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A Real Nuts and Bolts Education
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Business New Haven
5/31/1999
By: Susan Froetschel
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Physician Richard J. Deslauriers credits his high school experience for his ability to invent complex medical tools, including a digital-signal processing/recording stethoscope, a titanium self-drilling bone screw, and a facial jaw wire that prevents exposure to infection during surgery.
Deslauriers did not attend some exclusive prep school. He stands out among physicians because he's a graduate of Connecticut's vocational-technical high school system, and he credits his machine tool-and-die studies for his innovations (see accompanying story).
“He's an example of how the sky's the limit at these schools,” says Dominic Spera, superintendent of the state's regional voc-tech system. “It's the kind of story that people don't connect with our schools. Our graduates are running companies, running organizations throughout the state.” Donovan Dillon, vice president of products for SNET, and East Haven Police Chief Leonard Gallo are two examples.
The success stories of the state's voc-tech schools are mounting: Statewide, 30 percent of voc-tech graduates go on to college. Another 65 percent of graduates go directly into positions that pay well above minimum wage, according to John Tirinzonie, with the state Department of Labor's research and statistics department.
Machinists with a few years' experience and strong production records can earn salaries up to $60,000, says John Tucker, president of WMT Machine Tool Co. Inc. in Branford. About 40 companies in the Waterbury area are run and owned by former students of the Brass City's W.F. Kaynor Regional Vocational-Technical High School, some of whom earn salaries in six figures, says Frank Zello, a machine tool-and-die instructor.
“These schools are the best-kept secrets in the world,” says Richard Penna, a graduate of Eli Whitney Regional Vocational-Technical High School and owner of Richard Penna Salon in Hamden, who's accustomed to styling celebrities' hair and charges $130 for a cut. “I've had friends who are graduates of college and work as cashiers in Stop & Shop.”
“These schools are a gatekeeper that makes the flow of hiring easier,” says Alicia Nunez, placement specialist with SNET. “These students are ambitious, ready for work, motivated.”
Society does not offer sufficient opportunity for young people to explore careers, according to William Enters, director of Eli Whitney Regional Voc-Tech School in Hamden. “They see teachers, police, firefighters, doctors and nurses - only a small sample of what's available.”
A Modern Workplace
Technology, in all of its complexity and specificity, has changed the style and status of vocational-technical schools, suggests Tom Buckley, manager of educational relations with SNET, who serves on a technology advisory panel for Vinal Regional Vocational-Technical School in Middletown. SNET donates older computer equipment to all area schools and had five Vinal students analyze some Macintosh machines.
“I was impressed - they had skills and they were professional,” Buckley says. “One of the things I like about the voc-tech schools is they provide real-life applications in the classrooms.”
The drafting classroom at Eli Whitney is spacious, well-lighted, orderly, with only the soft sounds of students chatting and using computers. Intricate drawings of machine tools, some drawn by hand and others by computer, line the walls. About 20 state-of-the-art computers glow with AutoCAD 12 and 14. The students work on assignments, collaborate and meet deadlines.
“We treat the classroom like the workplace,” says Charles Egervari, department head of drafting technology. His parents emigrated from Hungary in 1963 when he was 15. With poor language and academic skills, he attended Kaynor Voc-Tech school in Waterbury. Later Egervari attended the University of Bridgeport on a sports scholarship and eventually went on to earn a master's degree.
“There's a sad misconception - parents think that enrolling their child in a technical school earmarks them for a lifelong trade as opposed to a career that has opportunity,” explains Egervari. “A technical school, rather than hindering a youngster, actually gives a dual tool for life, as an education and a career.”
Charles Ortiz, who attended Fair Haven Middle School, is one of Eli Whitney's top seniors - a talented draftsman, as well as an all-state soccer player - who will study visual communication at Gibbs College in Norwalk next year. He notes that he would not have known about the program except that his older brother had studied electronics at the school.
Modest about his accomplishments, Ortiz is articulate during an interview. Few students arrive to the programs so polished. “Most walk in with their heads down, they don't even say good morning,” says Egervari. “Gradually the walls break down. It's so rewarding to see a student, virtually totally unskilled - even having difficulty measuring - and in two years watch them walk out the door as an accomplished draftsperson capable of working in industry.”
Middle school is not too early for choosing a career, according to Ortiz. “Right now, think about your future,” he advises younger students.
Expert Advice
Egervari cautions that student work is not limited to computers. Rather, students learn the basics of machine-tool drafting, applying the principles and drawing by hand and gradually applying those basics to computer programs.
The approach is not a whim of the instructor or school. Instead, every voc-tech department has an advisory board, made up of people in the field, who meet at least twice a year with faculty and provide specific guidance on curriculum, equipment and training, as well as industry needs. The boards also advise schools on how to spend the $75 million allocated by the state for a five-year program to update facilities and also to hire students for cooperative work experiences.
The schools constantly adapt to a rapidly changing economy, notes Spera. “We meet the needs of our customers,” he says. “And both students and industry are our customers.”
The system allows the schools to respond quickly to the demands of the region's economy. For example, after analysis, the state recently added an information-technology program in Stamford, to assist the financial and communications industries in Fairfield County, and a biotech program in Groton to accommodate hiring needs at Pfizer Inc. Spera anticipates a similar program to be introduced soon at Eli Whitney to complement the school's strong offerings in health care
All programs are not available at all schools, but the state is flexible, allowing students to attend programs in other counties. Local area networks will allow long-distance learning soon as well as statewide teacher conferences and training. “The 21st century has arrived, and the new technical high school is ready,” says Spera.
Industry Needs
The voc-tech school system recently conducted a needs survey among employers throughout the state, and businesses requested that students be prepared with a work ethic, maintain good attendance, work well with others and gain experience doing real work for real customers. Throughout the state, voc-tech students build homes, repair cars, do print jobs and more for diverse businesses in their regions.
Parents and even employers express amazement at student textbooks in trigonometry, physics and geometry, as well as complex industry manuals, according to Spera.
“Auto mechanics today are like physicians - they diagnose problems and fix them,” he says. “There's more accountability and more leadership at the school level than ever before.”
Competition
Enrollment at the state technical schools is climbing, up ten percent over the past three years and projected to increase by three percent both this coming school year and next. Statewide this year, the schools have 6,000 applicants for 3,000 openings.
Also, the state's 20 schools serve 10,000 high school students and 10,000 adults who pay tuition for courses they could have taken for free in high school.
The most popular programs for Eli Whitney students are electronics, culinary arts, fashion technology, hairdressing and cosmetology, and manufacturing technology. Students are ranked and admitted based on eighth-grade mastery test scores, grades, a personal interview and attendance.
About 90 percent of Eli Whitney's enrollment comes from New Haven, although its programs are open to students in other New Haven County communities.
“There's a noticeable increase in the machining programs, we're happy to hear,” says Tirinzonie, noting that the oldest portion of the state's workforce is in the manufacturing sector, with the rate of retirements outpacing the number of workers entering the field. “It's a real problem.”
“I hope enrollment's increasing,” adds Tucker. His firm has relied on two retired men in their 70s to do some part-time work at the Branford firm, which makes custom parts for large manual machines. Most of the other workers are in their 50s and 40s.
“I hired one student from a trade school. I gave him a raise and he had another job a week later,” says Tucker. He expresses hesitation about hiring many students directly from school, noting many 18-year-old employees are immature and lack attention.
Choosing a high school or specific program is a major decision, as parents worry about an uncertain economy, according to Vincent Casanova, an Eli Whitney guidance coordinator. “New Haven students have 11 choices for a high school,” he says. “It can be overwhelming.”
The state's voc-tech program has made itself more competitive with traditional high schools by providing advanced-placement courses and articulating agreements with nine of the state's 12 technical colleges, including Gateway Community-Technical College, to allow students to amass college credits while in high school.
Teachers often form close ties with students, and even their parents. “I'll never forget one father hugging me and thanking me for setting his son on the road for accomplishment,” says Egervari. “Seeing students improve and become productive members of society, improving a student's status in the workplace, is my reward.”
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