Some students just aren’t all that excited about math, science and history.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Traditional school isn’t for everyone, which is probably why the Concord Regional Technical Center at Concord High School is so popular.
Back when it opened in 1980, it was for the kids who were on the verge of flunking out. Now it provides an opportunity for well over 500 students a year to get a little real-life experience before they need to live in the real world.
“We’re constantly out there informing people what we do,” said CRTC Director Steve Rothenberg.
While the CRTC is based in Concord, it includes students from nine area high schools, some of whom spend quite a bit of time on a school bus in order to take part. (Kearsarge students ride about 40 minutes each way and that’s after they’ve arrived at school for the day.)
“You have to be dedicated to the program,” said program coordinator Kaleena Guzman.
The CRTC has 10 programs to choose from, and is open to juniors and seniors. You can learn how to install a window in construction technology, change the oil in your car in automotive or cut hair in cosmetology. There’s also culinary arts, criminal justice, graphic arts and digital communication, health science and technology, information technology and teacher preparation. And the most recent addition to the program was fire science, where you actually learn how to put out a fire in a safe way.
“You don’t have to come in with any proven experience. We just ask that you’re interested in it,” Guzman said.
Students can apply for entry into one of the 10 programs starting in the winter of their sophomore year. At the beginning of each school year, Rothenberg and his staff visit the schools (Bow, Hillsboro-Deering, Hopkinton, John Stark, Kearsarge, Merrimack Valley, Pembroke and Pittsfield) and give presentations to generate interest. Rothenberg said they recruit about 350 students a year.
“I’m trying to find those kids that have a passion,” he said.
The incoming juniors are asked to list a couple of program possibilities they’d be interested in pursuing because with only 55 to 60 spots per program and some of those already taken by seniors moving up, some of the disciplines can be quite competitive to get in to. And just because a student went through the program as a junior doesn’t mean they automatically will be brought back as a senior.
“Year two is not guaranteed. You need to perform in year one to come back,” Rothenberg said.
Rothenberg likes to think of this as a real-world kind of deal. There’s a strict attendance policy and if you’re not doing the work, there are other kids willing to fill the classroom chair.
“I tell them to approach it like a profession. That’s what we want them to do,” Rothenberg said.
Some of the programs, such as automotive, have internships, while others in construction and health sciences have job shadows. When these students are done with their two years, they’ll have a good idea whether this is a field they’d like to pursue as a career.
“The success stories of the students in our program are unreal,” Guzman said.
The students spend one, 90-minute block per day in their field of study. There are typically two blocks for juniors and two for seniors, except for a few programs that have one for each.
Some of the courses meet certain field-related certification requirements, while others can provide college credits. This certainly isn’t a program just for kids who don’t like school anymore.
For more info on the CRTC, visit thecrtc.net.
