Students from a Monty Tech masonry and plumbing class gather around their classmate Brandon Dow as he jackhammers through the concrete floor of the Bromfield School. The space is being opened up to allow for plumbing for bathrooms in the new community cable studio. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
For those of us who grew up in another time, Monty Tech would have been known as “The Voc,” and with that moniker came the sometimes unflattering image of a less than enlightened high school experience. I am writing to tell you that perception could not be further from the truth. A vocational school that was perhaps seen as a “dumping ground” in the ’60s and ’70s has evolved into a highly competitive school that offers academic and career and technical programs that are both rigorous and relevant.
A few of its many recent accomplishments include:
- Participation in a national Student Spaceflight Experiment Program. Monty Tech is the only career and technical school in the nation to have had a student science experiment launched into space, providing students with an opportunity to study the effects of gravity.
- Competitions that have placed Monty Tech students in the national limelight, including a team gold medal at the national SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City, Mo., and showings at YES (Youth Educational Systems), F.I.R.S.T Robotics Competition and Cyber Patriot Team events.
- An active and well-represented chapter of the National Honor Society.
- A prominent role in the construction of the new cable studio at the Bromfield School this month (see photo)—at a considerable savings to the town.
- A grant in the amount of $249,000, the second highest amount awarded in the state, from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center for the purpose of updating two Monty Tech science labs. Additional funds were secured to provide teacher training and state-of-the-art equipment for the labs.
- A student dropout rate of less than one percent—among the lowest in the state—and a graduation rate of nearly 95 percent.
Admission applications are at an all-time high, and the competition is fierce for a place among the more than 1,400 students in grades nine through twelve. As stated in its latest annual report, Monty Tech students come from 18 communities: four from Harvard and the rest from Ashburnham (58), Ashby (37), Athol (110), Barre (39), Fitchburg (376), Gardner (173), Holden (60), Hubbardston (56), Lunenburg (72), Petersham (8), Phillipston (17), Princeton (14), Royalston (24), Sterling (58), Templeton (110), Westminster (70) and Winchendon (127).
The school offers 20 career and technical programs, including auto body and collision repair technology, auto tech, cabinetmaking, cosmetology, drafting technology, electrical, masonry, plumbing, machine technology, welding and metal fabrication, industrial technology, house carpentry, business technology, early childhood education, engineering technology, health occupations (nursing and dental assisting), graphic communications, information technology, and industrial technology.
About 70 percent of Monty Tech’s graduates choose to go on to two- and four-year colleges, universities, and technical schools. The rest opt to go directly into the workforce or join the military. Last year, 95 percent of students achieved Advanced or Proficient scores on the state’s MCAS English Language Arts exam and 88 percent scored Advanced or Proficient in the math exam, both scores significantly up from previous years.
Monty Tech students are given the opportunity for real work experience in their fields before they finish high school. Internships and paid work experiences at area companies such as Ranor, Inc. and TRW Fasteners & Components, both in Westminster; Nypro Mold in Clinton; L.S. Starrett Co. in Athol; Central Orthodontics and KMB Corp., both in Fitchburg; and The Granite Group in Leominster—to name a few—offer students not only a real perspective on employment but also hands-on experience in their chosen fields, under the guidance of Monty Tech instructors as well as leaders in the business community. This is power networking at its best!
Many Harvard residents will have experienced The Mountain Room, the culinary award-winning gem of Monty Tech, where lunches under $10 feature delicacies that would easily cost twice as much elsewhere, created and served by students with an uncanny understanding of culinary excellence.
Some of the colleges and universities accepting Monty Tech graduates include College of the Holy Cross, Northeastern University, Boston University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Nichols College, University of New England, Johnson & Wales University, University of Massachusetts, Becker College, University of Connecticut, and Fitchburg State University. Monty Tech students are prepared academically and technically to compete at the best schools.
One cosmetology student recently told me that her “real plan” is to finish her license to practice cosmetology in the state, so that while she is attending Brandeis in the fall, she can work in the field, gaining business experience and more income than most high school grads can hope to earn working at a mall or at a summer camp.
Harvard prides itself on having exemplary students and schools. Monty Tech is just one of the options that add substance to this claim.
A final note: Seventh- and eighth-graders from Harvard have the unique opportunity to learn firsthand about the academic and career opportunities available at Monty Tech by participating in the school’s very popular VIP (Vocational Interest Program). Through this program, prospective students spend two hours after school working on projects in a number of career and technical programs. Transportation is provided, free of charge, to and from sending schools.
For more information or to register for the VIP Program, take a peek at Monty Tech’s website at www.montytech.net. Or email me—I’m happy to explain what I can, and connect you with the admissions department for more information!
Next time: “Monty Tech: It’s not just for kids.” Continuing Community Education offers adult courses for career training, professional development, and personal enrichment.
Joann Sueltenfuss is the Harvard Representative to the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School Committee, which serves Harvard and other central Massachusetts communities. You can reach her at jsueltenfuss@montytech.net.
