the [CTE building] wing that have been taken over by the high school.”
“The area designed for vocational development and placement is now used by high school guidance,” the report stated. “ The reception and assistant director’s offices are used by special education and much of the second floor is being used by the Partners program [a special education program].”
Lavallee-Bresinger, a Manchester-based firm, is currently helping the Newport campus to develop a building renovation proposal, which would be eligible for a state-funded matching grant covering 75% of the construction and equipment costs. Newport voters, who will decide on the proposal in March 2022, would need to agree to fund the remaining 25% of the project.
Opalinski said this renovation is vital for Newport’s school to match the needs of today’s industries.
The building, built in 1993, is over 25 years old and needs renovation to match the changes over time in technology and industry practices. The renovation would enable Newport to expand its programs and better align the learning spaces with the evolving needs of modern industries.
The Claremont campus will be eligible for this state-funding in 2024, Herzog said.
According to Lance Whitehead, a project manager with Lavallee-Bresinger, the amount of facility space being utilized for non career-tech education may deduct state funds from a potential construction project and recommended reviewing these issues further with the New Hampshire Department of Education.
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